• Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich, US Ambassador in Australia, suggesting that the legal profession might look to the medical profession for models whereby a lot of work is done by staff that are not doctors and the Law Council Access to Justice Committee responding later that it would work towards removing regulatory barriers to permit paralegals to undertake a broader range of legal work.

• The deep knowledge and constructive contribution from Esther Lardent, President and Chief Executive of the Pro Bono Institute, Washington DC, who spoke in a plenary but also 3 business sessions about all things ‘pro bono’.

• Mick Gooda, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner who advised the gathering that the right to drink alcoholic beverages is not a human right and chaired a session on closing the gap on access to justice that had some practical suggestions and home truths.

• The Hon Acting Justice Ronald Sackville AO who suggested that the time may have come in Australia to establish an Access to Justice research and policy institute devoted to an integrated study of the disparate elements of access to justice issues. He provided a reflection on what has been achieved in improving access to justice over the past 30 years which included the rise of administrative law remedies, ADR mechanisms, tribunals and specialist courts, Legal Aid itself and the structured pro bono contributions of the legal profession. 

• And notably, the constructive atmosphere between lawyers from firms, large and small, legal aid, professional associations, the judiciary, the bar , community legal centres, universities as well as international visitors from many Asia Pacific countries and the U.S. who shared the vision of improving access to justice particularly for the socially and disadvantaged member of the community.

Large Australian law firms have continued their strong commitment to pro bono legal work, despite the significant economic pressures of the past two years. Those large firms who are signatories to the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target generally have performed more pro bono work for disadvantaged people and community non-profit organisations, than those firms who have not yet signed the Target.

The findings come from the Interim Report on the National Law Firm Pro Bono Survey (“the Survey”) launched on 25 August 2010 by the National Pro Bono Resource Centre (“the Centre”) for the National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference 2010 being held in Brisbane from 26-27 August 2010.

Whilst the number of fee-earners in the top twelve firms decreased by 13.3 percent[1] in the last two years, the amount of pro bono work which these firms performed for disadvantaged people and community non-profit organisations has grown during this same period.

“Pro Bono work is not some passing fad. Australia’s large law firms have demonstrated a real commitment to making the legal system accessible for those who cannot afford legal representation and who cannot obtain Legal Aid” said John Corker, Director of the Centre. “Even while firms have had to tighten their belts, the amount of pro bono work which they are performing has continued to grow”.

Twenty nine of the 39 Australian firms with more than 50 lawyers responded to the survey, including all of the large national firms. Twenty four of them provided data on pro bono hours per lawyer. Between them, their 10,410.3 full time equivalent lawyers in Australia[2] undertook more than 322,000 hours of pro bono legal work in the 2009/2010 financial year[3], or an average of 29 hours per lawyer. “That’s equivalent to more than 178 lawyers working pro bono full-time for a year”, said Corker.

Contributions continued to vary greatly between the firms. Some firms averaged less than five hours per lawyer per year with those at the other extreme providing more than 70 hours per lawyer per year.

“The firms that continue to make the most significant contributions have dedicated pro bono partners and pro bono coordinators in each office who help to ensure that a pro bono culture is fully integrated into the firm’s practice”, Corker said. “One of the positive trends observed is that more mid-tier firms are beginning to embrace this approach.”

Aspirational Target

The Centre developed the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target in 2006, setting a voluntary goal for lawyers of at least 35 hours per lawyer per year. The third performance report on the Target was also released on 25 August 2010. The report confirms the transformative effect which the Target has had on the pro bono culture of Australia’s law firms.

“Not surprisingly, the firms with the highest pro bono contribution and lawyer participation rates are generally those which have signed up to the Target” said Corker. On average, signatories to the Target compared to non-signatory firms, reported higher average pro bono hours per lawyer (37.8 v 18.6) and a higher level of pro bono participation by their lawyers (66.3% v 42.4%).

The number of lawyers signed up to the Target increased by 23.4% in the past year and now covers 5,677 FTE legal professionals, being about 10% of the Australian legal profession. Target signatories now include 6 of the 8 largest Australian firms.

The firms that had the highest number of pro bono hours per lawyer were firms with between 50-200 FTE lawyers, however larger firms had a higher overall average than smaller and mid tier firms.  “Although the biggest firms collectively employed only one third of all lawyers reporting their Target performance, they provided more than half of the total pro bono contributions, or an average of 49.4 hours per lawyer per year, well above the law firm average,” said Corker. 

“This is the second time there has been a national picture of the pro bono work of large and mid-tier law firms. We hope that firms will use this information to benchmark their contribution against their peers and review their pro bono programs.”

For further information please contact the Centre at info@nationalprobono.org.au or on (02) 9385 7381.

Are you interested in using your legal and policy experience in an organisation committed to improving access to justice for disadvantaged people?

The National Pro Bono Resource Centre is seeking a committed and enthusiastic person to manage key policy initiatives and projects as part of the Centre’s small team.

