Vavaa Mawuli is a Principal lawyer based in Maurice Blackburn’s Brisbane office and leads the Class actions practice area.
Prior to Maurice Blackburn, Vavaa worked as a lawyer at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Sydney. During this time, she conducted significant cases, including a joint class action with Maurice Blackburn against the State of New South Wales regarding the wrongful imprisonment of children by police.
Her experience also includes advocating for Aboriginal workers deprived of wages and entitlements by past State governments, serving as a criminal defence lawyer in remote Northern Territory Aboriginal communities and for Aboriginal Legal Services in Sydney.
Since joining the firm in 2012, Vavaa has been an integral force in our commitment to dismantling barriers to justice for individuals who have suffered loss due to corporate and governmental misconduct.
Vavaa has also worked on a voluntary basis with many community organisations, where she has developed legal education resources for youth services and supported an organisation that advocates for the rights of women in the criminal justice system.
“I have dedicated my career in the law to working as an advocate for socially and economically disadvantaged members of the community,” says Vavaa.
Currently, she is a key lawyer leading one of Australia's largest class actions, representing those affected by the devastating flooding in South East Queensland in January 2011, which stemmed from the operation of the Somerset and Wivenhoe dams.
“The most rewarding thing about my work on class actions is the change in scale of what we are able to accomplish. We can use the legal system to redress injustices on behalf of victims of a mass wrongdoing, and at the same time use that system to force change and prevent further occurrences of the same wrongdoing.”
Vavaa is a determined and hardworking lawyer, driven by a commitment to social justice and the belief that the socio-economic status of an individual should not be a barrier to obtaining justice through the legal system.