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Best Practice in Legal Outreach Kurt Maroske. February 2019. LawRight. LawRight is a not-for-profit, community-based legal organisation that coordinates the provision of pro bono legal services for individuals and community groups.
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Best Practice in Legal Outreach Kurt Maroske February 2019
LawRight • LawRight is a not-for-profit, community-based legal organisation that coordinates the provision of pro bono legal services for individuals and community groups. • The Outreach Legal Clinics provides free legal information, representation and advice to vulnerable people, including: • those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness; • refugees; and • people experiencing mental health concerns. • Our Outreach Legal Clinics started in 2002 as the Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic, and we currently operate 10 clinics in Brisbane and 3 in Cairns.
Who LawRight Are • We are a community legal centre, and a member of the Community Legal Centres Queensland and the National Association for Community Legal Centres. • We are a partnership, and work closely with law firms, non-legal community agencies, the Bar Association of Qld, university law faculties, the Qld Law Society, and Legal Aid Queensland.
How LawRight Helps • LawRight improves the lives of vulnerable people for the common good by: • Increasing access to the justice system, improving the health and wellbeing of clients, and improving access to housing, income and legal rights; • Creating positive change through proactive reform of systems, laws and policy. • We identify the unaddressed legal problems of vulnerable people by: • Implementing research frameworks to systematically identify access to justice gaps; • Creating resources that diagnose unrecognised legal need or respond to unaddressed legal need.
Why do outreach? • Provide access for vulnerable clients • Tailor your service to a chosen demographic • Be where your clients are • Fill an unmet legal need • Intervene before a problem escalates • Meet the needs of remote communities
How to do outreach • Understand the importance of collaboration • Value multi-disciplinary, holistic support • Train your partner agencies • Integrate with partner agencies • Think about technology
The Outreach Lawyer • Understand relevant areas of law • Understand multiple and compounding disadvantage • Understand your clients’ capability • Communicate legal concepts simply and carefully • Be culturally sensitive • Be trauma-informed
3 Resources • Outreach Best Practices • Consultation Report • Research Report