National Pro Bono Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme

National Pro Bono Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme Application Form

Notes on the Application Form

This Application Form is for cover under the National Pro Bono Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme (Scheme) policy held by the Australian Pro Bono Centre (Centre) for pro bono projects (Projects) approved by the Centre.1 A broad definition of pro bono projects is applied based on the Law Council of Australia 1992 definition of pro bono legal work.2

The form should be completed by the proposed coordinator for the Project (Applicant). The Applicant must provide the information requested in the form and sign the declaration on the last page of the form. The information in the form will be used to determine whether the proposed Project is eligible for professional indemnity insurance cover for the lawyers and paralegals who work on the Project.

Background on the Scheme

The Centre has taken out an insurance policy with Lawcover Insurance Pty Ltd (Lawcover) that provides professional indemnity (PI) insurance cover for lawyers and paralegals carrying out or involved in legal services conducted with the approval of the Centre. A copy is available on the Centre’s website (Policy). Please read the Policy carefully as it includes terms and conditions including exclusions from cover.

The Policy was taken out by the Centre to help in-house lawyers in corporations and government to undertake unpaid pro bono legal work. Accordingly, the Centre has paid the policy premium and there is no application fee or charge to be paid by the Applicant. The Centre will also pay any excess that is required to be paid in the event of a claim. The Policy is a “safety net” policy so cover will only extend to circumstances where there is no other PI insurance cover that applies to the lawyers or paralegals working on the Project. The Applicant is required to provide details of any other insurance policy that may provide PI cover for work done on the Project. The Policy has been approved under appropriate legislation and/or regulations in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, as providing appropriate insurance cover.

1 For the avoidance of doubt, these Notes on the Application Form comprise part of the Application Form. 2 Note that this is different from the definition of pro bono legal work which applies to the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target. The rationale behind using a broader definition in the context of the PI Insurance Scheme is to facilitate as much in-house pro bono as possible.

Version 22072015 Page 1 Responsibilities of those covered by the Policy

The responsibility for coordination of each Project will rest with the lawyer who is the Applicant. This lawyer could be in a pro bono clearing house, a law firm, retired, on a career break or in-house but must be the person who completes the Application Form.

Responsibility for providing legal advice and holding appropriate practising certificates will rest with the supervisor of the work undertaken by the lawyers and paralegals working on the Project (Supervising Lawyer). The Applicant may also be the Supervising Lawyer if the Applicant holds the appropriate practising certificate required in the relevant jurisdiction.

The matter of holding an appropriate practising certificate that authorises the Supervising Lawyer for the Project to undertake this legal work is a matter for the Applicant. If the Supervising Lawyer only holds a restricted practising certificate the Applicant will need to ensure that they acquire an unrestricted practising certificate in order for the Applicant to undertake the proposed pro bono legal work. It is the Centre’s policy to only approve pro bono projects where the Supervising Lawyer holds an unrestricted practising certificate.

If you have any concerns with regard to the appropriate type of practising certificate please contact the Law Society in your jurisdiction.

Any person covered by the Policy has certain obligations and responsibilities which are set out in this Application Form and the Policy. Key amongst these is the obligation to notify any claim or circumstance which could lead to a claim and co- operate with the insurer. The Applicant must report every six months to the Centre with the names of all lawyers and paralegals who have worked on any approved pro bono project and their pro bono hours worked, or as otherwise required.3

As these obligations will apply once the approval is granted, you should read the Policy and if required take your own advice as to the protection it will afford to you before submitting the completed Application Form.

Criteria for Project approval

In order for a Project to be approved by the Centre an Application Form must be submitted that complies with and describes a Project that will provide pro bono legal work as defined in the Policy (based on the Law Council of Australia 1992 definition of pro bono legal work) as follows:

1. A lawyer, without fee or without expectation of a fee, advises and/or represents a client in cases where:

3 It is essential that accurate records of hours worked be kept as these are reportable to the Insurer by the Centre and may affect the insurance premium.

Version 22072015 Page 2 (i) a client has no other access to the courts and the legal system; and/or

(ii) the client's case raises a wider issue of public interest; or 2. The lawyer is involved in free community legal education and/or law reform; or 3. The lawyer is involved in the giving of free legal advice and/or representation to charitable and community organisations.

Projects will also be assessed using the definition of "pro bono legal services" used in the Centre’s National Pro Bono Aspirational Target which is more specific about certain activities that have been considered "grey areas" in some definitional debates.

