Get to Know Your Council Member – Renee Spencer

This month, we introduce Renee Spencer, Special Counsel at Wallace Wilkinson & Webster. Renee has more than 20 years’ experience in civil litigation and joined Wallace Wilkinson & Webster in 2026.

Her practice focuses on workers compensation, motor accident claims, civil litigation and professional conduct matters. She regularly appears in the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Supreme Court of Tasmania, and also acts for major insurers and Tasmanian regulators in regulatory and disciplinary matters.

With her breadth of experience across litigation, insurance and regulatory matters, Renee brings valuable practical insight to the profession and to her role on Council.

Can you tell us a bit about your current role and the main areas of law you practise?
Civil litigation with a focus on insurance, personal injury, and administrative and regulatory proceedings.

What first drew you to the law?
I had no grand plans to become a lawyer, I did a law degree because I was undecided about my career and thought it would be a useful degree to undertake.

Could you share a little about your career journey so far and any key milestones along the way?
I started with a focus on plaintiff personal injury and then changed firms to a focus with defendant and insurance work. Advising on both ‘sides of the fence’ has been invaluable to understanding the different perspectives at play. I also greatly appreciate the faith put in me by a former employer who sponsored me to undertake an adjudication course when I was about 6 years out. The role of acting as a statutory decision maker in adjudication proceedings has been an important aspect of my professional growth as a lawyer.

What do you enjoy most about practising law?
It is intellectually challenging and I am always learning.

What motivated you to join the Law Society Council?
The opportunity to engage with the wider profession, and particularly lawyers acting in areas of the law that I do not – such as criminal, family, and property and commercial. I think we all benefit as lawyers when we have a wider understanding of the law and the legal landscape outside of our own sometimes narrow focus.

What do you think are the biggest challenges currently facing the legal profession?
How best to support and mentor younger practitioners, particularly in the face of emerging AI effects, and retention of lawyers, especially mid-tier and in private practice.

How can members best engage with or support the work of the Council?
If you have a perspective or a concern, contact one of your local committee members to discuss.

What’s your top tip for early-career lawyers just entering the profession?
Don’t pigeon-hole yourself too early. Try as much as you can before deciding to go in a particular direction.

How do you maintain balance and wellbeing in what can be a demanding profession?
Remembering to say no sometimes. It is easy for work to take over so setting and maintaining personal boundaries to ensure family-time, exercise and rest is an ongoing goal.

What do you like to do outside of work to unwind?
Time with family and friends, cooking and entertaining, enjoying the beautiful outdoor environment that Tasmania provides.

Do you have a favourite book, podcast, or quote that inspires you professionally or personally?
“When they go low, we go high” – Michelle Obama’s call to respond to cruelty or negativity with integrity and purpose rather than retaliation.

Coffee or tea? Morning person or night owl?
Everything in moderation but my defaults are definitely coffee and staying up too late!

August 20206

Renee Spencer
Special Counsel, Wallace Wilkinson & Webster