Get to Know Your Council Member – Pip Monk

Director of Monk Lawyers, this Hobart-based criminal lawyer practises across all areas of criminal law, from pleas and trials to appeals. After a long career with Legal Aid, Pip Monk established her own firm in 2023 and has since grown a thriving practice. A member of the Law Society Council, Pip is passionate about supporting the profession and addressing challenges facing criminal law practitioners. Family, travel and time with her Labrador help maintain balance, while the guiding principle that “each of us is more than the worst thing we have ever done” continues to shape Pip’s approach to advocacy and justice.

Can you tell us a bit about your current role and the main areas of law you practise?
I am the director of Monk Lawyers, a specialist Criminal Law firm in Hobart. I have 3 lawyers who work with me, and we practice across the Magistrates Court and Supreme Court jurisdictions. I do all forms of criminal work, from pleas of guilty to trials and appeals and everything in between.

What first drew you to the law?
I was always interested in crime and criminal behaviour. My older brother is a police officer, and I thought I might do something along those lines – I had a ‘Detective Agency’ in primary school which was wildly unsuccessful – and I quickly realised that path wasn’t for me. All through Law School, my dream job was to be a prosecutor – something that anyone who knows me now has a little giggle about. Throughout my degree I was drawn to anything advocacy based, and by the time I finished Legal Prac I knew that I needed to be in the court room.

Could you share a little about your career journey so far and any key milestones along the way?
I worked at Legal Aid in South Australia straight out of Legal Prac, and loved it. I was placed at the Christies Beach Magistrates Court, and it was boiling hot most of the time, and we would zip down to the beach for lunch. I then moved back to Tasmania and did some time in Devonport where I worked with (now) Justice Tamara Jago SC and (now) Magistrate Katie Edwards, both who were absolute trail blazers and incredible mentors. I was at Legal Aid in Hobart for about 10 years before leaving to start Monk Lawyers in 2023. Starting my firm was a big leap of faith (anyone who contemplates leaving the safety of the public service knows the feeling!) but it was the best thing I have ever done. Running my own firm and growing it to where it is now has been hard work, but I would not change a thing.

What motivated you to join the Law Society Council?
I want to make the most of every chance I get to make a difference to our profession, and I felt that was far easier to achieve once I entered private practice. I had never really considered the role of the Law Society and the Council when I worked for the Government, and I quickly realised the importance of the organisation and wanted to be a part of it. I knew that there were going to be significant challenges approaching the profession in general and in particular for criminal lawyers, and I felt as though being on the Council would allow me to make the most impact.

What do you think are the biggest challenges currently facing the legal profession?
Attracting and retaining lawyers to work in criminal law is a serious challenge facing the Tasmanian legal profession. There are so few lawyers who take on the work, for various reasons, and we are at serious risk of the justice system grinding to a halt. This is particularly so in the North-West. Without proper, long term government investment in Legal Aid, the numbers of practitioners in the area will continue to fall.

How do you maintain balance and wellbeing in what can be a demanding profession?
I have two beautiful kids who take up most of my time outside of work. I prioritise spending as much time with them as possible, and being self-employed allows me to work fairly flexibly outside of Court hours. I do not take work home unless it is absolutely necessary, which I find it rarely is unless I am in a trial. Sunny, my Labrador, comes to the office every day with me, and she is a delightful reminder to get out into the fresh air. I love to travel with my family, and I don’t let being self-employed get in the way of that.

Tell us something about you that people might be surprised to learn.
I have a particular song that I listen to in the car every single morning if I am in a Supreme Court trial. It is totally unrelated to being in a trial, but I listened to it on the day of my first ever solo trial and now I am superstitious about it. I am also very bad at puzzles. Really, really bad at them.

Do you have a favourite book, podcast, or quote that inspires you professionally or personally?
I juniored Tamara Jago SC in a trial early in my career, and when we were waiting in the jury room for a verdict, we watched a Ted Talk by Bryan Stephenson – a death penalty lawyer in the United States (and the subject of the film Just Mercy which is as uplifting as it is devastating). In that robing room, I first heard what has gone on to be the phrase which I live by, professionally: “each of us is more than the worst thing we have ever done’. It was like a light bulb turning on in my brain, and that quote gets me through even the worst of criminal cases.

If you weren’t a lawyer, what career do you think you would have pursued?
I suspect I would have done something in music, teaching or a combination of both. I come from a very musical family – both of my parents were music teachers, and both of my sisters are music teachers. I love teaching and lecturing when I get the opportunity, and feel very comfortable in that setting, so that has always been my backup plan. I think the Legal Profession is stuck with me now, though.

Coffee or tea? Morning person or night owl?
My day usually looks like: Tea, Coffee, Coffee, Tea. Staple Coffee in Bidencopes Lane are the best in the biz, and they give Sunny treats, so you can’t beat that! I am neither a morning person nor a night owl, I think I am just a ‘perpetually tired human’.

July 2026

Pip Monk
Principal, Monk Lawyers