LawRight Summer Reads #1

While you are sipping something cool, snoozing after a bush walk or recovering from a family feast, you can binge-read our Annual Report or alternatively work your way through the highlights in this weekly series. Enjoy!

The Big Quiz

Q1. How many pro bono hours did the legal profession deliver through LawRight in 2019-20?

a.    29, 904
b.    33,383
c.    38,983

(Answer B. 33,383. If you answered 29,904 that was our 2018-19 pro bono hours, so let’s aim high for 2020-21)

Q2. Is 778 the annual number of:

a.    clients of our Court and Tribunal Services, incorporating the former Self Representation Service
b.    applicants seeking referral to a law firm for pro bono representation?
c.    number of “secondary consultations” our lawyer offers health workers on-site at Wuchopperen Health Service, growing their capacity to understand the legal needs of clients?

(Answer A. We had 819 applications for pro bono referrals and delivered an estimated 900 secondary consultations.)

Q3. At how many different locations is LawRight embedded on-site?

a. 11
b. 16
c. 20

(Answer C. We are co-located at 20 community and health organisations or courts and tribunals, and have one central office)

Q4. How many QCs are members of LawRight?

a.    9
b.    19
c.    29

(Answer B)

Q5. What was the size and complexity of Violet’s telco debt?

Violet was homeless as a teenager and now lives in social housing. She was “broke as hell” when she asked her telco to repair her phone. Instead they signed her up to a more expensive contract. She was now $2,400 in debt and the telco wanted the phone back. LawRight spent 6 months chasing details of the debt while the telco repeatedly assigned the debt to multiple collections companies.

After LawRight raised concerns of inappropriate contracting, failure to conduct correct credit assessments and breaches of consumer protection obligations with the telco and the Ombudsman, the debt was waived and Violet could keep the phone. Violet stays connected with her lawyers, her housing is stable, “finances in order and everything has been really good for her”.

Read more in our Annual report