LawRight December 2021

• 90-year-old Bob owned a $100,000 share in a home with his son but family conflict forced him to leave his home and his belongings. Bob contacted his regional community legal service who wrote to his son but received no response, so they connected Bob to LawRight. A firm acted pro bono for over three years, taking Bob’s problem to the Supreme Court and negotiated a settlement to help Bob recover the money. Bob is now in a new home.
• David had been sleeping rough for years but he built a good relationship with the 3rd Space pro bono lawyers and would often drop in for a chat and legal advice on different issues. When the council threatened to destroy his camp, David wanted to understand his rights. Through negotiations with the council, LawRight helped protect David’s camp while his application for housing was considered. David was prioritised and offered a suitable new home. He has re-located and remains happily housed.
• Sam was a model prisoner and applied for parole, but by the time he was connected to LawRight, he’d been waiting 195 days for the Parole Board to make a decision – already 45 days longer than the law allowed. During the wait, his father had died and his mum became very ill, so Sam was anxious to care for her. Sam could read a bit but he couldn’t write, so pro bono lawyers helped him prepare and lodge an effective formal application to the Supreme Court to compel the Board to decide. LawRight provided 87 similar appointments to prisoners in 2021 as well as 177 self-help toolkits. We also collaborated with others to address the reasons for the delays.
• “we’re there for the journey not the bandaid” according to financial counsellor, Natasha Ramsay who joined our Community and Health Justice Partnerships (CHJP) this year. With hours of persistent pro bono legal work, the CHJP facilitated the resolution of almost $1M of debts and fines which burdened our clients – people who experience homelessness, mental illness, are refugees or victims of sexual assault and are vulnerable to unfair or unlawful practices.
• Over several years LawRight built trust and worked together to achieve a rare Forensic Order revocation. Karen is in her 70s but many years ago, during a relapse of her schizophrenia, she committed a minor property crime and reacted to the investigating police – due to her illness, she believed that they were trying to kidnap her. This resulted in assault charges and ultimately a Forensic Order. Karen has lived a very quiet life since and cooperated with her treating team but hasn’t moved off the Order as she is too anxious to attend Mental Health Review Tribunal hearings and won’t talk to LawRight staff for longer than 10 minutes. When she realized that a Forensic Order will limit her aged care support, Karen knew she could trust us and decided to try for a revocation. She succeeded even though the clinical evidence, client presentation and resistance from the Attorney-General have remained similar for some years. LawRight’s advocacy and persistence ultimately made the difference.