The Centre wants to encourage in-house lawyers to become involved in pro bono projects. The Centre maintains a Register of Approved Projects on its website which lists the details of all approved Projects (including the name of the insured, the Project, other parties involved, and the date of approval). The Register can be viewed on the Centre’s website at http://www.nationalprobono.org.au/page.asp? from=8&id=302.

The Policy will provide insurance cover, subject to its terms and conditions, for all lawyers and paralegals who have worked on a Project provided their names are provided to the Centre as required.

National Pro Bono Project letterhead

The Centre provides “National Pro Bono Project” letterhead for use in providing advice under the Project with the endorsement that “Legal advice is being provided through a pro bono project approved by the Australian Pro Bono Centre” so as to make clear that the advice is being provided by the individual lawyer covered by the Policy and not the corporation or government that employs them. A similar endorsement should be used on emails concerning work done in accordance with an approved Project.

Version 22072015 Page 3 APPLICATION FORM

Please complete the following details:

1. Name of Applicant

…………………………………………………………………………………….……

2. Contact Details of Applicant

Title/Position: …………………………………………………………………….. Email Address…………………………………………………………………….. Phone Number (0 )…………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………

3. Name and Postal Address of Employer of Applicant

…………………………………………………………………………………………

4. Names (if known) of: a) proposed Supervising Lawyer(s): and ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………

b) other lawyers who are proposed to be working on the Project.

………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Names of State(s) and/or Territories where the Supervising Lawyer(s) holds a practising certificate. (If you have any concerns about whether the practising certificate held by the Supervising Lawyer for the Project fulfils the requirements in your jurisdiction, contact the Law Society in that state or territory.) …………………………………………………………………………………………

6. Have you had ANY claim made against you for professional negligence for any prior pro bono legal work undertaken? YES/NO

7. Are you aware of any matters, circumstances or facts that may give rise to a claim for professional negligence against you for any prior pro bono legal work undertaken? YES/NO

Version 22072015 Page 4 THE PROJECT

8. Is the Project being conducted in conjunction with other parties or agencies? If so, please provide details of the nature of any such arrangements.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………......

9. Name and description of the Project, including the type of legal work proposed to be undertaken. (Attach further details if necessary.) …………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………

10. Are any fees to be charged to the client for doing the pro bono legal work? YES/NO

11. Is there any other professional indemnity insurance policy that may provide cover for any aspect of the legal work to be done as part of the Project. If yes, please provide name of insurer, policy number and period of cover.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

12. Proposed start date of the Project?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

13. In what jurisdiction(s) is the pro bono legal work proposed to be performed?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

14. Have you provided pro bono legal services in this/these jurisdiction(s) before?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Version 22072015 Page 5 DECLARATION

I ,……………………………………, apply for the Project to be covered by the Policy and if the application is successful, I agree to:

 comply with the terms of the Policy;  keep accurate records of the names of all lawyers and paralegals who have worked on the Project and the number of hours each has spent doing pro bono legal work;  ensure compliance with the practising certificate requirements in the relevant jurisdiction(s) for the Supervising Lawyer;

and to advise the Centre as soon as practicable of:

 any change in the Applicant or Supervising Lawyer for the Project;  the names of each lawyer and paralegal who have worked on the Project and the number of hours each has spent doing pro bono legal work following the six month period ending 30 June and 31 December each year, starting from the date of approval of the Project, or as required;  any written or verbal demand or claim alleging professional negligence arising from the provision of legal services provided within the ambit of the Project made against any lawyer or paralegal who has worked on the Project;  becoming aware of any circumstance which could reasonably be expected to result in such demand or claim for negligence; and  the completion or close date of any approved Project after that occurs.

………………………………………………………………………………… Signed Date

PRIVACY STATEMENT The Australian Pro Bono Centre is committed to protecting the privacy of the information you provide to us. We need to collect the information requested on this form to enable us to ascertain whether you are eligible for professional indemnity insurance cover under the Policy.

Version 22072015 Page 6 We may disclose the information we collect on this form to:

 Our staff involved in carrying out our functions  Contractors engaged by us in carrying out our functions  Lawcover in order to meet our obligations under the Policy

We may also disclose the names of the lawyers involved with the project, the names of their employers and the nature of the project through the Centre’s publications including its website.

By completing and returning this form you agree to us using and disclosing your information as set out above.

If the information provided on this form is personal information, you can ask us what personal information we hold about you and where necessary notify us of any changes so we can ensure the information we hold about you is accurate, complete and up to date.

This application form should be signed, dated and returned to the Centre:  by email to [email protected];  by fax to (02) 9385 7375; or  by post to The Director, Australian Pro Bono Centre, Law Building, UNSW, NSW 2052.

Version 22072015 Page 7