Issue 124: December 2017
Q&A with Sue Garlick and Linda Macpherson, LawRight
In our August newsletter, we paid tribute to Tony Woodyatt as he stepped down as LawRight’s (formerly QPILCH) first director. In this issue, we speak to his successors, joint directors Sue Garlick and Linda Macpherson, about their new role and how they view the future of LawRight and pro bono in Queensland.
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Q: How did you first get involved with LawRight? What changes have you seen over this time and what are the challenges you will face?
A (Linda): I was seconded to QPILCH from Clayton Utz from 2003-2005 to establish and supervise the Consumer Law Advice Clinic. After working in an in-house corporate role, I rejoined QPILCH in September 2016.
(Sue): I started at QPILCH in 2006 with the Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic, establishing regional practices and responding to systemic issues, and have been here ever since in various roles.
(Linda and Sue): QPILCH was a small, agile, exciting and effective organisation that has rapidly grown. It has always been highly responsive to access to justice gaps, but the challenge now is to ensure our growth is sustainable. Pro bono practices in firms and in the community legal sector have matured and government funding remains unreliable. Ensuring that vulnerable client groups aren’t left further behind by the impact of disruptive technologies is one of the biggest challenges ahead.
STORIES IN THIS ISSUE:
Q: What are you hoping to achieve as Joint Directors?
A (Linda and Sue): We’re just about to publish our new strategic plan with a focus on deeper engagement with our member law firms and barristers, ensuring client-centred services and maintaining LawRight as a reliable and valued voice in the access to justice space. Caring for staff with limited resources is also a priority. Demonstrating an effective joint leadership model will also be a valuable personal achievement.
Q: What effect has the cease of emergency funding from the Department of Justice and Attorney-General at the end of September had on LawRight?
A: LawRight is receiving approximately $400,000 less of annual government funding. We have had to shut down some effective services, such as our Townsville office and our LegalPod program.
It is frustrating to lose staff and the pro bono resources leveraged by these services, to the detriment of our clients, but we have taken the opportunity to rethink and restructure our services.
Funding community legal services needs to be a whole-of-government responsibility, as health, housing and community budgets benefit from our services, not just the “justice” budget. We also spend a lot of time explaining that legal problems are clustered and you can’t effectively address disadvantage by cherry-picking one legal issue or one client type and funding that in isolation.
Although pro bono is a small part of the solution to unfairness in our community, it is a vital and extremely cost-effective one.
Q: What do you wish other people knew better about LawRight?
A: LawRight is proof of how community-minded lawyers actually are. The generous, thoughtful and committed work of pro bono lawyers through LawRight services is humbling and brings real change to people who need it most.
Q: What is the future of pro bono legal services in Queensland?
A: It makes so much sense at every level of the profession. Improving the lives of vulnerable people is what many students “sign up” for at Law School.
Law students consistently preference clinical opportunities with LawRight, young lawyers benefit from the practice development offered through LawRight services, experienced and retired practitioners enjoy the satisfaction of “giving back”, and the judiciary are highly supportive. It will be the legal profession that keeps pro bono strong, growing and relevant.
LawRight is an independent, not-for-profit, community-based legal organisation coordinating the provision of pro bono legal services for individuals and community groups in Queensland.
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