Experience
Rebecca McMahon is Special Counsel - Pro Bono and Community at DWF, where she leads the firm’s commitment to social impact through pro bono legal services and community engagement. She is responsible for shaping and delivering DWF’s pro bono strategy in Australia, building strong partnerships with community legal centres, not-for-profit organisations and advocacy groups, and ensuring that legal support reaches people and communities who face systemic barriers to justice.
Rebecca’s practice spans a broad range of public interest legal work. She represents clients in appeals before the Administrative Review Tribunal in relation to decisions about supports funded under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, judicial review of migration law matters in the Federal Circuit and Family Court, and discrimination claims.
Rebecca partners with community legal centres to provide advice in consumer credit and debt matters, support clients through employment and harassment conciliations, and assist refugees and asylum seekers with protection visa applications and ministerial intervention requests. Additionally, she collaborates with community legal centres and not-for-profit organisations to develop accessible legal information resources that empower people to better understand and navigate the legal system.
A key part of Rebecca’s role is connecting volunteer lawyers across the firm to a broad range of pro bono opportunities and building their confidence and capability to work with clients experiencing marginalisation to navigate challenging legal issues. She supports lawyers through training, mentoring and collaborative partnerships that make pro bono work both impactful and sustainable.
With a background spanning private practice and the community legal sector, Rebecca has advised financial services firms, charities and not-for-profit organisations on a range of regulatory and operational matters. She has also held senior leadership roles in community legal centres, overseeing legal services across Victoria and New South Wales that improve access to justice for individuals experiencing disadvantage and the organisations that support them.
Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Business, a Master of Public and International Law, and a Graduate Certificate in International and Community Development.
Please note: DWF’s pro bono team does not accept direct referrals from individuals. All pro bono matters are referred to us through our established community partnerships and referral pathways.
Memberships
- Queensland Law Society