News

Protecting Older Australians From Elder Abuse: what the 2018 Federal Budget provides and what pro bono can contribute

Senior Australians are set to benefit from the 2018 Federal Budget, with $22 million dedicated towards protecting them from elder abuse and the official launch of new national peak body, Elder Abuse Action Australia. In this article, we give you the run-down on the new measures and highlight where pro bono legal work can make a meaningful contribution to improving access to justice in this space.

Pro bono as a mentoring opportunity

Rural Women’s Outreach Legal Service, Queensland provides young CLC lawyer Brenton Day opportunity to work alongside pro bono barrister Stephen Colditz. Read his story here.

Law firm sponsorship via Good360 platform yields 39-fold return for CLCs: can your law firm give $500?

The Good360 platform allows CLCs to obtain thousands of dollars’ worth of goods for their clients and operations. All they need is a $500 sponsorship. Can your law firm or company sponsor one of these eight CLCs that are still hoping for a corporate sponsor?

1,375 hours of pro bono performed under the Centre’s PI scheme

Corporate, government and volunteer lawyers performed 1,375 hours of pro bono legal work under the Centre’s National PI Insurance Scheme in the second half of 2017. The hours were performed by 108 lawyers and 8 paralegals involved in 72 projects. In this article, we highlight the work of the Multicultural Services Centre of Western Australia.

Case study: Melbourne’s new employment law clinic – a pro bono partnership increasing capacity to address unmet legal need

Ashika* lost her job when she refused to give up her employee status for an independent contracting arrangement with the same business. Feeling that she’d been wronged but not knowing what she could do about the situation, she came to Inner Melbourne Community Legal (IMCL). When IMCL partnered with Clayton Utz to launch a fortnightly employment law clinic, the idea was to create a sustainable solution.

Volunteers and Pro Bono Partnerships make significant contribution to Community Legal Centres

The recent survey by the National Association of Community Legal Centres reveals that pro bono partnerships contributed 57,848 hours of assistance to Community Legal Centres in 2015/16, with volunteers supplying an additional 17,098 hours of work per week. Individual volunteers supplied an additional 17,098 hours of work per week or an estimated 889,096 hours to 112 CLCs in the year 2015/16.

Nominate now for the 2017 Pro Bono Partnership Award

Nominations for the 2017 Law & Justice Foundation Justice Awards are still open – but closing soon, at 5pm on Friday 7 July.

Walk for Justice on National Pro Bono Day