Gabrielle Canny (nee Cotton)

Gabrielle Canny (née Cotton, ‘72), describes her career in law, serving as CEO of the Legal Services Commission and leading national family law reform. Also developing the award-winning app amica, she used technology to make legal support more accessible for families.

Gabrielle in her own words:

‘Together with my six siblings, my parents enrolled me at Loreto when I was born. We lived locally and my parents believed in providing their children with the tools they needed to succeed in life, the most important being education.

My three brothers, Simon, Patrick and Ben, went to Loreto for their first two years of schooling and my three sisters and I for all our school years. Angela was in the same class as me, so we were often mistaken for twins. There was also Maryann, 4 years younger and Pip, 9 years younger. We lived close to Loreto and rode our bikes to school with our Loreto friends. My school days at Loreto were pretty similar to those of the current days. We had classes, sports, extra-curricular activities. Over the years we had assignments and exams. My sisters and I benefited from an all-girl school as we were encouraged and empowered to believe we could achieve any career we set our hearts on and were assisted by the teaching staff to get there.

I was accepted into Law at Adelaide University, along with a number of other friends from my class. I benefited from a Commonwealth Government scholarship that paid the University fees and gave me a book allowance. I took with me to university a passion for service and justice and joined the Newman Society, set up for Catholic students at Uni. I worked hard at my law degree, believing that everyone was equal and should be treated that way.

On graduation from Law School, I worked at a local law firm and then moved interstate and overseas for many years. I moved around Australia practicing the law and caring for my 4 children. In 1994 we moved to China for my husband’s job and I couldn’t work as a lawyer so lived the life of an ex-pat. The children attended International Schools and became fluent in Chinese. This was a great benefit to them when we returned to South Australia and they studied the International Baccalaureate.

When I returned to Adelaide I joined the Legal Services Commission, providing legal aid to people who could not afford to pay for a private lawyer. I worked there for 24 years, the last 12 as the CEO. Through my involvement with National Legal Aid, I led a specialist team of family lawyers from all around Australia working with staff at the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department on Family Law reforms. We created a national Duty Solicitor service and introduced anti-domestic violence reforms into the Family Law Act. 

As the availability of on-line resources and AI became apparent, I recognised the benefits that could be introduced to the legal system through the use of technology and developed an app called amica to assist people with relationship breakdowns and divorce.
amica empowers people to solve their family law issues in ways that suit their family, in the best interests of their children and within the law. This online dispute resolution app is very popular and the recipient of many awards. I was presented the 2024 Women in Innovation Award for innovation and entrepreneurship in Government, recognising the valuable contribution amica is now providing around Australia.

I have learnt that every career is a journey with many twists and turns. Now that I am retired, I have time to assist Boards and Committees with corporate governance. I will be joining the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee (FRAC), this month and love that I can now contribute my experience and expertise to the Loreto Marryatville Board.’