Together Better - Hall & Wilcox

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Together Better - Hall & Wilcox
Better
  together          Diversity & Inclusion year in review

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Together Better - Hall & Wilcox
A message from                            Mental health and wellbeing
    the Co-Chairs of our                      Focusing on the personal wellbeing of our people has
    Diversity & Inclusion                     always been a priority for the firm, and this was more
    Committee                                 vital than ever during the pandemic.

    After saying goodbye to an                  Hugh van Cuylenburg
    extraordinary 2020, we have been            Source: theresilienceproject.com.au
    able to reflect and consider the
    many challenges we have faced
    as individuals, communities and
    as a firm. The impacts have made
    their way into our homes and in the
    workplace, changing the way we
    connect and interact.
    Australia saw gender disparity
    highlighted across industries, an
    increase in caring responsibilities for
    many parents, significant disruption
    across the workforce and a spotlight
    on working from home and flexible         Feelings of anxiousness, helplessness and     ‘Mindfulness in May’, recognised October
    working.                                  loneliness may have been amplified due        as Mental Health Month, and continued
                                              to lockdowns during the COVID-19 crisis.      to foster conversations to help eliminate
    With so much happening, we thought        We wanted to ensure we were providing a       the stigma associated with talking about
    we would take a look at some of the       holistic approach to wellbeing with a range   mental health.
    issues that were in focus at Hall &       of initiatives – so we launched the Hall &
    Wilcox.                                   Wilcox ‘Be Well Program’ for 2020 with a
    As Co-Chairs of the Diversity &           focus on resilience and mental health.
    Inclusion Committee and as Partners       The program also covers women’s and
    at Hall & Wilcox, we have challenged      men’s health, drug and alcohol awareness
    our own thinking about what               and many other aspects of health –
    makes an inclusive workplace. Our         psychological, physical and psychosocial.
    commitment to creating an inclusive       We wanted to encourage people to feel         We supported R U OK? Day on 10
    workplace culture extends beyond          comfortable to talk about any of these        September. Partner Kathryn Howard is a
    office locations. It’s about who we are   issues. Having these on the agenda is part    long-standing director of R U OK? and is
    as a firm and how we have prided          of our role in helping our people start and   passionate about creating a community in
    ourselves on maintaining connection       continue important conversations with one     which everyone has someone to support
    to our clients and our community.         another to stay connected and supported.      them. In an article published that day,
    Thinking differently and continually                                                    Kathryn reminded us to: ‘Reach out to
                                              The Resilience Project was one of the
    evolving in how we deliver services                                                     each other for genuine conversation,
                                              key events in our Be Well Program.
    to our clients is more important now                                                    wherever we may be located, and really
                                              This included a session on Discovering
    than ever before. We also continue                                                      listen to and support each other through
                                              Resilience with Hugh van Cuylenberg.
    to reflect on what considerations are                                                   this upheaval. We are human beings who
    needed to drive progress within the       This was followed by a ‘Digital wellbeing     need each other, now more than ever.’
    legal profession. We have a role to       series’ of short videos to keep providing
                                                                                            We recognised that it was incredibly
    play and look forward to what we can      ongoing support. In addition, we launched
                                                                                            important for our people to take a break
    achieve in 2021!                          ‘Stay well | work well’, a collection of
                                                                                            during the second half of 2020 to recharge
                                              resources (updated weekly), including
                                                                                            and refresh. In May 2020, we launched our
                                              webinars, videos, online training, articles
                                                                                            COVID annual leave policy. Anyone taking
                                              and other resources to support health
                                                                                            two weeks’ annual leave between May and
                                              and wellbeing and to help people to
                                                                                            31 December could claim reimbursement
                                              work productively from home and other
                                                                                            of up to $300 spent in rural and regional
                                              work locations.
                                                                                            areas (particularly bushfire and drought-
                                              We continue to recognise the importance of    impacted areas). With people being unable
                                              mental health and promote awareness and       (particularly in Victoria) to travel to rural
    Rachael Arnold and James Morvell
                                              support of mental health issues throughout    and regional areas, we updated this to
                                              the year. For example, we supported           supporting Australian small businesses.

