Published on Wednesday 01, June 2022
CEO stepping down
After guiding our organisation through a significant period in its history, Inner Melbourne Community Legal CEO Damian Stock will step down later this year to take up a new role in regional Victoria.
Damian’s leadership and wisdom were instrumental in this year ensuring the successful merging of IMCL and Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre; an outcome that has consolidated and strengthened legal services for vulnerable communities across the city’s Inner North.
Damian led a passionate and resilient team that has responded to the many challenges of the pandemic and public health response to maintain a continuing high-level of service delivery.
This included times of peak crisis, such as the hard lockdown of the public housing towers in July 2020 and assisting increasingly isolated victim-survivors of family violence and those facing the pandemic without a home. Damian led an expert team that further integrated lawyers with health, education and homelessness partner organisations to ensure accessible and timely legal services as we entered the pandemic recovery phase.
It is no small achievement that, following this period of crisis and social upheaval, Damian was able to oversee a fair and transparent merger process that has honoured the histories of two much-loved organisations and leaves the new entity in a strong position to serve local communities. Today, the new IMCL boasts broad and deep capability, a sustainable business model and trusted relationships with partners and the communities that it works tirelessly for.
In the coming months Damian will move to the position of Chief Executive Officer at ARC Justice in Bendigo and Shepparton, where he will continue his leadership of the legal assistance sector with a focus on supporting central and northern Victorian communities. The move coincides with Damian moving with his young family back to Central Victoria, where Damian grew up.
The extended notice provided by Damian will ensure a smooth transition to an incoming CEO. The IMCL Board has now commenced a broad search for a visionary leader capable of continuing to maximise the potential of the newly-merged organisation, integrating law for community wellbeing and working on structural change for a fairer and more just society.
The IMCL Board looks forward to providing an update in coming weeks on the appointment of the new CEO to lead the next chapter for Inner Melbourne Community Legal.