Issue 128: May 2018
Welcome to the May 2018 issue of AUSTRALIAN PRO BONO NEWS, the Centre’s monthly newsletter providing stories and articles of interest to the Australian pro bono community.
We welcome your feedback, submissions and ideas for both Australian Pro Bono News and our website – please email [email protected] or refer to our Contact page.
For past issues, visit our newsletter Archive.
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Editorial
Congratulations to all those people who walked for justice on National Pro Bono Day (15 May) and to all those people who generously donated towards the work of the pro bono organisations in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Together they raised nearly $200,000 to assist with their work. This total amount has risen every year since the event was started in Australia in 2008. Much of this money is put towards defraying the costs of disbursements associated with undertaking pro bono legal work such as interpreter’s fees and expert reports. These are vital elements of conducting matters to the full professional standard, and should not have to be paid by pro bono providers.
The Centre has written to the Law Institute of Victoria and the Law Society of New South Wales to see if we can help get the Walk for Justice going again in Victoria and New South Wales. One can see from the photos below the fun, goodwill and community-building that the event generates.
The Centre is continuing to work with mid-size and smaller firms to help them develop their pro bono practices (like Gadens, featured in this edition) and we had good attendance and positive feedback from the emerging and developing pro bono practice forums held recently in Sydney and Melbourne in partnership with Sparke Helmore. We intend to run more of these.
The next edition will report on the tenth anniversary review of the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target and provide information about the status of the pro bono conditions under the Commonwealth legal purchasing arrangements after 1 July 2018, when the Legal Services Multi-Use List ends. Our recent discussions with the Office of Legal Services Coordination indicate an ongoing commitment by the Commonwealth to requiring the reporting of pro bono performance and this being taken into account in how its legal work is allocated to law firms.
John Corker
Subscribe to AUSTRALIAN PRO BONO NEWS
Issue 128: May 2018
Welcome to the May 2018 issue of AUSTRALIAN PRO BONO NEWS, the Centre’s monthly newsletter providing stories and articles of interest to the Australian pro bono community.
We welcome your feedback, submissions and ideas for both Australian Pro Bono News and our website – please email [email protected] or refer to our Contact page.
For past issues, visit our Archives page.
*
Editorial
Congratulations to all those people who walked for justice on National Pro Bono Day (15 May) and to all those people who generously donated towards the work of the pro bono organisations in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Together they raised nearly $200,000 to assist with their work. This total amount has risen every year since the event was started in Australia in 2008. Much of this money is put towards defraying the costs of disbursements associated with undertaking pro bono legal work such as interpreter’s fees and expert reports. These are vital elements of conducting matters to the full professional standard, and should not have to be paid by pro bono providers.
The Centre has written to the Law Institute of Victoria and the Law Society of New South Wales to see if we can help get the Walk for Justice going again in Victoria and New South Wales. One can see from the photos below the fun, goodwill and community-building that the event generates.
The Centre is continuing to work with mid-size and smaller firms to help them develop their pro bono practices (like Gadens, featured in this edition) and we had good attendance and positive feedback from the emerging and developing pro bono practice forums held recently in Sydney and Melbourne in partnership with Sparke Helmore. We intend to run more of these.
The next edition will report on the tenth anniversary review of the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target and provide information about the status of the pro bono conditions under the Commonwealth legal purchasing arrangements after 1 July 2018, when the Legal Services Multi-Use List ends. Our recent discussions with the Office of Legal Services Coordination indicate an ongoing commitment by the Commonwealth to requiring the reporting of pro bono performance and this being taken into account in how its legal work is allocated to law firms.
John Corker
Nearly $200K raised through Walks for Justice on National Pro Bono Day 2018
National Pro Bono Day, falling on Tuesday 15 May this year, celebrated the role and contribution of pro bono legal work in Australia. Lawyers in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia participated in Walks for Justice, raising almost $200,000 towards the work of clearing houses in these states.
Pro bono partnership provides access to justice for vulnerable public housing residents
Gadens has a young and growing pro bono practice, a key component of which is a housing clinic with Moonee Valley Legal Service. This pro bono partnership began in 2016 when the firm’s Pro Bono Coordinator started talking with Moonee Valley about how they could work together.
Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards: Q&A with Pro Bono category winners Lauree Coci and David Frew
With the recent announcement of the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards, we spoke with the winners of the pro bono category – Lauree Coci from Clayton Utz and David Frew from Norton Rose Fulbright. See our Q&A to find out about their experience doing pro bono legal work at their respective firms.
Pro Bono beyond law: encouraging pro bono among engineers
The pro bono ethic that is so central to the legal profession is beginning to take root in other professions. The Centre’s Head of Policy & Strategy, Gabriela Christian-Hare, spoke recently at a think tank organised by Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and Engineers Australia. Read EWB’s reflections following the event.
Centres partners with UNSW Law on new Future of Law and Innovation in the Profession project on unbundling legal services
As part of UNSW Law and the Law Society of NSW's Future of Law and Innovation in the Profession (FLIP) Stream, the Centre is excited to be working with Professor Michael Legg on a new project about the unbundling of legal services.
Why do pro bono? Nathan Kennedy on The Lawyers Weekly Show
During National Law Week, Nathan Kennedy, Hall & Wilcox special counsel and director of pro bono and community, featured in The Lawyers Weekly Show podcast. He provided plenty of insight and advice into what pro bono looks like in practice. See our summary of his key points.