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Together Better - Hall & Wilcox
Flexibility                                                                                    We were again proud to support
                                                                                               CareerTrackers, an organisation
When the COVID lockdowns began in                                                              established with the goal of creating
mid-March 2020, we were well-placed to                                                         pathways and support systems for
transition to full remote working within 24                                                    Indigenous young adults to attend and
hours. The firm already had the technology,                                                    graduate from university, with industry
training and flexible work culture to                                                          experience and professional futures.
‘go remote’ seamlessly.                                                                        We hosted our second intern in our
                                              We are planning how we will work in              Newcastle office. The success of the
   As our Managing Partner                    the future and setting up our firm to            program has been recognised by
                                              accommodate this. Our HW Evolve project          employers, governments and, most
   Tony Macvean told The
                                              will consider how we can combine the             importantly, Indigenous communities
   Australian Financial Review:               best of flexible working with the benefits of    throughout Australia.
   ‘We already had a flexible                 collaborating in the office. We are engaging
                                                                                               Reconciliation Australia marked 20
   working culture, with many                 all of our people in helping us to shape
                                                                                               years of a movement for Reconciliation,
   of our people working                      the future of work at Hall & Wilcox.
                                                                                               including greater acknowledgement of
   flexibly, including part-                  Maintaining a healthy blend between              Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights
   time or full-time working                  work and personal life during COVID has          to land and sea; understanding of the
                                              been a significant challenge. The most           impact of government policies and frontier
   remotely/from home.
                                              significant factors identified in our mid-year   conflicts; and an embracing of stories
   Our physical office will                   survey (June 2020) were home schooling,          of Indigenous success and contribution.
   continue to be important                   separating work and personal life and
                                                                                               We hosted a webinar with Professor
   for learning, collaboration,               being unable to switch off.
                                                                                               Megan Davis, Pro Vice-Chancellor
   connection and socialising,                Through open communication, we have              Indigenous UNSW and a Professor of Law,
   and essential in some                      gained a better understanding of the             UNSW Law. Professor Davis currently
   roles. We think that, in the               impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing              serves as a United Nations expert with
                                              of our people, and we continue to provide        the UN Human Rights Council’s Expert
   future, people will be even
                                              as much support as possible. We are              Mechanism on the rights of Indigenous
   more empowered to decide                   working with consultants to support our          peoples. Nathan Kennedy hosted the
   where they work, based on                  people to develop the skills they need to        webinar, and asked Professor Davis to
   what will be most effective.’              maintain a healthy balance to work and life,     share her views on important issues of
                                              particularly when physical boundaries            Reconciliation, storytelling and truth, the
                                              of home/office are blurred.                      Uluru Statement from the Heart and the law.
We also celebrated Flexible Working
Day on 10 June and took part in a virtual     First Nations: towards
summit ‘Reframing Flexibility’. Partner Fay
Calderone is a Flexible Work Ambassador
                                              Reconciliation and truth
and participated in a panel discussion at     telling
the summit on ‘The Gender Flex Gap’ —
                                              We launched our Reconciliation Action Plan
the difference in the number of men and
                                              (RAP) in March 2020. Our RAP provides
women who are able to, and choose to,
                                              us with many opportunities to continue
work flexibly — and what we can do to
                                              to support our relationships with First
address this in our community, workplace
                                              Nations people, which includes providing          Professor Megan Davis
and home.
                                              workplace experience, through pro bono
                                              community and engagement relationships           We maintain that we are all In This
                                              and also in supporting Aboriginal and            Together; every one of us has a role to
                                              Torres Strait Islander businesses through        play when it comes to Reconciliation,
                                              our supply chain.                                and in playing our part we collectively
                                                                                               build relationships and communities that
                                                                                               value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
                                                                                               peoples, histories and cultures.
                                                                                               We hosted a webinar recognising NAIDOC
                                                                                               week – held in November due to COVID
                                                                                               (usually held in July) – where our guests,
 P&C Manager Sam Hooper and her                                                                Robyn Ayers, CEO Arts Law, and Emilia
 WFH buddy Gus                                                                                 Galatis, Australian Art Projects, shared the

                                                                                                     Diversity & Inclusion year in review 3
Together Better - Hall & Wilcox
Gender equality
                                                                 Our focus on gender                            Celebrating International
                                                                 diversity is about                             Women’s Day
            Emilia Galatis                                       empowering all of our                          To celebrate International Women’s Day
                                                                 people by actively                             (IWD), we published seven stories from
                                                                                                                seven of the firm’s amazing women:
                                                                 addressing barriers to                         Natalie Bannister, Stephanie Driscoll,
                                                                 gender equality to create                      Jacqui Barrett, Kelli Stallard, Ahranee
                                                                 an inclusive culture for                       Vijayaseelan, Katrina Reye and Liz Meyer.

