Antonella Rodriguez (she/her)

Associate

Antonella commenced as an Associate in our Family Law team in February 2021. She has contributed significantly to our clients in both Parenting and Property matters. Antonella’s attention to detail, technical legal knowledge and client engagement is seeing her rapid development in the Family Law market. She enthusiastically applies these skills to assist selected clients on a pro bono basis.

Antonella began her Legal career as the Legal Associate to the Honourable Justice Berman in the Family Court of Australia where she gained significant experience and exposure to highly complex Family Law matters in both parenting and property over the course of two years. In this role, Antonella regularly assisted the Judicial Council on Cultural Diversity on a pro-bono basis.

Antonella conducted a literature review to inform the development of a guidance note to judicial officers regarding cultural considerations in Alternative Dispute Resolution which was published in the Journal of Judicial Administration in late 2018. The key areas of focus were the need to avoid tokenistic approaches to cultural diversity and the need for mediators and judicial officers to be aware of and sensitive to cultural matters that impact the success or failure of mediation. In addition, Antonella assisted with a review and analysis of State and Federal Modern Slavery legislation, to support development of a guidance note to judicial officers. She was further involved in the preparation of plain English interpretations for the Judicial Council on Cultural Diversity’s Legal Literate App. This is a resource for interpreters in the court and tribunal context which contained common legal and judicial terms with plain English explanations.

Antonella is committed to improving and promoting access to justice for all participants in the system but in particular for people of diverse backgrounds, including members of the LGBTQI+ community and people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds. She is an empathetic and compassionate advocate for her clients and she is committed to promoting realistic negotiated and conciliatory outcomes for her clients.

Antonella was selected as the Law Society of South Australia’s Young Lawyer of the Year award in 2021 in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the legal profession and to the community through her extensive volunteer work. She loves to give back to her community wherever possible.

In her spare time, Antonella enjoys paddle-boarding and laying in the sun like a lizard.

Education

2017 – Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, Australian National University

2016 – Bachelor of Laws (Honours), University of South Australia

Active Professional Memberships

Law Society of South Australia

Family Law Section, The Law Council of Australia

Women Lawyers Association SA

PRIDE IN LAW

Justice for Refugees SA

Committee & Community Representation and Philanthropy

RSPCA SA: Volunteer (Animal Care) (October 2021 to present)

National Parks and Wildlife Service SA: Volunteer Ranger (August 2021 to present).

Red Cross SA: Volunteer in Emergency Services/Disaster Response team and Telecross community outreach team (January 2020 to present)

Flinders Flames Women’s Football Club: Committee member (February 2019 to February 2020)

South Australian Young Lawyers Committee – Law Society of South Australia: Committee member (September 2019 to August 2020)

Publications

Antonella Rodriguez, “Literature Review: Cultural Considerations in Alternative Dispute Resolution” (2018) 28(2) Journal of Judicial Administration 122.

Volunteer research assistant to Ms Juliette McIntyre – “Mother and Infant Facilities at Adelaide Women’s Prison: A Cost-Effective Measure in the Best Interests of the Child” (2017, University of South Australia in conjunction with Women Lawyers Association SA).