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Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
For who?
1. Students
2. The public
3. The courts
4. Universities
About Community Legal Practice
6 unit topic
Held in summer and semesters 1 and 2 each year.
Joint initiative between the Adelaide and Flinders Law Schools
Enrolment quota of 8 students from Flinders
All places are currently with the Adelaide Magistrates Court Legal Advice Clinic
4 Flinders and 4 Adelaide students work at the clinic each Thursday
Students attend fortnightly seminars
Assessment includes a professional journal and an ‘access to justice’ project
About Community Legal Practice
Our Personal Goals
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
1. For the Students participating at the clinic
Our experiences include several compulsory practical exercises:
conduct at least 3 interviews with clients
carry out conflict searches
open new files and close existing ones
observe court hearings
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
1. For the Students participating at the clinic
Other experiences:
opportunities to draft pleadings
write letters of advice and opinion
perform research at the Adelaide Supreme Court Library
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
1. For the Students participating at the clinic
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
1. For the Students participating at the clinic
Other experiences cont.:
exposure to a variety of practice areas
• Develop time management skills
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
1. For the Students participating at the clinic
The Clinic’s fabulous staff!
From Flinders University:
Rachel Spencer
Grant Niemann
David Bamford
The Clinic’s fabulous staff!
From Adelaide University:
Margaret Castles Georgina Hone
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
For who?
1. Students
2. The Public
3. The Courts
4. Universities
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
2. For the Public Client Satisfaction Survey :
• 43 participants
36 positive responses
5 negative in some aspect responses
2 denied attendance
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
2. For the Public Client Satisfaction Survey :
• Reasons For Attendance:
to gain advice about a legal matter involving a Defence or commencement of proceedings
procedural assistance for appearance or documentation
Reason for Attending Clinic
Help to f ill out Court forms or understanding
Court documents,
15%
Advice about a legal matter,
37%
Assistance in having to appear in
court, 13%
Other, 1%
Assistance to defend/
commence matter, 33%
Data and graph taken from “Client Survey Results” by Sally Cox et al
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
2. For the Public
● Constructive Criticisms:
greater publicity
supervisor present at interviews
offer advice for criminal matters
• Positive responses
“ I felt supported”
“received invaluable assistance”
Client Satisfaction Survey :
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
3. For the Courts Dr Andrew Cannon
• Eases pressure off registry staff
• “When the clinic provides competent advice and ensures parties have realistic expectations, then it is an invaluable service for the court and the individuals involved.”
Examining the value of Pro Bono work: 3. For the Courts Dr Andrew Cannon cont.
• querulous litigants –
complaining in a petulant or whining manner
• majority of unrepresented litigants have genuine
and justifiable claims
• Magistrates need to be more aware of the clinic’s existence and services
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
4. For Universities Perpetuating the Flinders Ethos
Think, Learn, Lead, Link
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
4. For Universities Community Legal Practice enables us to:
THINK independently and
LEARN a range of skills that will assist in our development as lawyers.
We are LEADing the way to access justice and
LINKing Flinders University with the community.
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
4. For Universities Promoting Community Legal Practice:
• Advocates legal work with a social focus
Promoting Community Legal Practice:
• expands on practical skills learnt from core law topics
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
4. For Universities
Promoting Community Legal Practice:
• Strengthens relationship between Flinders and Adelaide Law schools
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
4. For Universities
Examining the value of Pro Bono work:
4. For Universities Promoting Community Legal Practice:
• ensures that students find out about the topic
Community Legal PracticeThe Future
• Popularity growing
• Increasing demand for places
• Additional placements offered from Semester 2, 2007
Community Legal PracticeThe Future
Additional placements:
• 2 places at the Tenants Information and Advice Service
for students who have studied Housing Law
• 2 places at the Refugee Law and Policy Clinic
for students who have studied Australian Immigration & Refugee Law
In ConclusionToday we have:
• Talked to you about Community Legal Practice
• Explained how the Magistrates Court Legal Advice Clinic works
• Illustrated the positive impact the clinic has on students, the public, the court and universities
In Conclusion
We hope that you can raise awareness about this
topic amongst students and continue to support all pro bono work
undertaken by students and fellow staff from Flinders University