ADELAIDE LAW SCHOOL

adelaide legal outreach service

Inaugural Annual Report

CONTENTS
DEAnS MESSAgE AbOut ALOS ALOSS VISIOn SErVICES Of ALOS ALOS 2005-2010 StuDEntS SupErVISOrS SupErVISOr AnD StuDEnt fEEDbACk fEEDbACk frOM StAkEHOLDErS fEEDbACk frOM CLIEntS ALOS StAtIStICS OutrEACH tO SALVAtIOn ArMy InCuLCAtIng trADItIOn Of prO bOnO WOrk StuDEnt pErSpECtIVES On prO bOnO WOrk funDIng Of ALOS ACknOWLEDgEMEntS 03 04 05 05 06 08 08 10 11 11 13 14

17

17 18 19

PROFILES
JAnE MOuLArADELLIS MArgArEt CAStLES kAtHLEEn MCEVOy 09 12 16

DEaNS MESSagE
Adelaide Legal Outreach Service (ALOS) is a unique service and one which the Adelaide Law School is proud to support. The service was the initiative of Margaret Castles, Kath McEvoy and Alex Warwyk and has been serving the Adelaide community for more than seven years.
In that time ALOS has allowed dozens of law students, under the supervision of academics, to assist members of the community in need. Advice and support has been provided to literally hundreds of South Australians who would otherwise not be aware of their rights and obligations. the service is associated with Westcare. this partnership brings together legal and other services in order to better assist clients. this first Annual report is an appropriate moment to reflect upon the significant work of ALOS. I congratulate the academics, practitioners and students who have invested their time and effort into giving back to our community. professor John Williams Dean of Law, Adelaide Law School

ADELAIDE LAW SCHOOL 03

abOuT aLOS (aDELaIDE LEgaL OuTREaCH SERVICE)

In 2005, the Law Foundation of SA Inc granted the funding for the establishment of the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service (ALOS).
the funding was provided to develop and trial a free legal service to homeless people in South Australia with the aim to provide access to justice and a legal service to the community. the service operates once a week from the Westcare premises situated on Wright Street, Adelaide. the service is operated by legal practitioners and lecturers from Adelaide Law School at the university of Adelaide, who supervise Law students in assisting disadvantaged people to manage their legal issues. Since 2005 ALOS has operated every week for three semesters (approximately 32 weeks of the year), and operates during the university break on a voluntary basis with students, lecturers and supervising solicitors providing continuity of service by way of fortnightly advice sessions. the clinic provides advice not representation, although clients will often receive assistance with steps in proceedings, such as initial advice, drafting pleadings, undertaking research on a wide variety of issues, and other general assistance work for clients. Since commencing, the service has been extremely successful. the following report is an evaluation of the clinic and an assessment of its performance in meeting its aims and objectives.

04 ALOS InAugurAL AnnuAL rEpOrt

aLOSS VISION
ALOS has the dual goal of increasing access to justice by providing a free legal service to disadvantaged people in need of legal advice in the community, and providing Adelaide Law School students with an opportunity to experience real life legal practice and develop a positive attitude toward pro bono work. We aim to make a positive difference to justice access in SA today, and in the future. WE AIM TO BRIDGE THE JUSTICE GAP BY Providing a free legal service to the disadvantaged in the community. Empowering our clients by offering them assistance whilst encouraging them to work towards resolving their own issues. Providing access to justice to those in the community whom would otherwise be unable to gain access to justice. Providing students with supervised practical experience allowing them to develop and apply skills learnt in Law School, whilst encouraging them to take responsibility for their own work. To provide students with an opportunity to work in a team to resolve their clients legal issues. To increase students awareness of the importance of pro bono work and instil a sense of community responsibility and social duty. To develop students awareness of ethics and responsibility in a workplace setting. To enhance the knowledge of members of the community regarding the justice system through the dissemination of information and by making and receiving referrals. To raise the positive profile of law and the legal profession within the community.

