Community Legal Centres (1 Viewer)

[Frigid]

my fellows,

i would like to point out the following website, Community Legal Centres Volunteers, for those of you who may be interested in perhaps helping out a CLC for one afternoon a week these holidays and into the university year.

for those who have volunteered, kindly share your experience with the rest of us

 

[santaslayer]

my fellows,

i would like to point out the following website, Community Legal Centres Volunteers, for those of you who may be interested in perhaps helping out a CLC for one afternoon a week these holidays and into the university year.

for those who have volunteered, kindly share your experience with the rest of us

Hmm they make it sound extremely hard to even get a volunteer job. They pretty much accept 3rd year students above. Might have look at this. Thanks.

 

[MiuMiu]

Yeah Ive looked into it, most of them have massively long waiting lists, its not like they're in desperate need.

Better off getting paid!

 

[cognoscente25]

I've been volunteering at a community legal centre for about 6 months now. It's great experience and means that when you apply for jobs you can say that you have experience working in a legal environment which employers value. You may also get to work on some interesting cases and meet a variety of other interesting solicitors and law students. Some of the things you do include:
* legal research
*drafting legal correspondence such as briefs to counsel and letters to open and close files
*providing information and referrals to clients of the centre
*conducting conflict checks and booking appointments

 

[Frigid]

Some of the things you do include:
* legal research
*drafting legal correspondence such as briefs to counsel and letters to open and close files
*providing information and referrals to clients of the centre
*conducting conflict checks and booking appointments

do you actually draft a letter or do you just type what the principal solicitor dictated?

secondly, do you have to file?

 

[cognoscente25]

generally the solictor in charge of the file (which is not always the principal solicitor) will give you the file and tell you what to say in the letter/brief. You'll have a look at the file and then read some examples of similar documents on other files. Then you draft the letter and give it back to the solictor who will invariably make some changes and then send it off.

I'm yet to file a document in court although am often running all over the city to deliver documents to other solictors who work for the centre.

It's fun work which is usually interesting. Apart from having to photocopy and file which is part of any legal assistant's job.

 

[xeuyrawp]

This sounds awesome. Thanks for the link. Something to look at in the future, assuming I still don't have 3 jobs...

 

[MaryJane]

I've looked into this, and I've saved the application for the Broadway CLC, because MQ's one is out west far, far away.

This would be a great experience, but, like MiuMiu, the waiting list is hella long.

There are also separate forms if you want to apply for your graduate practical training thingo in a CLC.

 

[NonCompusMentis]

lol did you sign up to ask for free legal advice?

 

[xeuyrawp]

Hmm wondering if any of you law guys could help me out...

I had an altercation with a family member (let's say Bill) a few days ago where he was trying to steal some of my property in the house. Some wrestling ensued and I hit Bill in the face (swollen eye), whereupon another family member called the police. The police said i could be charged with common assault (i am over 18 and Bill is just under) but Bill withdrew the complaint and signed something saying he wouldn't give evidence. The police said though that they won't take action now but because it's domestic, it will be up to their commander if he wishes to press charges.

I had to give a statment about what happened and the officer went through the "anything you say or do i can use as evidence" catchphrase. I also signed a statement saying I would not give evidence for an event that took place a month earlier where Bill had attacked me with a knife.
This is a family thing that has just got a bit out of hand, and I nor Bill want any charges layed as we don't want any criminal records.

I'm confused what happens from here. Can anyone explain what may happen if the police commander decides to press charges? How long will it take for him to do that? If i am charged, what are the ramifications of this (the officer said I could lose my passport, denied government jobs, etc.) ?

If your brother actually did attack you with a knife, I think you being charged for assault is the least of your worries. You should probably work on fixing your relationships.

Sibling relationships have been proven to be the strongest, longest lasting relationships of them all. The time-frame which you know each other, coupled with the depth of your understanding of each other, means that your brother could potentially be your best friend.

I wouldn't waste such an opportunity.

 

[ManlyChief]

So wise, Pwar. I wish I had a brother or sister ... being an only child, at times, sucks.

 

[BillytheFIsh]

rogerm:

You'll be fine.

If the victim of something as minor as a swolen eye withdraws a complaint and isn't following through, the cops aren't going to spend their resources on the issue.

 

[cognoscente25]

RogerM,
Although the comments here may be helpful it would be wise to seek some qualified legal advice. If you give your local community legal centre a call they may be able to provide you with some free advice. There is a list at www.naclc.org.au/ under CLC directory.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[= Jennifer =]

thanks for the link frigid i am going to look into this

 

[LaraB]

uws'ers - there's most of these plus a few different ones on the pro bono info site so if you want any extra on top of that site may be worth havin a look there

just curious - what association do you guys' unis run Pro-Bono through? coz i know there's a few but just curious which unis use what...?

ps - lol double post jen tsk tsk

 

[= Jennifer =]

lol all fixed