                                                                  all genders.                                  The theme of IWD2020 (8 March) was
                                                                                                                ‘Each for equal: an equal world is an
                                                                 We are recognised as an Employer               enabled world’, and we focused our
                                                                 of Choice for Gender Equality by the           celebrations on the achievements of
            Robyn Ayers
                                                                 Workplace Gender Equality Agency               women in startups. In Melbourne, just
                                                                 (WGEA). We challenge the status quo            before the first COVID lockdown, we
                                                                 when it comes to gender equality.              heard from guest speakers Tessa Court
                                                                                                                (IntelligenceBank), Kate Johansson
                                                                 We continued our support for the
                                                                                                                (KOJA Health), Sallie Jones (Gippsland
                                                                 Diversity Council Australia, and
                                                                                                                Jersey) and Natasha Mandie (corporate
                                                                 were delighted to carry on our close
                                                                                                                advisor and investor). In Sydney, our
                                                                 relationship with DCA during its
            Danielle Davis, Kate Gould,                                                                         planned IWD event just two days
                                                                 10-year anniversary in 2020.
            Courtney Daunt                                                                                      later could not go ahead due to the
                                                                 We ran, co-presented and sponsored             escalating pandemic.
           importance of supporting the legal rights             a number of events through 2020 to
           of Indigenous artists. We also learnt more            facilitate discussion on these issues          Promoting gender
           about how we are supporting Indigenous                and to create a focused conversation
           communities with pro bono work in wills               in areas where gender inequities are
                                                                                                                equitable briefing
           clinics.                                              experienced. Here is a snapshot of             We continue to endorse the Law
                                                                 some of these events.                          Council of Australia’s Gender Equitable
           Also in 2020, we were delighted to begin our
                                                                                                                Briefing policy, and to advocate
           pro bono relationship with the Wik and Kugu
           Aurukun Art Centre in far north Queensland
                                                                     Supporting women and                       for gender equality within the legal
                                                                                                                profession. The policy provides a
           under the ‘Adopt a Lawyer’ program with                   children escaping family                   straight forward way in which to
           Arts Law, Australia’s independent national                violence                                   consciously consider briefing or
           community legal centre for the arts. Under
                                                  Wik and Kugu Arts Centre                                      selecting women barristers.
           the agreement, we have committed toAurukun Shire Council  Together with our client Parramatta
                                                  39 Kang Kang Road
                                                    Art QLD 4871Mission, we held a virtual panel
           provide pro bono legal services to theAURUKUN,                                                       We hosted a panel discussion in
                                                  T: 07 4060 6843
           Centre, particularly in employment, corporate             event to raise vital funds for Thelma
                                                  E: arts@aurukun.qld.gov.au                                    February 2020, ‘Gender Equitable
           governance, intellectual property, contracts              Brown Cottage, an accommodation            Briefing: in conversation with
           and debt recovery.                                        program for women and their children       representatives of the legal profession’.
                        Artwork Certificate                          escaping domestic and family violence.     This drew on perspectives from the Bar
                                                                     The panel included Georgie Dent –          and the Bench, as well as from clients
                                                                     journalist, editor, author and executive   and private practice. Partner Anastasia
                                                                     director of The ParentHood, a not-for-     Coutsouvelis facilitated the discussion
                                                                     profit parent advocacy group; and Lisa     with Michelle Britbart QC, barrister; The
                                                                     Annese, CEO of the Diversity Council       Honourable President Justice Chris
                                                                     Australia and regular media contributor,   Maxwell AC, Victorian Court of Appeal;
                                                                     including to the ABC’s The Drum.           and Maria Palamara, Senior Legal
                                                                                                                Counsel of WorkSafe Victoria.
                                                                 Georgie and Lisa discussed what we
                                                                 all can do to move towards eradicating
                                                                 violence against women and children.
                                                                 Partner Fay Calderone hosted the
                                                                 event and wrote an illuminating article
Judy PamtooTitled:
           nda         Bushfire
                                                                 about why now is the time to help.
               Artist: Judy Pamtoonda
1977

