In this episode no. 20 I interview Sue Garlick, the first community legal centre lawyer on the podcast. Sue is Joint Director of LawRight, formerly QPILCH, a pro bono clearing house in Queensland which increases access to justice for vulnerable people through strategic partnerships with pro bono professionals.
Sue explains why LawRight – which itself was an innovation for its time – was established and shared her thoughts on innovation broadly and especially in the legal assistance sector, as well as her views on the biggest access to justice issue and ways to address it using specific examples from LawRight’s multidisciplinary services.
You are likely aware of the major ongoing challenge for the sector, namely decreasing government funding, but you may be surprised by what Sue sees as other challenges in regards to innovation. She had some interesting, perhaps controversial views about whether empathetic lawyering may co-exist with an entrepreneurial mindset.
This episode will be of special interest to justice entrepreneurs wanting to hear first-hand from an experienced community lawyer about current issues and challenges, to community lawyers wanting to be innovative in their service delivery and law students interested in a career in social justice.
In my view, the multidisciplinary and client-centric approach of community lawyering comes through very strongly.
Links:
Community Legal Centres Qld needs
Andrea Perry-Petersen – LinkedIn – Twitter @winkiepp – andreaperrypetersen.com.au
Twitter – @ReimaginingJ
Facebook – Reimagining Justice group