aLOS: SERVICES
ALOS assists clients to manage their own legal problems. Common areas we assist our clients with include: baIL CHILD SuPPORT DEbTS CRIMINaL INjuRIES COMPENSaTION FINES aSSauLT CENTRELINk MaTTERS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRaININg ORDERS guaRDIaNSHIP / MENTaL HEaLTH HOuSINg / HOuSINg aPPEaLS NEgLIgENCE aND OTHER CIVIL CLaIMS FORMaL COMPLaINTS DIVORCE aPPLICaTIONS

aLOS 2005-2010
ALOS operates from the Westcare premises every Friday, seeing clients from 12pm onwards.
Every second week students from the clinic participate in an outreach service to the Salvation Army. Over the last year, thirteen students, from the Clinical Legal Education program run by the university of Adelaide, have been involved in the operation of the clinic. these students have been supported and guided by the supervising solicitor, Jane Moularadellis, and also Margaret Castles and kath McEvoy from the Adelaide Law School. ALOS operates from the Westcare premises. Westcare offers us the means to operate office space, computers and phones to enable the clinic to operate smoothly. the assistance, support and insight of the Westcare staff has been a vital part of the service, as clients are able to make appointments during the week. We are appreciative of their continued support. Appointments are made either through the Westcare staff, or by clients ringing on friday morning to organise an appropriate time to see student advisors. Student advisors meet and interview clients in pairs. After obtaining details about the clients legal matter, students then seek instructions from the supervising solicitor about how to handle the matter. the supervisor is not involved in the client interview. After conveying the clients information to the supervisor, the student advisors make suggestions as to possible options and solutions, and consult any reference material if necessary. Once a course of action has been decided on, the supervisor will sign-off on any advice, assistance or information that the student advisors provide to the clients. ALOS operates as a small legal office, with a conflict register and case files. there are strict confidentiality protocols in place. this year ALOS has been able to provide legal advice to a wide range of clients on a wide range of issues. for more information on the breakdown of this advice, please refer to the statistics section (page 13). In 2010 students were involved in a number of projects and initiatives to help promote the service. these included a presentation to the Evolve single parents group at the Salvation Army in pirie Street in the summer Semester of 2010. the presentation was researched and presented to single mothers informing them of their rights as regards custody, access and child support. In Semester 1 of 2010, ALOS students also collaborated with year 12 students at university Senior College to produce a podcast regarding areas of law that are significant to todays youth, such as: transport tickets, mobile phones, drugs and employment issues and rights. projects over previous years have included a proposal that resulted in our outreach service to the Salvation Army, which is now in its third year of operation, and an award winning student-produced DVD regarding the benefits of pro bono legal work. Each student on placement works for one semester at ALOS. there is a summer intensive semester, where students work two days per week for six weeks, and two 12 week semesters where students work one day per week. However in order to maintain continuity of service, the supervising solicitor and student advisors will continue to staff the clinic during the university break on a voluntary basis.

Our Students
the students involved in ALOS aim to assist the disadvantaged and improve social justice. ALOS is a small group learning experience that enables students to develop practical lawyering skills in a closely supervised environment. Students are involved in advising members of the community who are disadvantaged. the following is a list of students who participated in the program in 2010. r.
SuMMEr SChOOL

tess Dunsford patrick Hansen Jessica tucker

SEMESTEr 1

peter rentoulis beryl rachier Alexandra Moody beibei Xu Charlotte Sak

SEMESTEr 2

Alexandra Cobiac rachel Eisen Anika francis kyle Ong talia radan

Our Supervisors
Academic Staff from the Adelaide Law School are involved in the running of the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service. they are also involved in the supervision of students. Ms Jane Moularadellis, Ms Margaret Castles and Associate professor kathleen McEvoy are the supervisors at ALOS.

06 ALOS InAugurAL AnnuAL rEpOrt

2010 saw another successful year for the adelaide Legal Outreach Service. aLOS has provided legal advice and assistance to clients on a weekly basis. The clinic is operated by students who are supervised by a solicitor.

