Stand with women. Stand for justice.

At Women’s Legal Service NSW, we know that safety, justice, and equality are not yet a reality for every woman. Every day, we stand beside women navigating violence, separation, and complex legal systems and we’re looking for experienced family law solicitors to work with us.

We’re recruiting Solicitors and Senior Solicitors to join our growing legal practice, specialising in family law and domestic, family and sexual violence. These roles are ideal for practitioners who combine strong legal skills with empathy, insight, and a commitment to feminist, trauma-informed practice.

You’ll be part of a respected statewide organisation that values collaboration, reflection, and professional growth a place where your work makes a tangible difference in the lives of women and children.

SENIOR SOLICITOR

As a Senior Solicitor, you will deliver free, trauma-informed, culturally safe, and client-centred legal services grounded in a gender justice framework. You’ll represent and advise women experiencing violence, separation, and complex family law issues, including parenting and property matters.

You will bring at least five years’ post-admission experience in family law, including litigation and the management of complex cases. You’ll work closely with our experienced team, private solicitors, and barristers, and lead strategic casework and law reform initiatives. An understanding of Women’s Legal’s broader work in sexual violence and employment or discrimination will be highly regarded.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality, trauma-informed legal advice to clients via phone, online, in person, and through outreach clinics.
• Manage a caseload of complex family law matters, and strategic litigation including representation in courts and tribunals.
• Lead and coordinate legal service delivery in specific practice areas or projects.
• Support and mentor solicitors and paralegals in legal strategy, ethics, trauma-informed practice and professional development.
• Contribute legal expertise to the development and delivery of community legal education and training.
• Participate in and lead rural, regional, and remote outreach trips across NSW.
• Drive law reform, strategic litigation, and advocacy aligned with feminist, intersectional, and systemic change goals.
• Uphold best practice in client care, legal ethics, and culturally safe, trauma-informed service delivery.

As a Senior Solicitor, your expertise and leadership will shape outcomes for individual women and influence the broader systems that affect their safety and rights.

SOLICITOR

As a Solicitor, you will provide legal advice and representation to women in family law and related matters including parenting disputes, property settlements, and cases involving domestic and family violence.

You’ll bring a solid foundation in family law practice, excellent communication skills, and a commitment to trauma-informed, culturally safe service delivery. Working alongside experienced feminist solicitors, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your practice while contributing to projects that advance women’s access to justice.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality, trauma-informed legal advice to clients via phone, online, in person, and through outreach clinics.
• Manage a caseload, including representation in courts and tribunals.
• Support legal service delivery in specific practice areas or projects.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of community legal education and training.
• Participate in rural, regional, and remote outreach trips across NSW.
• Support law reform and advocacy projects aligned with feminist, intersectional, and systemic change goals.
• Uphold best practice in legal ethics, client care, and culturally safe, trauma-informed service delivery.

As a Solicitor, you will be part of a team that walks alongside women at some of the most challenging moments in their lives combining technical skill with compassion and purpose.

WHY WOMEN’S LEGAL

At Women’s Legal Service NSW, you’ll find purpose in practice. Our team is made up of women who care deeply about the law, about fairness, and about the people we serve. We work collaboratively, reflect critically, and act courageously to advance women’s rights across NSW.

In this role, your work will have real and lasting impact by helping women and children to find safety, stability, and hope after violence, and contributing to a more just and compassionate legal system.

We offer a supportive and flexible workplace, opportunities for professional growth, and the chance to use your legal skills for meaningful social change.

If you believe in the power of the law to create safer futures for women and children, we’d love to hear from you.

ABOUT US

Women’s Legal Service NSW advocates for an end to gender-based violence and for gender equity in Australia. As a state-wide specialist women’s legal service, we assist women and non-binary people across NSW to obtain legal advice and representation from our client centred, trauma informed, culturally safe, holistic legal practice to address women’s safety and economic security.

We use our experience gained from working with women over more than four decades and our expertise in a feminist analysis of social issues and the law to determine where we can make the most meaningful and impactful interventions that make positive change structurally and systemically. We have invested in the development of our specialist expertise to advocate for structural changes in legislation and policy through law reform and through the provision of education and training to our colleagues in the legal profession, the community services sector, and the community.

We advise and represent women in a range of practice areas including discrimination, employment, sexual harassment, family law, domestic/family and sexual violence, and compensation and victims support for victims of crime.

WORKPLACE OF CHOICE

Women’s Legal promotes gender equality through creating a workplace of choice for women that is:

• Safe. We have clear and effective policies on sexism, discrimination, harassment, bullying and abuse.
• Diverse. We acknowledge, encourage and respect diversity and lived experience.
• Culturally Safe. We acknowledge and respond to the need for cultural safety for First Nations staff.
• Flexible. We support flexible work arrangements that accommodate caring responsibilities, disability or health needs, and study commitments.
• Supported. We practice trauma-informed care that recognises the impact of vicarious trauma. Staff have access to debriefing as needed and are supported through regular external professional debriefing supervision.
• Focused on Career Growth, Leadership and Training. We support staff to build careers in social justice by offering structured opportunities for professional development in legal practice, leadership, training delivery, and contributing to strategic organisational development, equipping you for roles within the legal assistance and advocacy sectors.

