As a fourth-generation solicitor, Queensland Law Society President Peter Jolly has seen and heard how the profession is evolving and changing.
A Partner in Thynne + Macartney’s Business Advisory and Dispute Resolution Group, Mr Jolly has been an advocate for the profession and its standards through his involvement over time on the QLS Council and as a QLS Accredited Specialist in Business Law.
Through his council involvement, he gained a deeper understanding of what QLS does, and saw first-hand the impact it has on the profession and community.
And at the recent 2026 QLS President’s Dinner – his ‘official’ introduction to the legal and judicial community – the Society’s new leader, but no stranger to the law, outlined to guests, peers and fellow practitioners the issues for the coming year, including advocating for better rates.
“A high priority as 2026 unfolds is our continued advocacy for funding to increase the rates currently being paid to private practitioners delivering legally aided services,” Mr Jolly said.
“We see increased funding to the Legal Aid sector as an investment: in a vital service for so many vulnerable Queenslanders, to ensure they have access to timely, local legal help when it matters most, and in a justice system to avoid greater costs as a result of delays, more unrepresented litigants and further strain on frontline services.
“In addition, we will continue to advocate for further funding for ongoing improvement to Court security and access, and funding to continue and accelerate the ongoing program to digitise the Courts.
“These are just some of the issues of importance to the profession on which the Society, and Council, is already taking and will continue to take a leading role this year, as it should.”
Mr Jolly said the role that solicitors played in our communities was often overlooked or underplayed.
“Serving on not-for-profit boards, sporting clubs or school P&Cs to name a few, usually without fanfare or reward, in each case the community looks to lawyers for leadership and guidance,” he said.
“This is especially so in regional and remote communities where the local lawyer is deeply embedded.
“We should all champion these roles the profession takes in our communities, and encourage more to get involved.”
Mr Jolly acknowledged that those in the room were already active in championing the cause of active involvement in the profession and mentoring early career lawyers.
“At this point I would usually make a pitch about the benefits of getting involved with the QLS – but I realise that for many here tonight I would be preaching to the converted,” he said.
“But we all know a practitioner who could join a committee, help with policy work or present a paper at or chair an education event. We should be advocating for the profession by encouraging them to do so.
“So, these are some things every practitioner can do, every day. None of this is rocket science – but they are the foundations of what makes us a profession and what it means to be a legal professional.
“We know that early career lawyers need more practical training and guidance in those early years – and if that is not provided, the practitioner can develop bad habits or make errors, based simply out of ignorance, which become ingrained over time.”
Mr Jolly said he was “immensely fortunate to work with two wonderful lawyers and mentors – Ian Hodgetts at what was then Feez Ruthing, and my late father Lex Jolly at Biggs & Biggs”.
“Both were fine lawyers and inspirational in different ways,” he said.
“Neither shouted or threw objects at you (as some did in those darker days) but they managed to impart their knowledge of the law, and the courtesies and standards expected of a practitioner, quietly, firmly, and with humour.
“Working with my father for several years at Biggs & Biggs was one of the highlights of my career. I saw him there in a different light to just being Dad – he was a colleague and then my partner.
“He was one of those practitioners for whom everyone, clients and other lawyers alike, had a great respect, and it was a wonderful opportunity for me, as a young lawyer, to listen and learn.
“I am immensely grateful for that opportunity but acutely aware that not all practitioners are so fortunate.”
Mr Jolly said he believed that every single practitioner had the opportunity and obligation to lead the profession in a way to support the Society’s core purpose of serving the public good.
“It means doing the right thing, helping out, speaking out and getting involved,” he said.
“As lawyers, we are in a privileged position to make a difference, in the work we do and in the communities in which we live. With that privilege comes a responsibility to do the best we can do for our clients, to always act ethically and with integrity and to do the right thing.”
Mr Jolly said he was positive about the profession’s future and grateful for all the things that had eventually brought him to the role.
“The wise words of the rock legend and amateur philosopher, Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh resonate with me here: ‘Life’s been good to me … so far.'”
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