Law is one of the only professions where the completion of pro bono work is expected as part of a lawyer’s professional obligations, though not legally mandated. While it is important that access to justice is improved, the burden of doing so must be shared between both the public and private sectors.

ALSA Vice President (Education), Fiona Cunningham, commented that “We want to
create a culture within the legal industry that stimulates a sense of positive obligation in
the individual.

By having both the legal aid and pro bono systems working effectively together, access to justice can be improved and we can help to positively improve public perception of lawyers and the legal industry. Entering into a profession with a good reputation and strong ethical focus is an important consideration for students looking to practice law.”

While the number of pro bono hours performed per lawyer is on the increase (with many firms committing to the National Pro Bono Resource Centre’s aspirational target, and with some governments mandating that a certain number or percentage of pro bono hours must be completed before firms are eligible to tender for work), it should be implemented as a complement to rather than replacement of legal aid.

However, the reality is that there is a danger that pro bono work may be viewed as a substitute for legal aid by governments.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by National Legal Aid found that Commonwealth Legal Aid funding had decreased by 12 per cent in real terms since 1996-1997.

The 2010 budget allocated $92.3 million dollars over four years to legal aid, which amounts to  approximately $23 million per year.

While $23 million a year is a substantial amount, the Law Council of Australia has reported that the government would need to allocate $43 million per year for an effective legal aid system and even more if the government wanted to increase access to justice. For all those falling through the legal aid cracks, this leads to greater reliance on the pro-bono industry, which in turn demands an increased input from individual lawyers.

ALSA believes it is important to increase access to justice as it is a fundamental tenet of our legal system. Historically one of the main areas that has reported a lack of access to legal services and an increased need for pro bono assistance is rural, regional and remote areas. While ALSA applauds the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s injection of $1.1 million of funding to address the issue of recruitment and retention of lawyers in these industries, ALSA encourages the government to go further in addressing this issue and to
dedicate sustained funding over a number of years in addition to the one-off funding just announced.

ALSA encourages all law students to get involved in pro bono work, legal aid work and to volunteer with a local community legal centre; and to continue this involvement throughout their legal profession.

Cunningham says “Volunteering and pro bono work helps students to positively shape the industry that they will be entering, and provides them with skills and a commitment to public service that will serve them and the community well throughout their future careers.

As students contemplate their future careers, ALSA encourages them to make improving access to justice a priority in their career choices and to scrutinise the pro bono commitments of private law firms with whom they seek employment.”

Media Contact
Fiona Cunningham
Vice-President (Education)
Australian Law Students’ Association
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0431 483 027