Harry Norman Freedman graduated in 1984 and commenced working as a Partner in the former firm of Milne Berry Berger Freedman from 1987 until its dissolution in June 2013.
He developed his practice in the areas of Litigation and Dispute Resolution and received an Accreditation as a Family Law Specialist when The Law Society first introduced the accreditation program in the early 1990s.
He has undertook qualifications in Collaborative Law as well as accreditation in Mediation from the Australian Commercial Disputes Centre (ACDC).
Harry was also a member of the Australian Institute of Credit Management, The Law Society Law Council and was nominated as the Pro-Bono Solicitor of NSW in 2011.
He previously was an experienced Arbitrator in the District Court of New South Wales.
Sadly, Harry passed away in April, 2015.
Harry was awarded the Law Society President’s Award for his Pro Bono work at a lavish ceremony held at Parliament House on Wednesday 29 October 2014, as part of the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW’s Annual Justice Awards 2014.
The Law Society’s Pro Bono Scheme offers assistance to individuals that aren’t eligible for Legal Aid, but don’t have the income to support full-fee legal services. The Law Society President’s Award is presented to a solicitor for their work under this scheme.
In his acceptance speech, Harry, who had previously been nominated for the same award in 2013, acknowledged the importance of assisting those less fortunate in the community. He stated that the giving of charity was a concept ingrained in his family life and also part of his Jewish culture. Over the years he has acted on numerous matters for those in need and was mostly successful in obtaining positive results.
He acknowledged the support of his partner and staff in assisting in being able to provide this service and encouraged all professionals to consider offering a certain amount of time per annum to provide similar assistance to those in need. He stated that, “rewards do not always have to be financial”.
The award given by the Law Society of New South Wales ought to better be publicised throughout the community to counter the few, but highly publicised instances when solicitors had acted poorly to the detriment of clients. He stated that, “the reputation of solicitors is often harmed by the greedy actions of a few members, as the vast majority of solicitors always act in the best interests of their clients”.
Even though he commenced a new partnership in his last 12 months, he and his partner were committed to putting back into the community and intended to continue on this path.
Harry’s Award was celebrated by members of the community, and the Jewish News quoted Harry as saying “there are so many stories out there in our city, it continually amazes me, and getting access to our legal system can often help to correct so many wrongs.”
