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17 November 2008
Legal service providers have been urged to share their thoughts on what is needed to maintain and improve access to justice in Australia.
In his address at the opening plenary of the National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference in Sydney last week, the Chair of the National Pro Bono Resource Centre Peter Stapleton called for a united front of "passion and pragmatism", and encouraged each legal service provider (both organisation and individual) to detail in one page what is needed to improve access to justice within the Australian community.
Your comments are needed to help shape Commonwealth and State Government agendas for improving access to justice over the next two years as well as identifying opportunities to work better together.
Please send your page of dot points (less than 7 please) to a2j@nationalprobono.org.au by Monday 1 December 2008 and we will collate these into a single document for publication.
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6 November 2008
While most barristers do pro bono legal work for disadvantaged and marginalised people, less than half undertake paid Legal Aid work.
This finding is a part of a survey released today by the National Pro Bono Resource Centre, which looked at the pro bono practice of 355 barristers from all States and Territories, covering a range of practice areas, ages and levels of seniority.
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18 September 2008
From today each Commonwealth agency, when procuring ongoing legal services, must take into account the amount and type of pro bono work the law firm has carried out or will carry out, and whether the firm is a signatory to the Centre’s National Pro Bono Aspirational Target.
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10 September 2008
$48.5 million of work was undertaken on a pro bono basis by 25 of Australia’s largest law firms in the past year.
This finding comes from a national survey conducted by the National Pro Bono Resource Centre and the results of the first performance report on the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target both launched today.
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7 July 2008
The Law Council of Australia and the National Pro Bono Resource Centre have teamed up again to host the second National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference, to be held 13–15 November 2008 in Sydney. The program is now online at www.a2j08.com.au/program.html.
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7 July 2008
New clauses 11.3-11.5 of the Commonwealth Legal Services Directions came into force on 1 July 2008 and now require the Chief Executive of a Commonwealth agency to ensure that the agency, when selecting and retaining legal services providers, does not adversely discriminate against legal services providers that have acted, or may act, pro bono for clients in legal proceedings against the Commonwealth or its agencies unless there is an actual conflict of interest.
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5 June 2008
The Centre has developed a policy model for the Commonwealth purchase of legal services that it believes will encourage and promote pro bono work without creating a mandatory obligation to provide that work. The Centre seeks comment from the legal profession on the draft model before providing final advice to the government.
In a long awaited change, the Commonwealth Legal Service Directions are to be amended from 1 July 2008 to ensure that Commonwealth agencies do not discriminate against external legal service providers who perform pro bono legal work against the Commonwealth.
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5 June 2008
On 19 May, nearly 1,000 walkers in four States braved chilly Monday morning air to participate in the inaugural Law Walk for Justice. The 5-km event was run simultaneously in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide and raised more than $30,000, which will go towards funding the work of the Public Interest Law Clearing Houses in each State.
Among the walkers were the Attorneys-General of Queensland, NSW and Victoria and Chief Justices and Judges from the State Supreme and District Courts.
Click here to view photos of the walk in four states.
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1 May 2008
On 18 April 2008 the Commonwealth Attorney-General announced a one-off allocation of additional funds of $10m to support Community Legal Centres and $7 million for Legal Aid. Bob Debus, Minister for Home Affairs, announced an additional $4.9m to support the operations of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services. All those who have been involved in making the case for additional funding over the years should be congratulated and congratulate themselves.
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1 May 2008
South Australian lawyers will join lawyers in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in a “Walk for Justice” at 7am on 19 May 2008 to raise funds to establish a pro bono clearing house in South Australia. The Law Society’s Justice Access Committee is supporting the initiative and urges the profession to get behind this landmark project
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