Louise Goh: In pursuit of social justice
50 Years / 50 Voices: Learning law and changing lives is a commemorative volume marking the 50th anniversary of the ongoing Monash Law Clinical Program, a pioneering initiative in clinical legal education undertaken by the Faculty of Law at Monash University. 50 alumni of the Monash Law Clinical Program shared their story with 50 current students of the same program. This is an excerpt from the book.
Louise Goh is General Counsel for The Lost Dogs’ Home, one of Australia’s largest animal shelters and is also a professional musician. In 2022, Goh’s final year of law school, she completed two semesters of Professional Practice at Springvale Monash Legal Service. Goh says working with a small group of students helped provide her with career direction, offering practical experience that was starkly different from her heavily theoretical lectures. She says she ‘always had a pretty strong bent towards social justice and social causes’ and ‘I guess that Prof Prac experience was part of that broader kind of social justice arc.’ Goh has always wanted to contribute and give back where she can.
After graduating from Monash Law, Goh worked as an in-house lawyer in higher education and not-for-profit organisations, including the University of Melbourne from 2006 until 2021. Goh describes herself as ‘passionate about helping not-forprofit organisations to become a bit more commercially minded in their decisionmaking, their practices, to try and achieve their charitable purpose’.
In her first semester volunteering at Springvale Monash Legal Service, Goh provided general advice to clients. Her second placement was a specialist legal clinic operated in partnership with the South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault (SECASA). The centre focuses on assisting victim survivors of sexual abuse, including supporting applications for victims of crime compensation. A key highlight of Goh’s clinical experience was working with a supervisor who provided real-time feedback on her legal work, improving her understanding of law in a practical setting – a vastly different experience from law lectures where she had little opportunity for one-on-one instruction.
‘The practical aspect of it really resonated with me and probably shows in what I do now,’ she says. ‘I work in-house, so it’s not just about technical black letter law, it’s about applying your legal skills and your communication skills, and bringing people with you on the journey.’ Translating complex legal terms into layman’s terms is a crucial skill in Goh’s work. Goh started her career as a conciliator at Victoria’s Water and Energy Ombudsman. In 2006, she moved to the University of Melbourne’s inhouse legal team as a legal clerk. After her admission in 2011, she remained on in the legal team, and also volunteered at Footscray Community Legal Centre.
Read more about 50 years of Monash Law Clinics and buy 50 Years / 50 Voices here
At Melbourne, Goh’s practice focused on the university’s semi-autonomous departments, including assisting the university’s sports association with internal club governance matters, legal work for Asialink Business (which helps upskill small and medium enterprises doing business in Asia) and several partnership agreements with key external bodies as part of the university’s engagement activities. Goh states, ‘it was a place big enough that I could affect meaningful change, which was really exciting.’
In 2021, Goh was ready for a change and applied for a job at The Lost Dogs’ Home. ‘I had adopted two dogs from there at the time already, so it was almost like part of the family,’ she says. She became The Lost Dogs’ Home’s first commercial inhouse lawyer, operating as a sole practitioner. Drawing upon her extensive in-house experience, she built the necessary functions of an in-house legal department at the organisation, including responsibility for legal compliance, risk management and governance support. It’s a flexible and autonomous role, yet also demands strong team and people skills. ‘I try to help the business apply a more rigorous, commercially minded view to what it does,’ Goh says.
Goh describes her time at Springvale as ‘a really lovely, collegiate experience’. She worked during the Monday night service, and before the service started, she and her fellow law students would pool their money together for a meal.
Goh recommends current students work or volunteer somewhere to develop their practical legal skills outside of the classroom, including through Professional Practice. ‘It’s a great opportunity to get to practice some of those skills that you don’t get through law school and then you’re giving back too, which is amazing,’ she says.
Read more about 50 years of Monash Law Clinics and buy 50 Years / 50 Voices here
Get involved with Monash Law Clinics
Monash Law Clinics combine legal education with real-world impact, supporting access to justice while equipping students with practical, ethical and professional skills.
If you are a student interested in undertaking a clinical unit as part of your studies, explore the available clinical placements and elective options.
Whether you’re an alum, practitioner or organisation keen to support the clinics through hosting placements, partnerships, volunteering or funding, there’s a way to be involved. To learn more, contact Emily Collard, Industry & Alumni Engagement Manager, at emily.collard@monash.edu.