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ALA’s first national president acknowledged in Queen’s Birthday Honours List

17th Jun 2021

The first national president of the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) Mr Peter Semmler QC has been recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List, along with long-term ALA member Victorian workplace injury lawyer, Ms Liberty Sanger.

“We congratulate both Peter and Liberty for their inclusion in the Queen’s Birthday 2021 Honours list,” said Mr Graham Droppert SC, National President, ALA. “Peter and Liberty are both powerful advocates for people who have been injured at work or on the roads and are significant contributors to the ALA.”

Both Mr Semmler QC and Ms Sanger were recognised with Medals in the General Division of the Order of Australia (OAM).

Peter Semmler QC was the national president of the ALA (then known as the Australian Plaintiff Lawyers Association) for four years from 1994 to 1998, and received the organisation’s national Civil Justice Award in 2001.

“Peter was a founding member of the ALA and has continued his membership for more than 25 years,” said Mr Droppert SC.  “Peter was one of a small group of lawyers who came together to establish the organisation in 1994 because they identified a glaring imbalance in the resources available to defendants in civil litigation, compared with the resources available to plaintiffs and their lawyers.”

Liberty Sanger has been a workplace injury lawyer since 1997 and is a long-term member of the ALA. Liberty is currently national head of the personal injuries law division at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.

“Liberty is committed to helping people navigate the complexities of obtaining fair compensation after an injury and we are very pleased to see her contribution recognised,” said Mr Droppert SC.

“We congratulate all members of the legal profession whose contribution to the law has been acknowledged in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

“In particular, we congratulate Jill Prior from the Law and Advocacy Centre for Women. This organisation received the ALA’s Victorian Civil Justice Award in 2018 recognising the outstanding work it does to provide free, specialised representation for women in areas of criminal law, infringements and victims of crime assistance tribunal applications.”