PILCH Secondment
Lawyer Jessica O'Brien is on a six-month secondment at the
Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) in Melbourne. Here, she shares her
story about her time at PILCH and working at the Aboriginal Credit and Debt
Clinic:
PILCH acts as a facilitator of pro bono legal services
between the community and the private legal profession. PILCH's referral work
promotes access to justice and contributes to filling the significant gap in the
provision of legal services to those who cannot afford them. Individuals and
not-for-profits apply to PILCH for legal assistance. As a secondee, my role is
to assess whether these applications meet PILCH's criteria for pro bono
assistance. This involves considering issues such as whether matters are in the
public interest, whether the applicants have the means to pay for legal
assistance themselves, and whether the applications have legal merit. Assessing
an application's legal merit often requires researching and familiarising myself
with areas of law that are completely new to me.
Where applications are successful, I refer the matter to a law firm and/or
barrister. One of the most exciting and, to begin with, daunting aspects of
working at PILCH is that on any given day I never know what is going to come
across my desk. I have worked on files for clients, including victims of human
trafficking seeking compensation for the crimes committed against them,
environmental groups seeking to prohibit the trade in Australia of timber felled
illegally in neighbouring countries, and individuals seeking to challenge
superannuation legislation that prevented them from passing on their
superannuation benefits to their same-sex partners.
As well as the referral work, PILCH undertakes a range of public interest
projects. The main project I have worked on during my secondment is the
Aboriginal Credit and Debt Clinic. This was a pilot project run by PILCH in
collaboration with the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS). The project
targeted Aboriginal people in rural and regional Victoria with credit and debt
problems. Between May and August, PILCH ran one-day free legal clinics at
community hubs in Shepparton, Ballarat, Morwell and Mildura. Pro bono lawyers
from PILCH's member firms attended the clinics and advised clients.
An important aim of the project was to gather data about the nature and extent
of the unmet legal needs of Aboriginal people in rural and regional Victoria.
This information will be used to advocate for increased funding and targeted
legal services for this client group. In working on the project, I undertook
tasks including speaking with stakeholders in the various communities,
organising training on cultural awareness and credit and debt law for
participating lawyers, and preparing an evaluation report on the clinic.
One of
the highlights of working at PILCH is the amazing office environment, full of
passionate people who are committed to what they do. I thank Allens and PILCH
for this fantastic experience and recommend a secondment at PILCH to anyone
interested in gaining an alternative perspective on the legal profession and the
power of the law to improve people's lives.
Photo: Jessica O'Brien, second from right, with Allens secondees to the
Aboriginal Credit and Debt Clinic, Christine Lui, John Leung, Tanya Thomas.
Painting courtesy of Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation.
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View video
Sydney Lawyer Alexandra Salib was seconded to Kingsford Legal
Centre (KLC), at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), for six
months this year.
KLC is one of 39 legal centres in NSW that provide free legal
advice to the community. It is also a clinical teaching centre for UNSW
students.
The Director of KLC, Anna Cody, said that having Alex at the centre
meant that many disadvantaged clients could be given in-depth legal advice and
assistance.
Alex's role has been to help clients enforce their rights. She, in
her role negotiating debts, advocating for better housing and helping people who
have been the victims of violence, has made a massive difference to the lives of
our clients, who are often extremely worried and depressed about their legal
issues before they come to our centre.
Alex's time at KLC included receiving
hugs from a client after settling a matter at the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy
Tribunal, advising a client in the maximum security section of Long Bay Gaol,
presenting at a legal forum for older people, and working with dozens of UNSW
students. Alex also advised clients at KLC's outreach clinics at local
neighbourhood centres and community centres.
My
secondment was a truly eye-opening and fulfilling experience. Some of my clients
at KLC had struggled throughout their lives, because of mental illness, domestic
violence, addiction, or because they simply have not had the opportunities that
many of us take for granted. The solicitors at KLC were a wonderful support and
taught me about areas of law I knew nothing about before – like tenancy law,
social security law, and what to do in the Local Court. I learned so much about
how the law works, in a very practical, everyday sense.
Alexandra Salib, Lawyer
Photo: Alexandra Salib (in the pink shirt) in a KLC class with the UNSW law
students.