LSB September 2019_Web

IN HONOUR
Vale Damon Ind: A passionate
lawyer & animal rights champion
Empathy for the underdog and an
unwavering commitment to fair play
underpinned Damon Ind’s approach to law.
He has been widely described by colleagues
and magistrates as a compassionate man,
going out of his way to help defendants
who were trying to represent themselves
and showing mercy to people facing
allegations of terrible crimes.
Driven by the belief that our legal
system is weighted against people who are
already oppressed, Damon had ambitions
to become a magistrate. He felt that was
the role in which he could make the most
positive impact on his community. Sadly,
he did not live to fulfil this ambition.
The much-loved lawyer, known equally
for his larrikin nature and deep respect for
the law, suffered a fatal heart attack outside
the Stepney offices of his employer,
RSPCA South Australia, in June. He was
47 years old.
Damon launched his 14-year legal
career after graduating with a law degree
from Flinders University in 2005,
commencing practise at the Salisbury
offices of Nicholls Gervasi Lawyers.
His employment in Adelaide’s northern
suburbs continued with a move to Dixon
Gallasch Barristers and Solicitors at
Elizabeth South in 2007. It was here
that Damon cut his teeth in the area
of criminal defence, working under the
mentorship of Brett Dixon, who Damon
referred to fondly as his Atticus Finch.
During these two years Damon became a
familiar face at the Elizabeth Magistrate’s
Court, managing client files and acting as
defence counsel in summary, minor and
major indictable matters.
It was inside the Magistrate’s Court that
Damon met and fell in love with fellow
lawyer Jessica Kurtzer. Friends and family
have described the couple as soulmates.
A reputation for preparing thorough,
accurate briefs and establishing solid
rapport with diverse clients helped
Damon secure employment in Adelaide
firms Michael Woods and Co Barristers
& Solicitors and Tindall Gask Bentley
Lawyers, before he moved into the role of
Prosecutor for SA Police.
This switch to the other side of the
bench was not all smooth sailing for
Damon, whose empathy and compassion
for some defendants at times ran counter
to the expectations of him in the
prosecution role. After nearly two years
with SA Police’s Special Prosecution
Unit, Damon left the complexities and
constraints of law to work as a tiler at a
friend’s business.
It was the opportunity to take on a
position that united two of his life’s great
passions – animals and the law – that lured
Damon back into legal practice in 2016.
As RSPCA South Australia’s sole legal
counsel, he fronted court to give voice to
the voiceless animal victims of cruelty and
neglect. Disappointed that the law didn’t
appear to take animal welfare as seriously as
he believed it should, he was determined to
raise the bar for RSPCA to be considered a
significant prosecuting authority. Like many
people, he struggled to understand the cruel
treatment some people inflicted on animals
that they owned and claimed to love.
Colleagues who on occasion attended
court with Damon recall he brought
both kindness and a sense of calm to
proceedings, irrespective of what the
allegation against a defendant was, or who
was on the other side. Despite the often
heavy nature of the animal cruelty cases he
prosecuted, outside of Court Damon has
also been remembered as an immensely
positive thinker with a contagious passion
for life and “the ultimate practical joker”.
Always generous with his time, Damon
provided pro-bono legal advice on many
occasions to colleagues and friends
and also gained a reputation for multiskilling
as RSPCA South Australia’s office
handyman and removalist.
Damon and Scooby
Outside of work, Damon’s priority
was spending time with Jessica and his two
sons from a previous marriage, Harrison
and Samuel. Weekends away with Jessica
and his sons, fishing and camping, were a
favourite escape from the demands of the
courts and the cases he dealt with.
Football was another of Damon’s
enduring passions. He played 189 games
for Hectorville football club and was
heavily involved in the club community,
filling coaching and mentoring roles.
He was proud to be named Best and
Fairest in the over 35s division in 2016.
Harrison’s membership of the “Heccies”
junior football team was a source of much
spoken pride, as he watched his eldest son
play with both determination and fairness.
Damon is survived by his partner
Jessica, sons Harrison and Samuel, mother
Pam, brother Travis, sister-in-law Joanna
and his rescue dog, Scooby, who regularly
came to work with him at the RSPCA. B
September 2019 THE BULLETIN 37