WESTCARE-front office

ADELAIDE LAW SCHOOL 07

SuPERVISOR & STuDENT FEEDbaCk

Working at ALOS over the last two years has been an extremely rewarding experience for me, from both a justice access and teaching perspective. providing legal advice and assistance at the coalface so to speak is meeting the demand for assistance where people can most easily access it - i.e., where they access other services and attend for meals. Extra travel and the expense of further transport are subtracted from the equation of how to access legal services, enabling people to access help who wouldnt usually be able to. this, in addition to our service being free of charge means we fill a significant gap in the legal services market. to be able to do this type of work and also assist in the training of tomorrows lawyers is wonderful. In many cases, placement at ALOS is the first time that students have dealt directly with clients. Students develop practical skills, confidence in the application of their theoretical knowledge of the law, and an insight into the value of pro bono legal services. Many students leave the service with an ongoing resolve to continue and promote pro bono legal work throughout their careers.
Jane Moularadellis | Managing Solicitor

works in the community. Students learn about the value of pro bono work in the community, and the university of Adelaide is able to make a real difference in the local community for people who are most in need of legal support.
Margaret Castles | Course Co-ordinator and Supervisor

Working at ALOS has provided me with a unique opportunity to develop my practical legal skills. While at times I have found it challenging, I have also found it very rewarding; as I have been able to help people who, without services such as ALOS would not seek legal help. Aside from the practical experience I have gained, ALOS has shown me the importance of pro bono work. Without services such as ALOS many homeless people would have significant access to justice issues. My experience at ALOS has allowed me to appreciate the role that lawyers play in enabling all members of society to stand up for their legal rights.
Alexandra Cobiac | Student Advisor
Semester 2, 2010

the placement at ALOS has been a valuable experience for me. I have enjoyed the experience on a number of levels including the opportunity to learn collaboratively with a great group of people. It has given me a practical context in which to apply legal skills and to see how the substantive learning is applied in a real world context. I have also met clients and other people with a significantly different background than I have and its good to see things from a different perspective. It also feels satisfying to use my legal education to contribute to helping people access justice. Legal advice should be available to everyone that may have a need for it and I believe that ALOS provides an extraordinary service to the community. the disadvantaged and disenfranchised are provided with a safe, friendly, and relaxed environment to seek and receive help in many important legal areas and all at no charge.
Kyle Ong | Student Advisor
Semester 2, 2010

Working with students helping homeless and disadvantaged people with their legal problems is incredibly rewarding. Every year we do hundreds of hours of pro bono work for people in the community who fall through the cracks in the legal system. Whether we are helping people to communicate with government Departments or other agencies, helping them to work their way through the complexities of the legal system, or informing them of their legal rights, we can see students making a real difference in the community. As a mainstream law teacher it is also really gratifying to see students starting to apply the law in a real practical setting, and see how law and legal process

My time at ALOS was the first opportunity that I had to practice skills learnt at university in a non-commercial and safe environment. the experience greatly improved my communication skills and was my first real introduction to the art of letter writing! I enjoyed speaking with all of my clients while at ALOS and realised that pro bono work is something that I would be delighted to pursue as a practising lawyer. there are so many decent people who sometimes get into trouble due to their personal circumstances. I loved helping these people and I felt like I was contributing to the community. My time at ALOS was wonderful! I could not rate it more highly.
Peter Rentoulis | Student Advisor
Semester 1, 2010

My placement at the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service has been the most exciting and rewarding part of my law degree. Working at ALOS gives students a chance to put into practice skills they have learnt throughout their course. Students are given hands-on experience right from the start. At ALOS I have been given the opportunity to manage my own files, interview clients, draft court documents and communicate with, and on behalf of clients in a wide range of matters. Working at ALOS provides students with a real understanding of the need for pro-bono legal work in the community. Many of the clients we see would not receive any legal advice without organisations such as ALOS. there is a great sense of satisfaction in knowing that the work we do can make a big difference to their lives.
Anika Francis | Student Advisor
Semester 2, 2010

