Simon O’Halloran is enjoying regional opportunities in Wodonga

Our new Wodonga service is providing exciting work and leisure opportunities for newly appointed Deputy Managing Lawyer Simon O’Halloran.

Relocating to North-East Victoria from Melbourne, Simon is happy to be returning to where he started his law career. His first job as a lawyer was at Belbridge Hauge Law (now Belbridge Fleming Law) in Albury-Wodonga.

He was also attracted by what the northeast has to offer in terms of the lifestyle.

‘It’s so close to the high country for skiing and mountain bike riding,’ says Simon.

‘There’s beautiful shops, cafes, pubs and wineries. I love the region’s connection to the gold rush and the beautiful old Victorian sandstone buildings. Being a criminal lawyer, the connection of this region to bushrangers like Ned Kelly also piques my interest.’

Simon has most recently worked as a senior lawyer in our Summary Crime team and before that, in criminal law at our Geelong office on Wadawarrung Country.

In between these roles, he had the opportunity to start a new office for Dribbin and Brown criminal lawyers in Geelong, and then another in Ballarat.

Simon has also spent time at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, working with First Nations people in remote communities, including the Tiwi Islands and East Arnhem Land.

Simon is looking forward to bringing his range of experiences to the role.

‘As well as the opportunity to progress to deputy managing lawyer, knowing that there is a high demand for legal services and particularly indictable crime in this area interested me.

‘There's only one other practitioner that is on the indictable crime panel in the region, so there's a real need for other people to be able to provide that service.’

The new Wodonga service will share the offices of Upper Murray Family Care, with The Orange Door also located on site.

‘My initial focus will be on building a collaborative team,’ says Simon.

‘This is an exciting opportunity to develop a new service from the ground up.’

Once new staff are onboarded, we will commence delivering legal services including:

• helping to provide duty lawyer services at court in crime (with a particular focus on remands) and child protection
• some ongoing litigation work to meet local demand.

‘I’m really looking forward to working with local services including the court staff, Hume Riverina Community Legal Service and our panel practitioners in region,’ says Simon.

‘We’ll be working to develop our relationships and finding the best ways to support them.’

More information

Read more about our new service in Wodonga.