By Jane Southward -
As head of the national organisation for people with eating disorders, Christine Morgan uses her legal skills to advocate for better services, research and knowledge of mental illnesses which she says are “tortuous” for sufferers and their families
Morgan, 57, joined the Butterfly Foundation in 2009 after more than 25 years working in company law, including a stint with Tooth & Co, one of Australia’s oldest companies which at the time owned breweries and hotels.
“In the 1980s, corporate legal officers were not the norm,” she says. “Since then, we have seen an evolution. I ended up as Company Secretary and often it was back-to-back work, major refinancing, top end of town, 20-hour days. I loved it. It was totally consuming and it was absolutely incredible to work with people who were really top notch, such as Tom Bathurst and Tom Hughes and lawyers in major legal firms. It was a lot of learning the hard way.”
After also working at Century Drilling then Telstra, Morgan moved into the not-for-profit sector at Wesley Mission and then the Butterfly Foundation, which is the 2018 Law Society President’s charity. Morgan describes a typical day:
“My day starts super early. I get energised with exercise, so I get up at 4.30am and go to the gym. It really clears the head. Then I hit the office. My day is people-centred and always involves a conversation with some of our staff, members of the senior leadership team or with external stakeholders.