08 ALOS InAugurAL AnnuAL rEpOrt

jaNE MOuLaRaDELLIS
Supervisor

Jane was admitted as a legal practitioner in 1991, and spent her first couple of years in general practice at Noarlunga. During this time she practised in all areas of general practice with a particular emphasis on Criminal and Family Law. It was at this time that Jane developed her passion for access to justice, and consequently acted as a duty solicitor at the then Noarlunga Community Legal Service. She was also a member of the management committee of the service for several years. Jane then spent three years as a prosecutor with the South Australian Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, during which time she acted as junior counsel on several murder trials, and conducted jury trials on her own in relation to offences ranging from minor drug charges, through to serious assaults and sexual offences. A move to the Riverland in late 1995 saw Jane establish her own legal practice specialising in the areas of Family and Criminal Law. She also established a free legal advice

service for the Riverland Womens Shelter. Jane was a member of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal for 9 years, and has also been a member of the Public Housing Appeal Panel. Recently Jane has taught at both the Flinders University and Adelaide Law Schools intermittently since 2004 and at Adelaide Law School solely for the past two years. She became a Teaching Associate at the Adelaide Law School in 2010. Jane has been working as a supervisor and the managing solicitor at the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service for two years and is also a supervisor and managing solicitor at the Universitys legal advice service which runs out of the Holden Hill Magistrates Court. Jane has been involved with pro bono and legal aid assignment work throughout her career. She is passionate about improving access to justice and affording young lawyers the opportunity to gain hands-on experience.

FEEDbaCk FROM:
Stakeholders
As mentioned earlier in the report, ALOS is hosted by Westcare at their premises once a week. reciprocally, student advisors at ALOS support the baptist Care (SA) Westcare service by assisting in the serving of midday meals for the disadvantaged. this allows the student advisors to remove the typically overwhelming social barriers for the disadvantaged in gaining legal advice. the student advisors introduce themselves and briefly describe the service during the serving of lunch, providing a friendly and non-threatening setting for clients to approach us. Westcare also has other services operating from the premises, including Centrelink and health services. the legal advice provided by ALOS is another complementary service that effectively expands the niche of baptist Care (SA) Westcare. Having legal services on site on a regular basis enables Westcare clients, and disadvantaged members of the community, to engage with the legal system and advance their rights. Westcare are keen to continue their partnership with ALOS because of the benefits reaped for both services.

Before ALOS began, clients would come in with legal issues and have no idea about where to go for help. ALOS is fantastic because it is free and accessible for people whom have a tendency to avoid their issues. The fact ALOS is on-site within the comfort zone of disadvantaged people means they are more likely to seek advice. This is important for people whom find trusting others to be difficult.
David Secomb, | Manager

ALOS is great we often get clients coming in with multiple problems and we can refer them to the legal service when its suitable. Clients are grateful for the assistance as many have unresolved issues which they may not be sure about how to approach. My colleagues at Westcare are also very welcoming to ALOS coming in and complementing our service.
Vanessa Burling | Administration

Clients
the feedback from clients both during and after their legal assistance is very positive, with many clients expressing gratitude and genuine thanks for the assistance given to them at ALOS. Clients are often empowered to make decisions and take action themselves and are motivated to do this with our help. A client feedback survey was provided to clients in the latter half of 2010. this allowed clients the opportunity to confidentially give feedback and comment on our service as they wish. Clients have expressed overwhelmingly positive feedback on a number of factors, indicating that: They have found ALOS to be useful he student advisors show concern T for clients he student advisors are well prepared, T and ensure clients understand the advice given and action to be taken hey would recommend the service T to others They find ALOS easy to access the following are quotes from clients via our client feedback forms. They really motivate you and encourage you to do a follow up. It has been a really good help otherwise I would not have known what to do. Thank you so much for working on this; I am not sure what I would have done otherwise.

