Law Council of Australia

Legal Practice Section

Interview with Thomas Wright

Recipient of the 2025 Mahla Pearlman Award for the Australian Young Environmental Lawyer of the Year

Congratulations on receiving the Mahla Pearlman Award! What does this recognition mean to you personally and professionally?

Professionally, I saw the award as recognition from the Law Council that the work I’m doing is important. The area I work in is only going to grow in the public’s consciousness as the scale of the First Nations’ estate continues to grow. Personally, it also gave me a nice trophy to put on the bookshelf to claim a bit of space back from my wife’s many achievements.

What inspired you to pursue a career in environmental law, and how did that path unfold for you?

I was lucky enough to grow up visiting many First Nations communities across NSW. At the time I just saw it as a fun adventure where I got to meet lots of nice people and visit interesting places. As I got older, I realised that the people I met led very different lives to me, and as I got older still I began to understand why. Once you see that it’s pretty hard to turn away – so while I like to tell everyone that Legal Studies was my worst subject in the HSC, I think my career path was somewhat inevitable.

Can you tell us about a project, case, or initiative you're most proud of that contributed to this award?

The work I do helping First Nations communities use and develop their own land on their own terms is by far the thing I’m most proud of. It’s inspiring to see predominately voluntary organisations band together to come up with and implement big ideas to make a real difference to their community’s lives.

The award honours young lawyers who make a broader community impact — how have you engaged with the community or mentored others in this space?

Most people have no idea of the scale of the growing First Nations’ estate across Australia. I’ve lectured university students and given seminars to community groups and local councils on these and other Aboriginal Land Rights issues. Recently I’ve also become involved with the UDIA to get those with experience activating land to understand the opportunities of partnering with First Nations groups. I’ve been helping the UDIA to develop their own First Nations strategy and I was awarded a scholarship through the UDIA to work on improving First Nations engagement.

What do you see as the biggest legal challenges in addressing climate and environmental issues in Australia today?

An unwillingness to lead.

What advice would you give to other young lawyers who want to use their legal careers to create lasting environmental change?

It can take a long time to see the impacts of your work. You often won’t even know as we tend to just move from one problem to the next. Stop and take stock of what you’ve achieved, even if you’ve only been doing it for a short while. Celebrate the little wins because they often lead to big ones. And finally, treat everyone with respect, not just because it’s the right thing to do but because you never know where they’ll show up next in your life.

Last Updated on 19/08/2025

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