Our Impact

Jane helped her son and daughter-in-law to buy a house by contributing some of the purchase price as a loan. When her son passed away, the daughter-in-law claimed that Jane’s contribution was a gift that she was entitled to keep and applied to remove Jane’s caveat from the property. Jane applied to Law Access for help and was referred to Johnson Winter & Slattery. JWS worked many hours for Jane to provide legal advice and representation that she would not otherwise have been able to afford. They helped Jane to eventually agree an out of court settlement with her daughter-in-law, much to Jane’s relief. JWS lawyer, Kelly Zhang, said of the reason she does pro bono work: “It is rewarding for me to give back.”

Law Access placed Sarah with Tom Monks for pro bono assistance. She has a disability, lives in a regional area in WA and has suffered violence in her relationship with her former partner. Sarah was involved in Family Court proceedings without representation. Tom Monks appeared in court for Sarah to apply for a special order that would mean Sarah would not be cross-examined by the other side in the court. This order was necessary to help protect Sarah from further trauma. Sarah was then able to apply to Legal Aid to help her with the trial.

Tom believes that: “Pro bono work is an essential form of community service that provides assistance to people who are vulnerable. Without pro bono work the scale of justice is always tipped in favour of those who can afford it. As practitioners, we are obligated to balance the scale and provide our vulnerable members of society with a chance to have fair and equitable access to justice.”

The Hero Hunter Foundation was a concept: a not-for-profit organisation that would provide practical and accessible support for families with a child undergoing oncology treatment. The Foundation needed a founding constitution to allow it to register as an organisation.

K and L Gates were thrilled to be assisting this client, found them great to work with and admired what they were achieving. The Foundations said the lawyers assisting were very helpful and willing to go beyond the initial scope (they went on to assist with registering the Foundation’s trademark)."