Pro Bono

 

We’re committed to giving back to our communities by doing work for the public good. Our pro bono practice embraces our ethical responsibility as a firm to help those in need, and enriches the personal and professional lives of the Hall & Wilcox lawyers who get involved.

There is a compelling, unmet need created by access to justice issues and unrepresented litigants in the courts. That’s why we encourage everyone at the firm to do pro bono work and give them full credit for the time they spend doing it.

We currently receive pro bono referrals from several inspirational organisations, including:

We have prepared a report about how Hall & Wilcox supports the protection of human rights.

As part of International Day of People with Disability, we have published a report outlining how we help provide access to justice to all. We encourage you to read our report.

Our Pro Bono & Community Committee

Our Pro Bono & Community Committee comprises representatives from all areas of the firm, including legal professionals and corporate services. Our pro bono practice is managed by Nathan Kennedy.

The committee considers requests for pro bono legal assistance that are referred by a number of organisations and our people. The committee actively seeks out opportunities to partner with organisations to provide pro bono legal assistance and establish long-standing relationships.

In this video, Nathan Kennedy explains how important pro bono is to our purpose as a firm and talks about some of the areas we are involved in.

Recent Pro Bono Activities

  • Hall & Wilcox is an active member of Justice Connect (New South Wales and Victoria), Law Access (Western Australia) and LawRight (Queensland). These organisations provide us with a steady flow of challenging and compelling referrals from not-for-profits, local Aboriginal Land Councils and individuals. The pro bono advice given comes from all practice areas of the firm.
  • Hall & Wilcox lawyers regularly attend the Seniors Rights Service clinic to provide legal advice to older people in NSW. Common areas of advice include consumer issues (debt management, unfair contracts), human rights (elder abuse including financial, discrimination), planning ahead (wills, power of attorney, guardianship) and accommodation issues.
  • Hall & Wilcox has been the primary legal advisor for over five years in connection with the establishment of Australia’s first Pride Centre, the Victorian Pride Centre. This has involved our full-service team assisting with organisational and governance structuring, financing, site selection, construction, leasing and sponsorship/partnerships.
  • Our people volunteer monthly on the Australian Centre for Disability Law telephone advice line.
  • We provide motor vehicle specialist assistance at the MVA clinic, which is run by the Marrickville Legal Centre.
  • Our lawyers provide advice at the Homeless Persons’ legal clinics in Sydney and Raymond Terrace in partnership with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. Our lawyers in Melbourne also provide advice through the newly established Homeless Law service in partnership with Justice Connect.
  • Hall & Wilcox assists clients with self-representation services in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, helping people tackle bankruptcy, employment, administrative law and human rights matters in the various Courts.
  • We assist workers who have been subjected to wage theft, sham contracting and discrimination through our partnerships with Marrickville Legal Centre and the Fitzroy Legal Service.
  • Our people volunteer on the Queensland Advocacy Inc. telephone advice line, advising on guardianship, administration and mental health legal matters.
  • We have provided a secondee lawyer to Mirrabooka Community Legal Centre to advise clients on minor civil, debt and restraining order matters.
  • Our people appear as Respondent Duty Lawyers in the Magistrates Court for restraining order matters in Western Australia.
  • We are currently supporting the Older People’s Rights Service, a multidisciplinary program offering advice to those experiencing Elder Abuse perpetrated by people of trust.
  • Hall & Wilcox is assisting Indigenous victims of institutional abuse by working with knowmore to prepare legally valid Wills.
  • We regularly contribute to law reform initiatives on issues of the public interest.
  • We provide lawyers on secondment to our community legal centre partners to promote access to justice in our communities by assisting vulnerable groups, such as asylum seekers and those going through the Queensland Mental Health Tribunal process.
  • Hall & Wilcox exceeded the national target of 35 hours of pro bono work per lawyer in the 2020-2021 financial year and we look forward to continuing to do so.

In celebration of Indigenous Business Month, we would like to acknowledge the First Nations businesses we work with. Read our update for more details.

On World Refugee Day, we celebrate the courage and resilience of people who have fled their countries to seek safety from persecution. We have prepared this report as a snapshot of our work in this area and to acknowledge the work of organisations such as the Refugee Advice & Casework Service, Refugee Legal and Afghan Women on the Move.

We have prepared a Human Rights Day report to share some of our clients' stories to showcase how access to justice can be a key enabler of human rights protection.

To recognise and celebrate Pride Month (June), we have released our Pride and Pro Bono Report. As we look to the future of LGBTQIA+ equality in Australia, we write this report to remember where we have come from and reflect on the progress made so far and what’s to come.

Elder Abuse is one of the key areas of focus for our national Pro Bono & Community practice. Find out more about how we have assisted older persons over the past year.

Key contact

Nathan Kennedy
Partner, Head of Pro Bono & Community and ESG Co-Lead

Nathan is the firm's Head of Pro Bono & Community. His practice covers employment, administrative law and human rights.

More about Nathan