Statements of Principles
These Statements were developed by the Australian National Pro Bono Resource Centre in 2006 and incorporate, in part, language developed by the US. Pro Bono Institute and utilized in its Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®. That language is used with the specific permission of the Institute and cannot be further utilized, copied, disseminated, or adapted, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from the Institute. To request permission please contact the Institute at probono@probonoinst.org.
Law Firm Statement*
MINDFUL of the professional responsibility of all lawyers to provide pro bono legal services to address the unmet legal needs of the poor and disadvantaged in the communities in which we live, and
RECOGNISING that pro bono is not a substitute for the proper funding by government of Legal Aid agencies, Community Legal Centres and other government funded legal services.
OUR FIRM is pleased to join with other firms across the country in subscribing to the following statement of principles and in pledging our best efforts to achieve the voluntary target described below.
- Our firm recognises its professional obligation to provide pro bono legal services.
- In furtherance of that obligation, our firm agrees to encourage and support the provision of pro bono legal services by all its lawyers.
- We agree to use our best efforts to ensure that, by no later than 30 June in each year, our firm’s lawyers will undertake an average of a minimum of 35 hours of pro bono legal services each year per lawyer.
- In furtherance of these principles, our firm also agrees:
- To provide training and supervision as required to enable our lawyers to meet the need for pro bono legal services in the community in matters undertaken by our firm and
- To monitor the firm’s progress towards the targets established in this statement and to report its progress annually to the partners and staff of the firm and to the National Pro Bono Resource Centre.
- We acknowledge that when a lawyer provides pro bono legal services, he or she owes the pro bono client the same professional and ethical obligations that are owed to any paying client and accordingly the lawyer must give that work the same priority, attention and care as would apply to paid work.
To proceed click on I AGREE.
* for Incorporated Legal Practices please download a Statement of Principles (PDF) here and then contact the Centre
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Barristers Chamber's Statement
MINDFUL of the professional responsibility of all lawyers to provide pro bono legal services to address the unmet legal needs of the poor and disadvantaged in the communities in which we live, and
RECOGNISING that pro bono is not a substitute for the proper funding by government of Legal Aid agencies, Community Legal Centres and other government funded legal services.
- The members of OUR CHAMBERS are pleased to join with other lawyers across the country in subscribing to the following statement of principles and in pledging our best efforts to achieve the voluntary target described below.
- The members of our CHAMBERS recognise their professional obligation to provide pro bono legal services.
- We agree to use our best efforts to ensure that, by no later than 30 June in each year, our CHAMBER's members will undertake an average of a minimum of 35 hours of pro bono legal services each year per member.
- In furtherance of these principles, our CHAMBERS also agrees to monitor its member's progress towards the targets established in this statement and to report its progress annually to the members of the CHAMBERS and to the National Pro Bono Resource Centre.
- We acknowledge that when a barrister provides pro bono legal services, he or she owes the pro bono client the same professional and ethical obligations that are owed to any paying client and accordingly the barrister must give that work the same priority, attention and care as would apply to paid work.
To proceed click on I AGREE.
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Individual Lawyer (Solicitor or Barrister) Statement
MINDFUL of the professional responsibility of all lawyers to provide pro bono legal services to address the unmet legal needs of the poor and disadvantaged in the communities in which we live, and
RECOGNISING that pro bono is not a substitute for the proper funding by government of Legal Aid agencies and Community Legal Centres.
- I am pleased to join with other lawyers across the country in subscribing to the following statement of principles and in pledging my best efforts to achieve the voluntary target described below.
- I recognise my professional obligation to provide pro bono legal services.
I agree to use my best efforts to ensure that, by no later than 30 June in each financial year, I will undertake a minimum of 35 hours of pro bono legal services each year.
- In furtherance of these principles, I also agree to monitor my progress towards the target established in this statement and to report annually to the National Pro Bono Resource Centre (the Centre) whether I have met the Target in the previous year.
- I acknowledge that when I provide pro bono legal services, I owe the pro bono client the same professional and ethical obligations that are owed to any paying client and accordingly I must give that work the same priority, attention and care as would apply to paid work.
To proceed click on I AGREE.
To return to the Aspirational Pro Bono Targets Intro page click here.
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Guidance Notes
- Each signatory should have in place systems to ensure that accurate records are kept of the pro bono legal work done. It is recognised that the amount of pro bono legal work undertaken by some lawyers may need to be estimated, particularly pro bono coordinators, who spend time doing both vital administrative and pro bono legal work and are unlikely to record each separately.
- Where lawyers are not in firms, or barristers in chambers for the full year, the 'average' number of hours to be worked out should be based on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) lawyers in the firm or chambers for the year.
- "Firm's "lawyers" include a law graduate not yet admitted to practice and thus their pro bono hours can be counted.
- In July each year the Centre will send to each signatory an email attaching a standard form which is to be completed and returned to the Centre.
- The National Pro Bono Resource Centre intends to publish, within 3 months of the end of each year, in the categories of law firm, solicitor and barrister, the number of signatories and the percentage that have met the Target in the previous year in each category. The Centre does NOT publish the names of those signatories that have met or not met the target.
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