PRO BONO IN THE NEWS: November – December 2016

Below you can find articles of interest to the pro bono community that have been published since our last edition. Click through to read any news article in full.

You can also follow the latest news in pro bono from Australia and around the world by following the Centre on Twitter: @AusPBC

AUSTRALIA

• Firm Bolsters Culture with Pro Bono Focus
  15 December 2016 – Lawyers Weekly
  Russell Kennedy Lawyers says a stronger focus on completing pro bono work has boosted the overall health of its practice and its lawyers.

• Australian Law Firms Call for Reversal of Community Legal Centre Funding Cuts
  12 December 2016 – RN Breakfast
  In an open letter collaborated on by Henry Davis York, Colin Biggers & Paisley, and Lander & Rogers, the law firms say the impending cuts present serious risks, not only to the capacity of the legal sector to assist low income and disadvantaged people, but to the ability of law firms to deliver pro-bono work to the community.

• Why Gilbert + Tobin partner Steven Glass wants more Frank Lowys
  8 December 2016 – Australian Financial Review
  Gilbert + Tobin partner Steven Glass has developed and led the firm’s pro bono refugee practice. As a nominee for the Human Rights Award for law, Glass speaks to the Australian Financial Review about pro bono work at the firm.

• Three Firms Unite to Boost Practice Capabilities
  7 December 2016 – Lawyers Weekly
  Lander & Rogers, Henry Davis York and Colin Biggers & Paisley have collaborated to roll out a seminar series for law firms with emerging pro bono practice capabilities.

• Weekly Deals Roundup: Ashurst Advises Non-Profit Financial Organisation Pro Bono
  2 December 2016 – Australasian Lawyer
  Ashurst is advising Good Shepherd Microfinance on a pro bono basis, and will act as an independent program governance adviser as leaders from government, business and education develop plans to promote financial inclusion and resilience for two million vulnerable Australians experiencing severe financial stress.

• ACT Law Society Urges Ongoing Funds for Legal Aid to Help Vulnerable Canberrans
  25 November 2016 – The Canberra Times
  The ACT Law Society has renewed pressure on the federal government to reverse harsh cuts to the legal aid sector to ensure continued access to justice for vulnerable and disadvantaged Canberrans.

INTERNATIONAL

• CARIBBEAN: Caribbean Lawyers Form Group to Offer Social Justice, Pro Bono Services
  12 December 2016 – Caribbean News Now
  Over 40 lawyers from 13 Caribbean countries have answered a call to provide pro bono legal services to inadequately served populations that are especially vulnerable to human rights abuses and are most vulnerable to HIV.

• UK: LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards Celebrate Pro Bono Champions
  12 December 2016 – Law Careers
  On 5 December 2016, the LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards celebrated excellence in legal pro bono undertaken by organisations and individuals across nine categories.

• US: Law Firm Offering Free Legal Advice To Electors Who Don’t Want To Vote For Trump
  7 December 2016 – The Huffington Post
  The law firm Durie Tangri offers pro bono legal assistane to Electoral College members who may be consider breaking the will of the people.

• UK: Ashurst Trainee wins Pro Bono Award
  7 December 2016 – Lawyer 2B
  Frankie Boon won LawWorks’ Junior Lawyers Division pro bono award after putting in almost 400 hours of unpaid effort on behalf of different clients.

• UK: Let Graduates Represent Litigants in Person – Master of the Rolls
  6 December 2016 – The Law Society Gazette
  Law graduates could help plug the widening access to justice gap by representing litigants in person in court proceedings Sir Terence Etherton, the new master of the rolls, has suggested.

• US: Houston Legal Community Raises $725K for Pro Bono
  30 November 2016 – Texas Bar Blog
  The Houston legal community raised more than $725,000 for pro bono at its annual fall event this month. The money goes to support Houston Volunteer Lawyers, a project that provides free legal services for veterans, the elderly, those with disabilities, and other low-income individuals in the community.