A new leadership duo for summary crime and therapeutic justice

Elanor Peattie and Jen Black bring a shared commitment to improving and transforming the criminal justice system as they settle into job-sharing a key leadership role.

The pair were appointed as co-directors of summary crime and therapeutic justice in the criminal law directorate in May.

They oversee our day-to-day practice in Magistrates’ Courts and specialist, problem-solving jurisdictions across the state, alongside innovative project work.

Elanor and Jen note:

'For us it is an honour to co-lead the Summary Crime and Therapeutic Justice programs, working alongside people committed to achieving strong outcomes for clients, delivering positive interventions and making the system a little bit less harmful.

'Despite the current bail changes there remains a real opportunity to influence the system, particularly in the areas of therapeutic and restorative justice approaches and lived experience leadership.'

Leadership grounded in practice

For Jen, it’s a return to Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), after senior roles at the Centre for Innovative Justice and Fitzroy Legal Service.

‘I started my career at VLA in the New Lawyers Program, and then moved into the summary crime and appeals teams,’ Jen said.

‘That early criminal law work gave me an ethical compass which has guided my approach since then to system reform and leadership.’

Elanor moves into the co-director role after four years leading VLA’s therapeutic justice work as associate director of therapeutic justice and prior to that as managing lawyer, therapeutic courts.

‘We are fortunate at VLA to be part of an expanding network of therapeutic or solution-focused courts in Victoria. This gives us a unique opportunity to engage our statewide practice experience and work alongside people with lived experience of the justice system to ensure our services meet the needs of our clients,’ said Elanor.

Working together to showcase change

Both Jen and Elanor recognise the importance of demonstrating that job-sharing can work at the most senior levels of an organisation.

‘We are both grateful to have this opportunity. It’s a gift to have a great job, a job-share partner you value and respect, and an organisation that is committed to it working at a senior level,’ Jen and Elanor said.

‘We know how important it is to show that there are ways of working that enable people to do meaningful work and also have time for the other priorities in our lives.'

More information

Read more about our senior leadership team.