The global financial crisis (GFC) has been a contributing factor to increased pro bono hours at McCullough Robertson.
In the 2009 financial year, McCullough Robertson lawyers clocked up about 2,500 hours of pro bono work across the board. The firm is now working towards signing up for the National Aspiration Pro Bono target of at least 35 hours per lawyer per year.
According to the firm's head of non profit group Heather Watson, pro bono work has "systematically" increased over the past three years, and part of this is due to lawyers having more free time in the past six months. "The downturn has helped increase our firm's pro bono capacity. We've been able to spread the work across a broader group of lawyers with people more capable of responding, since pro bono work has been part of the reallocation of lawyers from quieter practices to busier areas," she said.
In addition to reaching this goal, pro bono work has helped lawyers gain more job satisfaction. "Lawyers in certain practices may not engage with the broader community, but with pro bono they can. A workplace relations senior associate actively involved in high-end corporate disputes recently took on an advisory committee role with a start-up charity that provides accommodation for the disabled. Initially she was unsure about what contribution she could make, but eventually found her skills were valuable, which was encouraging," Watson said.
Pro bono can of course fit well alongside billed work. A partner involved in infrastructure work for mining and corporate clients has increasingly engaged with the Australian indigenous community to resolve native title issues. "This has led to a focus on reviewing governance structures and providing tax advice on indigenous-specific concessions. It also included establishing an indigenous scholarship and assisting students from remote Aboriginal communities to find boarding closer to study. The partner bridged the gap between a need in the community and a commercial interest," said Watson.
Key areas of pro bono at McCullough Robertson
- Assisting clients at the Queensland Public Interest Legal Clearing House (QPILCH) and Homeless Persons Legal Clinic
- Preparing documents and reviewing them for disadvantaged clients at the Self-Representation Civil Law Service
- Running six-month governance seminar series focused on community and not-for-profit organisations
- Assisting corporate clients on health or mental health issues
A more in-depth analysis of pro bono will be published in ALB's website. Please click here to subscribe for our e-newsletter.