Mr Matthew Atkinson

Matthew Atkinson has been involved in the university environment for a good proportion of his life.  In his early teenage years he delivered the local newspaper at Charles Darwin University.  In 1994, after graduating from high school, he commenced studying economics at the University of California Santa Cruz.  Homesickness pulled him back to Australia and he returned to Charles Darwin University and completed a Bachelor of Business with a major in management in 1999.  After a short stint in the banking sector in Melbourne, Victoria he commenced studying law and completed Bachelor of Law and Legal Practice (Hons) at Flinders University in 2004.

In his final year of studying law, he started working at the Northern Community Legal Service Inc, which operates in the northern suburbs of Adelaide.  Matthew has worked in the community legal centre sector for approximately 7 years, and ultimately took on the role of the principal solicitor at Northern Community Legal Centre Inc. During his employment in the sector, Matthew was the South Australian state representative for the National Association of Community Legal Centres in 2007, 2009 - 2010.

In 2011, Matthew commenced the role of Managing Solicitor: Legal Advice Clinic.  He has been involved in managing the day-to-day operations of the Clinic since its inception. In almost 5 years, the Clinic has involved over 300 law students, seen over 1,500 clients, run multiple community legal education seminars, and performed over $1,000,000 worth of pro bono work. 

In addition to managing the Clinic, he is also involved in clinical legal education teaching and scholarship.   He currently teaches the Legal Advice Clinic and Law Professional Placement capstone courses.   He has also published papers in the Alternative Law Journal, the Legal Education Review, UniSA Law Student Law Review, and Law Society Bulletin.  

Member of the Law Society of South Australia (since 2005), Member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (2009 - 2010), South Australian State Representative for the National Association of Community Legal Centres (2007, 2009, 2010)

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Business Northern Territory University

• Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice Flinders University

Work history

Managing Solicitor: Legal Advice Clinic, University of South Australia: February 2011 – Present

Principal Solicitor/Solicitor, Northern Community Legal Service Inc: December 2004 – February 2011  

Customer Relations Officer, Commonwealth Bank: April 1999 – November 2000