ABOUT GALS
ABOUT GOVERNMENT AND LEGAL SOLUTIONS
Founded by former Federal Member of Parliament Jenny Ware, Government And Legal Solutions (GALS) brings together Jenny’s experience across local, state and federal government with more than 25 years experience as a legal practitioner.
GALS provides practical legal, government and advocacy services, drawing on first-hand experience in private legal practice, local government and the Federal Parliament. Our approach is grounded in understanding how government works, how decisions are made and, importantly, how to achieve practical outcomes for our clients.
Our work is focused across three distinct areas: legal services, government and stakeholder engagement, pro bono and public-interest advocacy.
Legal Services
Jenny has specialised extensively in planning, development, environmental and local government law throughout her legal career, including significant experience in the Land and Environment Court of NSW. Jenny has successfully acted for major developers and builders including Mirvac, Stockland, Defence Housing Australia and Walter Corporation.
Her experience includes working with leading firms MinterEllison and Gilbert + Tobin, serving as a partner of a national law firm, becoming the inaugural in-house legal counsel at Hurstville City Council and later serving as the first Director of Legal Services at Georges River Council.
Jenny is particularly experienced in negotiation and mediation and takes a pragmatic approach to resolving planning and development disputes. During her stewardship of the legal team at Georges River Council, the team achieved a 95 per cent success rate in mediated development application appeals, with matters often resolved within six to twelve weeks of proceedings being commenced.
Jenny also served on the board of Urban Development Institute Australia (NSW) advocating for increasing housing supply, land releases and quality in NSW.
Today, GALS draws on that experience to assist clients across planning, development and housing matters, Land and Environment Court proceedings, environmental law and local government law.
Government and Stakeholder Engagement
GALS also provides government relations, stakeholder engagement and advocacy services informed by Jenny’s experience across all three levels of government.
As the former Federal Member for Hughes, Jenny worked extensively with individuals, businesses, community organisations and government agencies throughout the Sutherland Shire and Southern Sydney.
A lifelong Sutherland Shire resident, Jenny advocated for her community on federal matters such as NDIS My Aged Care, Centrelink, passports and visas through to planning, education, housing, traffic congestion, parking and major infrastructure.
Her work also involved the challenges associated with Sydney’s growing housing needs, including development, increased density, upzoning and the infrastructure and services required to support growing communities particularly in Southern Sydney.
GALS brings this practical understanding of government and community advocacy to its work with clients, helping them navigate government processes, engage effectively with decision-makers and stakeholders, and develop clear and persuasive approaches to complex issues.
Pro Bono and Public-Interest Advocacy
GALS also reflects Jenny’s longstanding commitment to public-interest issues and community advocacy.
Many of the issues Jenny advocated for in the Federal Parliament remain important to her today, although she now pursues them in a different capacity through her legal, professional and community work.
Her particular areas of interest include gambling reform, improving health outcomes for Australians, particularly people living with autoimmune diseases, women’s health, mental health, the elimination of violence against women and children, and protection of the natural environment, including the Royal National Park and local koala populations.
As an environmental lawyer, Jenny also maintains a strong interest in Australia’s future energy needs and supports a pragmatic approach incorporating new technologies, modern nuclear and renewables to ensure energy is affordable and reliable.
The GALS Approach
What distinguishes GALS is the breadth of experience behind the advice we provide. We understand legal practice, local government, parliamentary processes, stakeholder engagement and community advocacy because our team has worked within each of those environments.
We are a small, efficient and dedicated team, which allows us to work closely with our clients and tailor our approach to the circumstances of each matter. Jenny also has consultancy arrangements with larger mid-tier firms to enable GALS to properly resource any size project for clients.
Whether a client requires legal representation, assistance navigating government, strategic stakeholder engagement or support with a complex public-policy issue, our focus is on providing clear, practical advice and achieving the best possible outcome for clients.