Sarah-Jane MacDonald and Craig Chapman elected deputy president and VP, respectively
The Queensland Law Society (QLS) has announced Peter Jolly as president-elect, Sarah-Jane MacDonald as deputy president-elect, and Craig Chapman as vice president-elect following its five-week-long council elections for 2025.
The newly elected QLS council will take office on 1 January 2026 and lead the Queensland legal profession over the following two years, with the next elections scheduled for September 2027, according to the law society’s news release.
In its news release, the QLS expressed gratitude to its members for participating in the elections, congratulated and acknowledged the candidates for their time and campaigning efforts, and stated that it was eager to work with the new council.
The law society’s website shared more information on the elected council members.
Jolly worked as a partner of Biggs & Biggs beginning in 1989; became a partner in Thynne + Macartney’s business advisory group in 2008, following its merger with his previous firm; and served as chairman of partners at Thynne + Macartney from July 2017 to June 2021.
He has been a QLS-accredited specialist in business law, an elected council member starting in 2021, a member of the inaugural business law specialist accreditation committee, and chair of the specialist accreditation board.
MacDonald is a family lawyer based on the Darling Downs and a director of Lifeline Darling Downs & South West QLD Ltd. She has served as a QLS ordinary council member and contributed to the domestic and family violence policy committee and the practice management committee.
Chapman is a Dentons partner, a member of its banking and finance team, and head of its Brisbane office. Appointed to the QLS council in 2024, he has been a member of the management committee council representative on the early career skills working group.
He has also actively participated in Bond University’s research project regarding the job readiness of law graduates.
The law society also named the following newly elected ordinary members of council for 2026–27:
