WA Pro Bono Report Final Sept 2013
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DOING THE PUBLIC GOOD A feasibility study of pro bono models for AUGUST 2013 Western Australia Prepared by Kalico Consulting for the WA PILCH Reference Group Scoping Study Subcommittee 'If justice is not accessible to ordinary Australians, the rule of law becomes mythical.' The Honourable Wayne Martin AC, Chief Justice of Western Australia (2012) i CONTENTS CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................. I DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................................... IV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ VI RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................... VIII 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1Background ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 1 2 PRO BONO IN AUSTRALIA ............................................................................................ 3 2.1 A brief history ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1.1 Early days ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1.2 Establishment of publically funded legal assistance ................................................................................ 3 2.1.3 Cuts to legal assistance and the growth of pro bono referral schemes .............................................. 4 2.1.4 Establishment of Pro Bono Clearing Houses ............................................................................................... 5 2.2 The current Australian landscape ............................................................................................... 5 2.2.1 Policy context .................................................................................................................................................. 5 2.2.2 Recent developments ..................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2.3 Schemes currently in operation .................................................................................................................... 7 2.2.4 Law firm pro bono programs ....................................................................................................................... 7 2.2.5 Variety of schemes equals fragmentation? ............................................................................................... 8 2.2.6 Emerging trends .............................................................................................................................................. 9 2.3 The international context .............................................................................................................. 9 3 PRO BONO IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA .......................................................................... 12 3.1 Policy context ............................................................................................................................... 12 3.2 Mapping current Western Australian pro bono services ..................................................... 12 3.2.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................................................ 12 3.2.2 Law Access ..................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.2.3 Western Australian Bar Association .......................................................................................................... 16 3.2.4 Law firms ........................................................................................................................................................ 16 3.2.5 Aboriginal legal service providers ............................................................................................................ 20 3.2.6 Community legal centres ............................................................................................................................. 20 3.2.7 Legal Aid Western Australia ...................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.8 Law schools .................................................................................................................................................... 24 3.3 Issues arising from current arrangements ............................................................................... 25 3.3.1 Survey data ................................................................................................................................................... 25 3.3.2 Stakeholder interviews ................................................................................................................................ 27 4 UNDERSTANDING LEGAL NEED ................................................................................... 29 4.1 Defining legal need .................................................................................................................... 29 4.2 Expressed legal need ................................................................................................................. 30 4.2.1 Pro bono schemes ......................................................................................................................................... 30 4.2.2 CLC data ........................................................................................................................................................ 30 4.2.3 Legal Aid WA ............................................................................................................................................... 31 ii 4.3 Research evidence ...................................................................................................................... 32 4.3.1 Unmet need linked with limitations on legal assistance ......................................................................... 32 4.3.2 Stakeholder Consultative Committee review ........................................................................................... 33 4.3.3 National legal needs and strategic planning project ............................................................................ 35 4.3.4 Self represented litigants ............................................................................................................................ 37 4.3.5 WA feasibility study surveys ...................................................................................................................... 38 4.3.6 Legal needs Australia-wide survey ........................................................................................................... 40 4.4 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 44 5 MODEL OPTIONS ......................................................................................................... 46 5.1 Some key questions ..................................................................................................................... 46 5.1.1 Is there a need to change the current pro bono arrangements in WA? ............................................ 46 5.1.2 What unmet legal need should be addressed? ..................................................................................... 47 5.1.3 What function and role should be undertaken under any new arrangement/model? ................... 48 5.1.4 What demographic and geographic factors need to be taken into account? ................................. 49 5.2 Model options .............................................................................................................................. 51 5.2.1 Model development and the pro bono forum ........................................................................................ 51 5.2.2 Suggested models and costings ................................................................................................................. 54 5.2.3 Model A: ADVISORY GROUP .................................................................................................................... 55 5.2.4 Model B: STATE BASED CENTRALISED CLEARINGHOUSE .................................................................... 57 5.2.5 Model C: MULTI-STATE CENTRALISED CLEARINGHOUSE .................................................................... 62 5.2.6 Model D: PARTNERSHIP MODEL ................................................................................................................ 65 5.2.7 Comparative table of models ...................................................................................................................