The successful applicant will have:

• Legal or community sector experience, and a commitment to social justice
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Proven experience in policy development, research and/or project management, preferably on legal or social justice issues
• Sound relationship-building and management skills, and the ability to work effectively with a broad range of stakeholders (particularly in the legal and community sectors), and
• The ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and initiate work consistent with the Centre’s priorities.

The position is for 5 days per week. A salary range of $60,000-70,000 (plus super) will be negotiated. 

An Information Package can be downloaded by following this link. To discuss the position, please phone John Corker on (02) 9385 7371.

Applications addressing the selection criteria should be addressed to:

The Director

National Pro Bono Resource Centre

The Law Building

University of NSW

UNSW Sydney 2052

Or sent by email to info@nationalprobono.org.au.

Closing date for applications: Friday 10 September 2010

Pro bono work rises to $80m: charity

27 August 2010 – The Australian
Australian law firms have given away more than $80 million in legal work to those in need. Two reports on pro bono work show that the largest firms are also the biggest supporters of charities and other public-interest clients. The reports, by the National Pro Bono Resource Centre, show that 24 firms with more than 50 lawyers did 322,343 hours of pro bono work last financial year.

Law gives big

25 August 2010 – Lawyers Weekly
According to the Interim Report on the National Law Firm Pro Bono Survey by the National Pro Bono Resource Centre, large firms who are signatories to the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target completed more pro bono work than those who are not signatories, and firms generally increased their number of pro bono hours despite a drop in the number of fee earners.

High Court hands back votes to voters

6 August 2010 – The Age
About 100,000 mostly young Australians have won back their right to vote following a landmark High Court decision that could have significant impact on the 2010 election. Lobby group GetUp, the Human Rights Legal Resource Centre and Mallesons mounted a joint legal challenge, arguing the changes were unfair and unconstitutional.

Urgent need for legal aid funding

7 August 2010 – The Independent Weekly
Some of the state’s most vulnerable people may be denied access to justice because of chronic under-funding of indigenous legal aid services. The Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM) says it may have to close rural and regional offices, where legal aid is needed most, because of almost-static funding since 1996. The organisation plans to lodge a complaint with the United Nations.

Mallesons act for GetUp! in High Court challenge

3 August 2010 – Lawyers Weekly
Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Ron Merkel QC are acting pro bono for the political activist group GetUp! in its High Court challenge to the Electoral Act, with the assistance of the Human Rights Law Resource Centre. GetUp! launched the challenge after amendments to the Electoral Act by the Howard Government in 2006 meant that electoral rolls closed at 8pm on the day election writs were issued.

Thalidomide settlement negotiated pro bono

29 July 2010 – Lawyers Weekly
Peter Gordon’s friendship with a thalidomide victim who did some building work for him was the catalyst in his role in a $60 million settlement for victims of the drug. Gordon and around six lawyers from his former firm, Slater & Gordon (Peter Gordon left the firm to start his own practice early this year) negotiated the settlement pro bono on behalf of 45 surviving victims in Australia and New Zealand.

USA: Pro bono: Quantity Over Quality?

19 July 2010 – The National Law Journal
A recent survey indicates that many firms view a set number of hours of unpaid service as a good in itself and believe value need not be systematically assessed.

Quashed convictions spark calls for legal shake-up

19 July 2010 – ABC News
Michael Kirby, recently retired from the High Court, has added his voice to calls for a shake-up of the criminal justice system. He says he would support the establishment of an independent body to review criminal cases where there are allegations of a miscarriage of justice.

USA: Free legal aid to poor dwindles after New Jersey funding cuts

17 July 2010 – The Record (New Jersey)
Legal Services of New Jersey has been hit with its own disaster as it faces steep reductions in state funding and staff. LSNJ leaders lament they will not be able to offer aid to all of those who need it. As a result, more homelessness, custody battles and financial trouble are likely for low-income families across New Jersey, predicts Melville Miller, president and general counsel of the non-profit service.

Working for justice

16 July 2010 – The Australian
Widely regarded as the best workplace relations lawyer in the southern hemisphere – before setting up his own shop, he ran the biggest practice at Australia’s biggest firm – Michael Harmer is, at heart, a grassroots revolutionary. “My father had a saying I’ve adopted,” he murmurs. “All dies in the man who flees in the face of injustice.”

UK: Kenneth Clarke to slash Legal Aid budget

16 July 2010 – The Daily Telegraph (UK)
Officials working for Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, have drawn up plans to cut “hundreds of millions” of pounds from the 2.2 billion pound budget for Legal Aid. The plan is among blueprints for cuts in public spending worth more than 40 billion pounds handed to the Treasury.

Legal aid expanded in NSW

16 July 2010 – Sydney Morning Herald
People suffering mortgage stress will be among those to benefit from a $10 million expansion of NSW’s free legal service, the state’s attorney-general says.

Investing in legal services in the Northern Territory [media release]

15 July 2010 – Commonwealth Attorney-General
Attorney-General, Robert McClelland and Federal Member for Solomon, Damian Hale today visited the Darwin Community Legal Service to announce additional funding for legal services in the Northern Territory. As part of this additional investment of $14 million the Darwin Community Legal Service will receive around $348,000 to support their partnership with the Darwin Family Relationship Centre.