Salary range 2025-2026

Women’s Legal seeks to close the gender pay gap by providing job and economic security with an Enterprise Agreement that pays above Award, excellent working conditions and provides generous leave provisions. You have the option to salary package which can add up to $15,900 in tax-free pay annually.

Solicitor Grade 5

$100,182.32 to $121,355.39 p.a (with an increase from 1 July 2026) plus salary packaging.

Senior Solicitor Grade 6

$125,491.91 to - $139,405.11 p.a (with an increase from 1 July 2026) plus salary packaging.

The positions are based in our office at Lidcombe. The roles will require some travel across Greater Sydney as well as to rural, regional and remote NSW and nationally.

Women’s Legal considers being a woman is a genuine occupational qualification for this position under s. 31 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW).

Senior SOLICITOR selection criteria

Selection criteria must be addressed for you to be considered for an interview.

Essential criteria

• Commitment to Social Justice and Gender Equity. Demonstrated understanding of, and commitment to, social justice issues for women, particularly First Nations women, and women experiencing deep and persistent disadvantage (social, economic and cultural) and lack of access to legal services.
• Qualifications. Admitted (or eligible for admission) as a legal practitioner in NSW and holds a current NSW practicing certificate.
• Legal Ethics and Risk Management. Familiarity with ethical and professional obligations under the Legal Profession Uniform Law, and sound understanding of risk management and confidentiality.
• Legal Knowledge and Practice Areas. Experience, post-admission, in managing complex legal matters and practical experience in providing sound legal advice in at least one of the following areas: discrimination, employment, sexual harassment, family law, domestic/family and sexual violence, compensation and victims support for victims of crime.
• Client-Centred and Trauma-Informed Legal Practice. Proven ability to work with clients facing disadvantage, trauma and legal complexity across diverse client groups, and experience in the provision of client-centred, trauma-informed, culturally safe legal advice, casework, and court/tribunal representation.
• Legal Research and Analysis. Strong legal research, analysis and drafting skills.
• Communication and Interpersonal Skills. Excellent interpersonal, collaboration, negotiation, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Technical & Systems Proficiency. Proficiency in Microsoft Office and legal practice management tools, (e.g. Actionstep) and data reporting.
• Time Management and Organisational Skills. Strong organisational and problem-solving skills with capacity to manage competing deadlines and priorities.
• Law Reform and Advocacy Engagement. Ability to contribute to law reform and policy submissions.
• Legal Education and Community Engagement. Ability to research, write and deliver legal education resources spanning the range of Women’s Legal Service NSW practice areas, including contributing to community legal education initiatives.

Additional criteria

• Pre-Employment Screening. Satisfactory Working with Children Check.
• Willingness to Travel. Ability to travel in line with work commitments.
• Professional Development. Commitment to ongoing professional development and compliance with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements

Desirable criteria

• Sector Experience. Experience in the legal assistance sector or not for profit sector.

Selection criteria listed above must be addressed for your application to be considered.

Solicitor selection criteria

Selection criteria must be addressed for you to be considered for an interview.

Essential criteria

• Commitment to Social Justice and Gender Equity. Demonstrated understanding of, and commitment to, social justice issues for women, particularly First Nations women, and women experiencing deep and persistent disadvantage (social, economic and cultural) and lack of access to legal services.
• Qualifications. Admitted as a Solicitor in NSW with a current unrestricted NSW practising certificate.
• Legal Ethics and Risk Management. Demonstrated understanding of legal practice obligations under the Legal Profession Uniform Law.
• Legal Knowledge and Practice Areas. At least 5 years post-admission experience, including litigation and managing a range of complex legal matters and providing high-quality legal advice in at least two of the following areas: discrimination, employment, sexual harassment, family law, domestic/family and sexual violence, compensation and victims support for victims of crime.
• Client-Centred and Trauma-Informed Legal Practice. Proven ability to work with clients facing disadvantage, trauma and legal complexity across diverse client groups and demonstrated experience in providing client-centred trauma-informed, culturally safe, legal advice, casework, and court/tribunal representation.
• Legal Research and Analysis. Excellent legal research, analysis and drafting skills.
• Communication and Interpersonal Skills. Excellent interpersonal, collaboration, negotiation, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Technical & Systems Proficiency. Proficiency in Microsoft Office and legal practice management tools, (e.g. Actionstep) and data reporting.
• Time Management and Organisational Skills. Excellent organisational, project management, and problem-solving skills with capacity to independently manage competing deadlines and priorities.
• Law Reform and Advocacy Engagement. Proven ability to identify and lead law reform initiatives including strategic litigation.
• Legal Education and Community Engagement. Ability to design, deliver and evaluate legal education and training spanning the range of Women’s Legal Service NSW practice areas.
• Leadership and Mentoring. Strong mentoring skills.

Additional criteria

• Pre-Employment Screening. Satisfactory Working with Children Check.
• Willingness to Travel. Ability to travel in line with work commitments.
• Professional Development. Commitment to ongoing professional development and compliance with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements.

Desirable criteria

• Sector Experience. Experience in the legal assistance sector.

Enquiries

For enquiries about the position contact Gabrielle Craig, Assistant Principal Solicitor, at [email protected] using the subject line: Solicitor / Senior Solicitor - Family Law / Domestic & Family Violence enquiry via EthicalJobs.

Position Descriptions are attached. Selection criteria must be addressed for your application to be considered to progress to interview.