Cassandra Evans

Cassandra is a passionate climate law, litigation and class actions specialist who strives to obtain the best outcomes for her clients and the environment. She is committed to holding governments and corporations accountable for their environmental impact in an increasingly warming world.

Cassandra is acutely aware of the front line impacts of climate change being felt in Australia and seeks to use the law to effect real change for remote, First Nations and vulnerable communities. A focus on establishing trusted relationships and cultural safety is a priority in Cassandra’s practice in this sensitive area.

Prior to joining Slater and Gordon, Cassandra represented two Torres Strait Islander Traditional Owners in Australia’s first climate negligence action against the Commonwealth Government brought by First Nations people (Pabai v Commonwealth of Australia). She has also acted in cultural heritage proceedings against the State of Victoria in obtaining an injunction against the expansion of infrastructure over a culturally significant landscape including sacred birthing trees (Thorpe v Head, Transport for Victoria & Ors).

Achievements

Cassandra’s previous experience includes:

• Negligence class action alleging novel duty of care owed by the Federal Government to protect Torres Strait Islanders from harms of climate change;
• Shareholder class action arising following environmental disaster from collapse of iron ore tailings dam in Brazil;
• Urgent and permanent injunctions under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2006 (Vic) to protect sacred birthing trees at risk from the Western Highway Duplication Project;
• Settlement of large shareholder class action following company fleeing jurisdiction.

Cassandra has volunteered with community legal centres, the Prison Legal Education and Assistance (PLEA) project, and Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS). Publicly educated in regional Victoria and the first in her family to attend university, she is committed to helping young people in the industry and has presented to universities and engaged in mentoring programs with law students.