Centre's Activities/Events

The Centre's Key Priorities for 2005- 2009 are to:

• Promote the ‘Australian Pro Bono Manual’ and its contents (conduct best practice sessions and produce training materials for the profession)

• Complete the project ‘Mapping Pro Bono’ and conduct a national survey of pro bono work done by firms

• Pursue IT strategy to provide better online tools for the pro bono community

• Continue to broker partnerships between CLCs (particularly from RRR areas) with law firms

• Monitor the trial of the Pro Bono Students Australia program and promote its uptake by other law schools

• Publish findings on pro bono and Indigenous Legal Organisations and pursue matchmaking opportunities

• Build pro bono  capacity amongst government lawyers and facilitate service delivery

• Build pro bono  capacity amongst in-house corporate lawyers and facilitate service delivery

• Advocating for aspirational pro bono targets to be included in the legal profession practice rules
• Continue to lift the profile of pro bono across the profession and in the community

For a full copy (4 pages) of the Centre's Strategic Plan 2005-2009 click here.

Current Projects

National Survey of Pro Bono in the legal profession

In the absence of any proposed survey of the legal profession by the ABS until 2009 the Centre is undertaking a national survey of pro bono work.  The survey will be conducted in three parts, survey of law firms, survey of solicitors and survey of barristers.  The survey has the support in principle of the Law Council of Australia and will be conducted electronically.  Queensland is undertaking a pilot and results should be available progressively in 2006. Contact: Olivia Wellesley-Cole.

Regional, Rural and Remote Access to Pro Bono

The Centre has had support from the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW for a project aimed at improving access to legal services for disadvantaged and marginalised people in regional, rural and remote (RRR) communities in NSW. The project supported the development of three pilot projects to deliver improved pro bono services in RRR areas and identified relevant facrtors in establishing such relationships. The Centre published  apaper following this project titled "regional, rural and remote pro bono, models and opportunities" available for download here. Contact: Jenny Lovric.

Guide to Volunteering at Community Legal Centres

www.clcvolunteers.net.au

In a joint project with NACLC we have created an online resource that provides information for potential volunteers to CLCs, together with a state-by-state list of current volunteering opportunities. It was launched at the NACLC Annual Conference, in Canberra in October 2005. Contact: John Corker

Mapping Pro Bono in Australia

A paper intended to make visible current models of pro bono practice in Australia. Expected launch date: mid 2006. Contact: Jenny Lovric

Benefits of Pro Bono

A paper setting out the benefits for law firms and practitioners of undertaking pro bono. The paper will be based on local and international research and anecdotal material and will be published widely. Contact: John Corker.

Improving Indigenous Access to Pro Bono

This project is based on a survey and aims to identify the level of use of pro bono legal services by Indigenous legal organisations and their clients and to explore ways to increase Indigenous clients’ access to pro bono services. Contact: John Corker

Law Students and Law Schools Participation in Pro Bono

A Guide covering existing pro bono programs and other volunteer activities, clinical legal education programs and proposed programs at all of Australia's 28 law schools was published August 2004.  This program has also developed and is supporting a trial of the new Pro Bono Students Australia program. Contact: John Corker.

Model Protocol for Government Agencies

There can be difficulties in getting pro bono legal assistance in actions against Government agencies if lawyers or firms fear repercussions in securing government work in the future. This project describes the problem in a consultation paper, develops a model protocol advocates Government agencies to adopt and implement the protocol. Read these papers. Contact: John Corker.

Government Lawyers

To promote and facilitate government lawyers undertaking pro bono by identifying barriers and possible solutions, documenting overseas experience, identifying possible projects and activities in Australia. Paper launched October 2004.  Contact: John Corker.

Aspirational Targets

The Centre will work with the professional law associations to encourage adoption of aspirational target rules and has offered an award to the first professional association to adopt such a professional practice rule. Contact: John Corker.

Pro Bono Sources in Family Law

The Centre is coordinating activities between law firms, NACLC and CLCs to find ways in which firms can provide pro bono services in the area of family law. Training for firms in Sydney in the area of Child Support Law has been organised by the Centre. Contact: John Corker.

State Based Public Events

The Centre aims to sponsor at least one event in each state, each year. In 2006 the Centre sponsored a workshop on legal need in Western Australia.

National Pro Bono Resource Centre Email: info@nationalprobono.org.au Telephone:  +61 2 9385 7381     Fax: +61 2 9385 7375