Mills Oakley has a proud tradition of assisting vulnerable members of the community to protect their rights. For many years, we partnered with Australia’s leading humanitarian law firm to provide pro bono services to the “missing middle.”

The term “missing middle” describes the growing number of low to moderate income earners in Australia who are ineligible for means-tested Legal Aid services but are unable to afford a private lawyer. To access the legal system, the missing middle often must make a difficult choice between incurring substantial financial hardship, self-representing or abstaining from pursuing their legitimate legal claims altogether.

After many years of collaboration and building expertise in this space, Mills Oakley took the step in January 2021 of launching our own not-for-profit law firm dedicated to supporting the missing middle. This firm, known as Everyday Justice, is staffed by lawyers with very significant experience in the social justice sector, together with volunteer law interns who wish to pursue legal careers in social justice and public interest law. Everyday Justice operates from every Mills Oakley office throughout Australia, with local MO staff and partners supplementing the Everyday Justice team with their own expertise and mentorship.  Everyday Justice has developed a specialised model whereby free legal services can be provided to eligible clients through the use of technology irrespective of location, making the service completely accessible to people living in regional, rural and remote areas, as well as those living in cities.

Everyday Justice operates in collaboration with The College of Law and many charities across Australia. If you are interested in working with Everyday Justice or you need pro bono advice, please visit the Everyday Justice website at this location.

Acknowledgment of Country

Mills Oakley’s offices are located on the traditional lands of the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation (Melbourne), Gadigal People of the Eora Nation (Sydney), Turrbal and Jagera/Yuggera Peoples (Brisbane), Ngunnawal Peoples (Canberra), Noongar Whadjuk Peoples (Perth) and Kaurna Peoples (Adelaide) who are the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters on which we live and work. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

Reconciliation Action Plan

Every Australian business has a responsibility to engage meaningfully in the journey towards reconciliation. Mills Oakley is committed to taking steps to building relationships with First Nations Australians and building cultural awareness in the broader community.

Our Reconciliation Action Plan is the firm’s strategy for engagement in the reconciliation process across a range of focus areas including cultural awareness within Mills Oakley, creating employment and supplier opportunities with First Nations Australians and maintaining the systems needed to track, measure and report on our progress against our Plan.

Please click here to view our 2022 Reconciliation Action Plan.

Mills Oakley is not content to stand still. We are continually raising the bar on service standards by undertaking feedback sessions with clients to learn how we can further refine service levels.

Our client feedback has told us that clients value our technical skills, accessible culture and competitive pricing. Our lawyers are committed to providing easy-to-use advice and absolute transparency in all aspects of our client relationships.