LawRight March 2022 – Queensland Legal Walk 2
Congratulations to North Quarter Lane chambers for being the first team to register and the first to donate – with a generous $777.
Prompt registrations save us time and encourage us. Please register your team or yourself today:
If you want help to register, please email Ben at comms@lawright.org.au.
Please give
LawRight delivers two projects without government funding that risk closure:
- Magistrates Court service for self-represented litigants
- Financial counsellor for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness
Last week we spotlighted our financial counselling service and this week we look at the Magistrates Court Service.
Magistrates Court Spotlight
From July 2021, LawRight Court and Tribunal Services increased their services to self-represented litigants in the Magistrates Court, using self-generated funds and the support of pro bono firms to deliver appointments. This fledging service, which has already assisted 65 clients with over 141 legal issues, is now at risk of closure or significant reduction.
Most clients are involved in debt and contractual disputes, having received no legal advice to date. We also help a significant number of individuals trying to enforce judgment debts. Often another community legal centre has helped them obtain a judgment, but not to enforce it. We want to address this issue systemically as well as with the impacted individuals.
The service helped Ji-Min, who hired a car, which was stolen after her locked house was broken into and the car-keys taken. The hire car company started Magistrates Court proceedings for damages, arguing that Ji-Min failed to keep the car locked and the keys secure. She was told “she should have slept with the keys on her” and that if she didn’t propose a payment plan, costs would escalate. Ji-Min tried to prepare a defence but found the task too complicated, so she reached out to LawRight. A pro bono lawyer helped Ji-Min understand the court process and the deficiencies in the statement of claim and assisted her to respond with a settlement offer.
This outcome resolved months of stress for Ji-Min and ensured that court resources wouldn’t be wasted unnecessarily.
Join us for the 2022 Walk on 17 May and celebrate the power of pro bono.