Everyone can be a leader, according to new Queensland Law Society President Peter Jolly, who begins his term wanting others to consider what leadership means.
The former QLS Vice President and Thynne + Macartney Partner was elected as 2026 President in October, having been a Councillor since 2022.
His theme for the coming year is leading the profession – something he will elaborate on and emphasise during the year.
“That’s intended as a call to all practitioners, not just those who are on Council or have defined leadership positions, to be leaders in their own space,” he told Proctor in December before taking on the top job.
“That may be in their own firms, or communities, and it means stepping up to make a difference.
“I think every practitioner can give back. You don’t have to have been around for a long time to be able to do that,” Peter, who has been practising for four decades, said.
Peter started his association with the Queensland Law Society about 20 years when he was appointed as a member of the inaugural Business Law Advisory Committee, which then set up the Business Law Specialist Accreditation Program.
He then joined the QLS Specialist Accreditation Board in 2016, which oversees all the specialist accreditation programs, and in 2017 became its Chair.
“At that stage, I didn’t have any ambitions to be on council,” he said. “But in the lead-up to the 2021 election, I thought it was the right time to nominate for council both in terms of my career and what I thought I could offer to the profession. The law has been good to me and my family, and it seemed a good opportunity to give something back.
“When I was elected to council, I was slightly surprised to find that I quite enjoyed it.
“You just get a far deeper understanding of what the Society does and the impact it has on not just the profession but also the broader community and how important our relationships are with our key stakeholders, like the government.
“I have been very fortunate to be on council with some wonderful Presidents, starting with Kara Thomson, then Chloe Kopilovic, Rebecca Fogerty and this year with Genevieve Dee.
“They’re all outstanding people, with busy practices, much younger families than mine, and a myriad of other commitments, and I could see what a difference they were making.
“It’s easy to say ‘I don’t know how they did it’ but they did, due to an incredible work ethic and the support of the staff at QLS.”
Peter joined Thynne + Macartney in 2008 following the merger with Biggs & Biggs, a highly respected Queensland firm.
“Biggs & Biggs was founded by my great-grandfather TW Biggs in the early 1900s. So the firm continued under my great-grandfather, then my grandfather, then my uncle John Biggs, and then my father Lex when he married my mother (who is John’s sister),” Peter explained.
“I’m the fourth generation of the Biggs family to be admitted to practice in Queensland,” he said with pride. “My daughter Eloise is the fifth.”
“So I do have a very long association with the law through my family. When some people come to the law, they’re the only ones in their family who are lawyers and sometimes they are the first family member to go to a university.
“My family is definitely on the other end of that continuum. There are a lot of lawyers in my family, including my wife, brother, and brothers-in-law.”
So was there an expectation that Peter should join the profession?
“No, not at all. I think it was probably inevitable that I would go in that direction because I didn’t enjoy or understand the sciences at all,” he said.
“When I was looking at a career, there was never pressure to be a lawyer. My father was very realistic saying, well, if you’re going to be a lawyer, then you need to understand what the commitment would be – but I knew that because I’d seen him at home writing things out, in those days, in longhand, taking calls on Sunday, working very long hours.”
He also followed his father’s advice and completed his articles of clerkship and obtained good experience at another firm. He said he was very fortunate to have had excellent experience early on with good mentors.
“But in the end, after about three or four years, an opportunity came to join Biggs & Biggs, so I was able to work with Dad and see him as a practitioner and then as my Partner, which was one of the highlights of my career,” Peter said.
“He was wonderful lawyer and a great mentor to me and an example for me.
“He was one of those practitioners that everyone, clients and other lawyers alike, had great respect for, and if you just watched them, you would learn how a good practitioner operates. I was trying to absorb as much of this as I could by some sort of osmotic process.
“Despite the firm’s long association with my family, ironically it was me as then Managing Partner who pushed for the merger with T+M.
“They were very similar firms with a strong local history and that’s why the merger decision was quite easy, because the backgrounds were very similar in terms of being very well-established, well-regarded Queensland firms.
“We all had the same cultural values, the same ethos. I knew all the people at T+M were all incredibly well regarded. So I now think of myself as a T+M person than as a Biggs & Biggs person.”
And while daughter Eloise works at another firm (she is a Senior Associate at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer), and his sons have ‘broken the mould” taking different career paths, Peter had the privilege of moving Eloise’s admission in 2017.
“That was a wonderful thing to be able to do,” he shared. “It’s always very nice to move someone’s admission, but it’s particularly so when it’s your daughter.
“My father moved my admission, so I was proud to be able to move hers. I was glad she asked me!”
So why should early career lawyers and the next generation become involved with QLS?
“The QLS is a hub for practitioners, and we are always looking for support in things like committees to help shape a practice area, or in the education programs we run,” he said.
“Diversity is important for every organisation, including diversity of thought.
“But the main reason I think, and I hadn’t really appreciated this until I became involved in the council, is all the advocacy work that the Law Society does.
“That’s really a bit of a behind-the-scenes thing so far as most practitioners are concerned.
“The opportunity is there for a strong voice to be heard by government, and if you’re part of that process, then it’s a very fulfilling when you’ve contributed to change in the law for the public good.”
Peter also said the Society offered assistance through the ethics advisory service.
“There’s all sorts of assistance that the Society can give,” he said. “It’s really just about helping you become a better practitioner and that the Society is advocating for you and helping you.”
And Peter says the Society is currently helping practitioners with two big current challenges – AML and AI.
“Council obviously has a more strategic role, but in terms of the practical application of the new AML regime, Matt (Dunn) and his team at the Society are all over that,” he said.
“And obviously the other issue for the profession right now is the incredible development of AI. It’s like trying to grab a piece of smoke at the moment, given the pace of change.
“It’s obviously going to be a challenge for everyone – how we use AI, how it uses us and how we can use AI safely in our day-to-day practices.”
When not working or thinking about QLS matters, Peter unwinds behind the wheel of a BMW race car, driving the Budget Endurance Racing Series with four friends.
“We drive at racetracks around Australia in 20 to 24-hour races, usually over two or three days,” he revealed.
“We have a lot of fun. I enjoy the competitive side of racing and being able to do this with four mates. We have a great time pretending we’re 21 again and budding Supercar drivers. We’re the oldest team in the series by far but we love showing up the younger teams by beating them.
“The best part of it is when you’re in the car, when you’re driving, that’s all you can focus on. So it’s a good way to clear the head of all the stuff that’s going on at the time. You’ve just got to only think about how I’m getting from here to that corner and then around that corner.”
Without crashing?
“Without crashing. That’s the idea – sometimes it doesn’t work that way!”
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