Annual Report 2004 – 2005 - pilch

PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CLEARING HOUSE
5
Tabitha Lovett –
PILCH Manager
Damien Pitts –
PILCH Coordinator
MEMBERSHIP
PILCH welcomes new members for 2004-2005, including Ebsworth & Ebsworth,
Sparke Helmore, Law Institute of Victoria and 16 new community legal centres.
FUNDING
PILCH is fully funded by membership fees paid by its members. It also receives generous
in-kind assistance from many of its members. In 2004-2005, PILCH held a dinner to
celebrate its 10th anniversary, which raised additional funds for the organisation.
STAFFING
PILCH is staffed by two part-time Co-Executive Directors, Emma Hunt and Paula
O’Brien, a full-time Manager, Tabitha Lovett, a Coordinator, Damien Pitts, and two
secondee solicitors. They are assisted by student volunteers, interns and fellows.
CASEWORK STATISTICS
During 2004-2005, PILCH received 543 requests for legal assistance under the Public
Interest Law Scheme. This is an increase of 13% from the 2003-2004 financial year.
Arising out of those requests, 186 referrals were made to barristers and solicitors. This
is an increase of 54% from the 2003-2004 financial year. These were matters in which
the client was without the means to pay for legal assistance, could not obtain legal
assistance elsewhere, had a meritorious legal issue and met the public interest criterion.
For individuals, this criterion requires that their legal issue affects a marginalised
or disadvantaged group, raises a matter of broad public concern or impacts on a
large number of people and requires addressing for the public good. Not-for-profit
organisations which have public interest objectives also satisfy this criterion.
Of the referrals made under the Public Interest Law Scheme, 53% were for not-for-profit
organisations, 35% were for individuals, and 12% were for groups. Reasons were noted
in the database for 358 inquiries which were rejected by the Scheme. Of those, 71 were
rejected because they failed to meet the Scheme criteria, 95 were referred to other
legal and/or community organisations (including the Schemes administered by PILCH),
86 clients failed to send in the application form or there was no further contact, and
16 clients found their own assistance or resolved the matter by other means.
LAW REFORM AND ADVOCACY
During 2004-2005, PILCH made the following submissions:
• A joint submission on behalf of the Victorian Bar and PILCH to the Commonwealth
Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Migration
Litigation Reform Bill 2005 (April 2005)
• A submission to the Victorian Human Rights Consultation Committee on the
introduction of a Charter of Rights into Victoria (July 2005)
TRAINING
During 2004-2005, PILCH conducted the following training:
• Pro bono migration litigation training with VB LAS (March 2005)
• ‘Eviction Notices’ seminar with Tenants Union of Victoria and VB LAS (April 2005)
PROJECTS
Student Volunteering Program
During 2004-2005, PILCH coordinated the following programs:
• Volunteer program, with 24 students volunteering on a fortnightly basis
• Internship program, with 24 students completing an internship during the university
vacation periods
• Fellowship program, with 8 seasonal clerks from PILCH member firms completing
a fellowship at PILCH as an extension of their clerkship with the firm
• University placement program, with 2 students from the La Trobe University Public
Interest Placement and 1 student from the Melbourne University Law Students’
Society program.
Rural, Regional and Remote Areas
In February 2005, PILCH received confirmation from the Victoria Law Foundation that
PILCH’s application for a Small Grant to conduct a Rural, Regional and Remote (‘RRR’)
Pilot Project was successful. The Managers of PILCH, LIV LAS and VB LAS plan to travel
to Morwell, Moe and Bairnsdale in 2005-2006, to meet with local lawyers, courts and
community groups to encourage their use of PILCH’s pro bono services for their clients.
Public Interest Law subjects
PILCH has worked with Latrobe University Law School to develop a Public Interest Law
Masters subject. This subject will most likely run in February 2006 with PILCH teaching
some components of the course.
EVENTS
During 2004-2005, PILCH hosted the following events:
• PILCH 10th Anniversary Dinner, with guest speakers the Honourable Rob Hulls MP
and Sir Anthony Mason (September 2004)
• Annual General Meeting, with guest speaker Chief Justice Marilyn Warren
(November 2004)
• ‘Human Rights and Guantanamo Bay’ seminar, with guest speakers Richard Bourke
and Lex Lasry QC (December 2004)
• SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Protest) Writs seminar, with guest
speakers Brian Walters SC, Jodie Nicholls, Stuart McCallum and Andrew Kenyon
(May 2005)