Wik-Mungkan

Walangal
           4
Apalech

Bushfire
Together Better - Hall & Wilcox
Support for parents                             LGBTIQ+ inclusion                               Recognition for Diversity
and carers                                      We participate in the LGBTIQ+ Professional      & Inclusion initiatives
                                                Services Interfirm Networking cohort.
We provide different options to support                                                         We were honoured to win the ‘Excellence
                                                We continue to be the pro bono legal
families, for example taking personal                                                           in Workplace Culture, Diversity & Inclusion’
                                                provider to the Victorian Pride Centre,
(carers’) leave, using annual leave, working                                                    category at the Hunter Business Awards.
                                                allowing us to share our legal expertise
flexible hours or reducing workload during                                                      It was great to be recognised for our
                                                and demonstrate our commitment to
COVID to support parents with home-                                                             workplace culture throughout the legal
                                                celebrating and protecting equality. The
schooling. We also provide Eldercare and                                                        industry and in this case within Newcastle,
                                                Centre seeks to become and create the
Childcare kits with useful resources.                                                           where one of our seven offices around
                                                largest LGBTIQ+ community hub in the
                                                                                                Australia is located. The award celebrates
                                                southern hemisphere.
                                                                                                a business in the Newcastle-Hunter
                                                                                                region that has implemented strategies
                                                Providing accessibility                         and initiatives to create a stimulating and
                                                During the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation         supportive workplace environment that
                                                and diminished services have greatly            has a positive impact on its people and the
                                                impacted the lives and wellbeing of people      organisation as a whole.
                                                with disabilities within Australia and across
                                                                                                We were also selected, nationally, as
                                                the world. It is more important than ever for
                                                                                                an Employer of Choice by Australasian
                                                us to raise awareness about the rights of
                                                                                                Lawyer. Among the criteria for this award
                                                people with disability.
                                                                                                was demonstrating a genuine commitment
                                                One of our events in 2020 was a panel           to creating and maintaining a diverse and
                                                discussion for International Day of People      inclusive workplace.
                                                with Disability. Our guests included Kirsten
                                                Deane, Dr Dinesh Palipana and Tricia
                                                Malowney OAM. The panellists shared
                                                their own stories, as well as discussing
                                                how they think COVID-19 has affected
                                                people with disability.

  Photos of Briele Heath’s daughters –                                                           Albert Ponte, Anna Bailey, Bronwyn
  Ceci (top) and Anja (bottom)                                                                   Scott and Clare Campbell
                                                 Nathan Kennedy
  enjoying a virtual art and home
  economics class

2020 was the year we introduced the
Hall & Wilcox Virtual School Holiday
Program to support parents/carers. We
worked with an external provider, Kids           Tricia Malowney OAM
Unlimited, to deliver the program.
With the closure of childcare centres in
Victoria for six weeks, we were quick to
realise that our people with young children
may have been struggling to juggle work
and family during this time. To provide
support, we communicated several                 Kirsten Deane
options, including taking personal (carers’)
leave if available, using annual leave,
working flexible hours or reducing their
workload during this period.
To help families stay active during lockdown,
we ran Family Fitness virtual classes, in
partnership with PR Performance.                 Dr Dinesh Palipana                              Bronwyn Scott accepting the award

                                                                                                      Diversity & Inclusion year in review 5
Together Better - Hall & Wilcox
Community

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                    1. Left to right: As part of our
                       contribution to bushfire relief work
                       across Australia, we worked pro
                       bono with Magda Szubanski and
                       Will Connolly on a Go Fund Me
                       page, which raised more than
                       $150,000 to assist with ongoing
                       mental health support for bushfire
                       victims and their families.
                    2. We were delighted to be involved
                       in the Mothers’ Day Classic, Sleep
                       at the G and a number of other
                       charitable events to support health
                       and community wellbeing.
                    3. We learned how to improve
                       our mental wellbeing through
                       a ‘Your Mindset’ webinar with
                       Chelsea Pottenger, Director at EQ
                       Consulting Co.
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                    4. Leanne Greville and her son Alex
                       participating in the Mothers’ Day
                       Classic together.
                    5. We supported the Women’s T20
                       World Cup by hosting an event to
                       promote and purchasing 130 tickets
                       for our people, friends and family.
            6       5. To give back to our communities,
                       we sourced client gifts from
                       businesses impacted by the 2020
                       bushfires.

                                Stay updated on all things
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                                wellbeing by joining our
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