National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference 2008
The Law Council of Australia and the National Pro Bono Resource Centre, as the Australian Pro Bono Centre was then known, hosted the second National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference in Sydney on 14 and 15 November 2008. The theme for the conference was “Working Together”.
Below are copies of the papers presented at the conference. Copyright in articles is retained by individual authors.
Conference Papers
WORKING TOGETHER
Managing and Meeting the Needs of Self Represented Litigants
- The Accidental Tourist in the Land of the Law: Legal self-help for the unadventurous
Jeff Giddings, Professor, School of Law, Griffith University; Michael Robertson, Associate Professor, School of Law, Griffith University; and Merran Lawler, Senior Research Assistant, Socio-Legal Research Centre, School of Law, Griffith University
- Self-Representation
Tony Woodyatt, Director, Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House (QPILCH)
- Access to Justice – The State of Things in England & Wales
Robin Knowles CBE QC
- The US Experience
Susan Ledray, Manager, Self Help programs, 4th Judicial District Court, Hennepin County
Striving for holistic service delivery in the social welfare sector
- Striving for holistic service delivery in the social welfare sector. How do we improve lawyers working with others?
Mark MacDiarmid, Principal Solicitor, Elizabeth Evatt Community Legal Centre
Improving access to justice in regional, rural and remote Australia
- The Cooperative Legal Service Delivery (CLSD) Program
Jenny Lovric, Program Manager, Cooperative Legal Service Delivery Model, Legal Aid New South Wales
- How Big Is The Gap? – Restoring the Australian Legal Aid System
Tony Parsons, Magistrate
- Equitable access to justice
Dr Albin Smrdel, Assistant Secretary, Legal Assistance Branch, Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department
- The WA Country Lawyers Program
Jane Stewart, Director, Legal Practice Development, Legal Aid WA
Working Together – a macro and micro view
- AG’s Community Law Partnerships – Community Legal Centres and Firms Collaborating for Change
Annie Nash, Sector Development Officer, Federation of Community Legal Centres
- Working Together – QPILCH and the Private Profession
Joanne Rennick, Partner, MurphySchmidt Solicitors
- The NSW Legal Assistance Forum – A Model For Working Together
Caroline Seagrove, Project Manager, NSW Legal Assistance Forum
CURRENT ISSUES (2008)
Older Persons Legal and Education Programs
- Current issues – Older persons legal and education programs
Lauren Finestone, Legal Aid New South Wales
- Older Persons’ Legal and Education Programs
Ros Williams, Solicitor, Caxton Legal Centre Inc.
Legal Needs Research
- A new national policy for legal aid – who misses out?
Hamish Gilmore, Director, Legal Services Commission of SA
Forming the Agenda
- Commonwealth and State Governments’ Agenda
Frank E. Guivarra, Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service Co-operative Limited
Charters of Rights
- Access to Justice under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights
Philip Lynch, Human Rights Law Resource Centre Ltd
Working with Law Schools and students
- Advancing Law Student Pro Bono Activity via Extra-Clinical Private Pro Bono Projects
Professor Patrick Keyzer, Deputy Dean (Students & Curriculum), Faculty of Law, Bond University
- Working with Law Schools and Students: The challenges and triumphs
Andrea Perry-Petersen, Training Coordinator, Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House Incorporated
- Pro Bono and Law Schools
Professor Carolyn Sappideen, School of Law, University of Western Sydney
A Perspective from Bangalore – Impediments to Access to Justice
- Law in Theory vs. Law in Action: Impediments to Access to Justice
Vrinda Bhandari, IIND YR. B.A., LL. B. (HONS.), National Law School of India University, Bangalore, India
CIVIL & FAMILY LAW
Grass roots federal justice – the Federal Magistrates Court
- Working Together
Federal Magistrate Michael Baumann
- Grass Roots Federal Justice
Ian Kennedy AM, Chair, Family Law Section, Law Council of Australia
Are we protecting our children from harm and what have we learned?
- Are we protecting our children from harm and what have we learned?
Kylie Beckhouse, Legal Aid NSW
Funding civil litigation
- Rolls-Royce justice and the funding of civil litigation
Dr Peter Cashman, Barrister, Associate Professor, Sydney University Law School
- Litigation Funding
John Walker, Managing Director, IMF (Australia) Ltd
Family Relationship Centres
- Report Card on Family Relationship Centres
Sue Pidgeon, Attorney-General’s Department
- Panel Presentation Notes
George Turnbull, Director, Legal Aid Western Australia
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
People with mental illness are missing out on legal services. What can lawyers do about it?
- Advocacy and participation in mental health cases: realisable rights or pipe-dreams?
Terry Carney, Professor of Law, the University of Sydney; Fleur Beaupert, doctoral candidate, University of Sydney; Julia Perry, Senior Research Assistant, University of Sydney; David Tait, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Canberra
- Mental Illness and the Legal System – How can lawyers help plug the gaps?
Sophie Delaney, Coordinator / Principal Solicitor, Mental Health Legal Centre Inc
Acting for those accused of terrorism offences
- Reversing the Onus and Raising the Bar
Stephen Keim SC, Barrister
- Anti Terror Legislation: Consideration of areas of legal and practical difficulties
Dina Yehia, NSW Public Defender
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
- Where the Justice System Is Not Working and What to Do About It
John McKenzie, Chief Legal Officer, Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT)
Court approaches to people with atypical backgrounds and special needs
- Sentencing People with Special Needs
Judge Stephen Norrish QC, District Court of New South Wales