David Manne has been the Achilles heel of asylum-seeker policy across several different governments.

But the biggest wound he’s ever managed to inflict came yesterday when, with the help of his legal team, he tore the heart out of the Gillard government’s asylum-seeker policy via a staggering six-to-one High Court victory.

As such, he has done what radio shock jocks, left-wing newspaper columnists, human rights advocates and everyday citizens couldn’t: he’s forced the government to abandon its plans to send asylum seekers to Malaysia. That is, unless it attempts to pursue extremely unlikely victories in the House of Representatives and the Senate to change the law.

So how did he do it?

Fundamentally, he drew on his incredible influence. He is the “go-to” guy for asylum seeker legal issues and he has connections across the legal world. He was also backed by the well-resourced Refugee & Immigration Legal Centre to embark on strategic litigation and halt the government’s plans.

His role was never to take an attacking position on the High Court front line — he has his team to appear in court — but rather to liaise with his clients on Christmas Island and drum up public support as a key media spokesperson.

That helped, according to Allens Arthur Robinson partner Malcolm Stephens, who acted pro bono on the case, because it meant that with Manne advocating the work on the outside, the six barristers and string of lawyers involved could get on with the job in court.

Meanwhile, Manne’s clearly got passion and determination (as one former colleague quipped, “he can’t be doing it for the money”), alongside the nous and connections to pursue what some might consider ambitious legal wins, as many viewed this particular High Court challenge.

“He’s highly intelligent, strategic, creative and innovative in his approach to litigation,” says long-term colleague and executive director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Phil Lynch.

“Where a lot of people would say ‘there no grounds for challenge’, David goes one step further.”

It’s that one step that counts. But it’s one that can only be taken with solid connections to create a powerful legal team, including the support of top-tier lawyers, highly competent barristers and the right amount of financial banking.

Such support is fundamental: his refugee centre employs just 14 staff, with three of them part-time. Although it’s the most well-funded provider of legal assistance to asylum seekers and disadvantaged migrants and refugees — it receives a combined $1.9 million a year from the Victorian and federal governments, according to The Australian — it could cause few dents in asylum-seeker policy without the assistance of more than 70 volunteers.

As former Liberal MP and refugee advocate Petro Georgiou tells The Power Index, these connections are what ultimately underpin Manne’s successful work. “One of his remarkable achievements is his ability to put together a top flight array of legal talent working on a pro bono basis,” he says.

Read the full report here.