Our Team

Michele Tucker

Michele Tucker is a Clinical Solicitor and Academic at Deakin Law School. Michele is the Principal Solicitor and Coordinator at Deakin Law Clinic and leads our Family Law Practice.  Michele has over 30 years’ experience in the legal industry, working as a law clerk and in management prior to being admitted to practise law in 2008.  Michele has practised in the areas of Family Law, Child Protection, Family Violence Intervention Orders, Property Law, Civil Litigation and Wills and Estates. 

Michele teaches in Family Law, Legal Ethics, Clinical Legal Education and Succession Law.  Michele holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts (with Distinction) from Deakin University.  She is a member of the Law Council of Australia – Family Law Section, Geelong Law Association and the Law Institute of Victoria.

Rebecca Tisdale

Rebecca is a Clinical Solicitor and Academic at Deakin Law School.  Rebecca leads our Employment Law Practice at Deakin Law Clinic.  Rebecca is passionate about assisting employees to understand and enforce their workplace rights in a broad range of matters including termination of employment, underpayment of wages and entitlements, and disciplinary processes.  Prior to joining Deakin Law Clinic, Rebecca was an Associate at a leading international law firm, working in both Melbourne and London.

In addition to her work at Deakin Law Clinic, Rebecca also manages Deakin Law School’s Work Integrated Learning programs and coaches the School’s Vis Moot team.  Rebecca has research interests in precarious employment and its representation in public discourse.Rebecca was honoured as the winner for the Not for Profit Lawyer of the Year, Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards, 2018.  She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts from Deakin University and obtained her Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from The College of Law.  She is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria, the Industrial Relations Society of Victoria and the Moot Alumni Association.

Sam Hawkins

Sam Hawkins is a Clinical Solicitor and leads our Civil Law Practice at Deakin Law Clinic. Sam is also a  Community Lawyer and has practised for over a decade in the community legal sector and in private practice. He has extensive experience working with some of the most socially and economically disadvantaged clients experiencing mental health, drug, alcohol, and homelessness issues. During this time, Sam has developed extensive knowledge in a broad range of practice areas.

Sam prides himself on his patience and understanding of client needs. He understands that good communication can help resolve many issues, and this has led to him to also train as a mediator, providing him with further skills and insight into resolving disputes. Sam holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts (with Distinction) from Deakin University and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice. He is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria and Geelong Law Association.

Mel Cox

Mel Cox is a Clinical Solicitor and leads our Criminal Law Practice at Deakin Law Clinic. Mel is also a Partner at Geelong Lawyers Barristers & Solicitors, a leading criminal defence law firm.  

Mel is a passionate and empathetic lawyer who is driven to achieve the best possible outcome for her clients. She is an articulate communicator who quickly builds rapport and confidently guides her clients through the complexity of the legal system. 

Mel appears in court, as a solicitor-advocate, in a variety of criminal cases across all jurisdictions, including the Magistrates’, County, Supreme Court and Children’s Court of Victoria.  She has represented clients charged with drug trafficking and cultivation, fraud, firearm offences, culpable driving, homicide, assault, and serious sex offences. 

Mel holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Deakin University and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice. She is also a member of the Law Institute of Victoria and Geelong Law Association.

Nicole Siller

Nicole Siller is a Senior Lecturer in Deakin Law School and leads our Policy Advocacy Practice at Deakin Law Clinic. Prior to joining Deakin, Nicole was appointed Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She prosecuted cases involving violence, firearms offences, drug trafficking, sexual offences and fraud. Her final assignment was a specialised position responsible for the vertical prosecution of nonfatal shootings. She also served on an FBI Task Force investigating violent criminal organisations. 

Nicole teaches in the area of criminal law and practical legal skills. Nicole served as the Director of Work Integrated Learning for the Faculty of Business and Law at Deakin from 2019 – 2021. During that time, Nicole and Karen Powell received funding to design, develop and pilot the Policy Advocacy practice area of the Deakin Law Clinic.  Nicole received her Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from Purdue University in 2004, her Juris Doctorate from the University of Toledo College of Law in 2008 and her Doctor of Philosophy in law from the University of Groningen in 2017. She is licensed to practice law in the US, eligible for a practicing certificate in Victoria, and holds a graduate certificate of higher education from Deakin University.

Karen E. Powell

Karen E. Powell is a Senior Lecturer at Deakin Law School and leads our Policy Advocacy Practice at Deakin Law Clinic.  Prior to Karen’s appointment at Deakin Law School, she taught Tax law and Clinical Legal Education in the United States.  At Deakin Law School, Karen teaches in both Tax law and Clinical Legal Education.

Before entry into academia, Karen was a practising attorney and litigator for over 15 years, including serving as an appointed tax judge, civil litigator, and executive manager for large regulatory institutions.  Karen served as Montana’s chief tax judge and managed state tax trials for over eight years, overseeing hundreds of trials, and thousands of matters.  She also served as a substitute Justice of the Peace and an appointed Commissioner for the Uniform Law Commission.  Prior to those appointments, Karen served as Montana’s Deputy Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, as well as litigating on behalf of the Montana Attorney General’s Office.  Her research relates to regulatory law and policy in tax, securities, and insurance.Karen holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University, a Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School and is finishing her Masters of Science (Taxation) at Oxford University.  She is licensed to practice law in the US, eligible for a practicing certificate in Victoria, and holds a graduate certificate of higher education from Deakin University.  

Loraine Innes

Loraine Innes is the Deakin Law Clinic Support Officer.

She has previously worked for Legal Aid Victoria, preparing a variety of documentation for solicitors, including briefs to counsel, costing files, and client facing work – triaging potential client matters, and referring to LAV approved firms where required.  Loraine has many years of experience as an administrator in areas such as banking, shipping, professional associations, recruitment, vocational training, higher education, and local government.She holds an Associate Diploma of Business and a Diploma of Community Services Co-ordination.