1 / 10

NSW Community Legal Centre State Conference ‘Rural Solicitor Shortage’ Project Trish Mundy

NSW Community Legal Centre State Conference ‘Rural Solicitor Shortage’ Project Trish Mundy. ‘Rural Solicitor Shortage’ Project. What is the project about? Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre ‘Small grant’ funding from NSW Law and Justice Foundation Literature review

everett
Download Presentation

NSW Community Legal Centre State Conference ‘Rural Solicitor Shortage’ Project Trish Mundy

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. NSW Community Legal Centre State Conference‘Rural Solicitor Shortage’ ProjectTrish Mundy

  2. ‘Rural Solicitor Shortage’ Project What is the project about? Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre ‘Small grant’ funding from NSW Law and Justice Foundation Literature review Extent of problem in recruitment & retention Factors Strategies Aim: Stage 2 Research Project which focuses on strategies

  3. Extent of the problem – statistical snapshot Steady decline in lawyers in rural, regional areas over last decade. As at 2 October 2007, 13.3% of the profession were practising in rural areas, compared to 53.2% within the Sydney CBD and 29.3% in suburban areas. Since 1988 there has been a steady decline in the proportion of solicitors practising in rural and regional areas, from 16.7% down to the current figure of 13.3%. This represents an average decline of approximately 1.3% per year.

  4. statistical snapshot Retirement Intentions: “Most country solicitors are aged over 45 and it appears that one third of those will retire in the next 10 to 15 years”* *Law Society 2002: “Young rural solicitors in decline: new blood needed in bush” (National Competition Policy: A discussion paper 2002)

  5. statistical snapshot

  6. Factors (General) Location of legal education experience Professional Development/Career Advancement Lifestyle perceptions Family Gender? Pay/Salary Generation Y factor?

  7. Factors (Private Practitioners) Falling profitability and lack of economic incentive: Impact of competition policy Legal Aid Effects of rural decline generally

  8. Factors (Community Legal Centres) Salary Working conditions

  9. Current strategies Legal Aid bodies: Regional Solicitor Program, Queensland Regional Solicitor Program, NSW Country Lawyers Graduate Program, WA Community Legal Centres: Regional Summer Clerkship Program (Albury Wodonga) Law Graduates Program (NACLC)

  10. Proposals/ Recommendations Increasing rural and remote participation in law studies: Increase funding to RRR law schools Summer vacation work / summer clerkships Community Legal Centres: Portability of conditions Waiver of HECS fees Additional salary loading Increased FBT benefits or other taxation incentives

More Related