10 ALOS InAugurAL AnnuAL rEpOrt

CASE STuDY

bArrIErS tO COMMunICAtIOn
this case imposed several difficulties that we had to overcome. the client has several potential courses of action arising from an assault he suffered an injury inducing fall. the factual background underlying our clients claims was that the assault that our client suffered resulted from an injury inducing fall. this fall caused serious damage to our client and he had to be admitted into hospital and had to undergo surgery in order to correct damage he had sustained. unfortunately,

there was a complication in the surgery which resulted in the client developing an infection that forced the amputation of one of his toes. there were several barriers to effective and cogent communication with Mr b. He was an elderly man who was born and raised in Eastern Europe and had a very limited grasp of the English language. Mr b also had some cognitive impairments that he did not disclose to us other than to say he had problems with his memory and he did not have any definitive dates for any of the incidents in his narrative. We spent a lot of time researching and creating the likely timeline of events that lead to our clients claim.

We corresponded with the police on numerous times on behalf of our client in order to tie down details of the assault and were finally able to access the actual incident report on the assault after filing a freedom of information request. Since our client had a limited income, we were also able to apply to have fees waived in respect to our numerous applications for information. We also pieced together the medical trail of our clients secondary claim and realised that there was much more in the way of mental impairment that our client suffered. We built up a comprehensive basis for our clients claim despite the clients difficulties and he should have enough evidence to be able to continue with his claims.

ADELAIDE LAW SCHOOL 11

MaRgaRET CaSTLES
Supervisor

Marg completed her articles in SA in 1984, and then worked for several years in the Federal Attorney Generals Department in Canberra, before returning to Adelaide to work as a litigation solicitor in the Australian Government Solicitors Office. She worked primarily in the areas of workers compensation, personal injury and commercial litigation, administrative review and child support, practising in the Magistrates, District and Supreme Courts of SA, the AAT and the Federal Court. Since 1996 Marg has worked as a Senior Lecturer at Adelaide Law School, and has been a member of various tribunals (including the SSAT and the PHAP) and has worked as a Senior Case Officer at the Child Support Agency. She has also sat on many boards and committees, including regional health authorities, and community legal centres. She was a founding member of the Refugee Advocacy Service of SA and a part of the Woomera Lawyers group providing legal services to refugees in detention in SA.

In 2001 Marg set up a small legal advice service for students in the Adelaide Magistrates Court and an outreach service to Holden Hill Magistrates Court was set up in 2009. In 2005 Marg worked with two colleagues at Adelaide Law School to set up the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service for homeless and disadvantaged people, which service is also operated by the Adelaide Law School, with students providing legal advice and support on a broad range of matters. Marg maintains managerial and supervisory involvement in all three services. Marg teaches the final year law subjects Dispute Resolution and Ethics, and Evidence and Advocacy, as well as taking elective subjects Alternative Dispute Resolution and Clinical Legal Education. She is committed to justice access in the community, and is privileged to be able to work with law students introducing them to the practice of the law.

aLOS STaTISTICS
The Adelaide Legal Outreach Service currently has a relatively substantial client base. The number of clients is a reflection of the limited time that is allocated to be spent at ALOS. Over the past five years, ALOS has opened and closed a number of files. This is reflected in Figure 1. Figure 1: ALOS Clients
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2005 2006 Files Opened 2007 2008 2009 2010

In 2010, a total of 95 appointments were made with the clinic. While not all clients attended their interviews (see Figure 2), due to the clinics pro-active approach to our interviews with clients, we send out a letter and usually call our clients before their interviews in order to confirm with our clients that they have an appointment with us. This approach has enabled us to remind or re-arrange several interviews that our clients have forgotten about. Since a lot of our clients are homeless, it is not always possible to contact our clients beforehand but this is an aspect we have worked on to ensure we are more efficient in dealing with our clients.

Files Closed

Figure 2: Pie Graph of Interview Attendance

19% | 18 of 95)

81% | 77 of 95

Interviews Missed

Interviews Attended

The nature of the clients disputes were varied. Many clients sought advice with regard to property and tenancy disputes, Victims of Crime Compensations Claims and divorce and family law matters (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Types of Cases dealt with in 2010

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Injuries and Victims of crime compensation

Credit and Debt Owed by client

Govt / Admin issues relating to Fines

road Traffic and MV Offences

Owed to Client

Divorce / Separation / other Family Law issues

Theft and related offences

Will probate

In 2010, the majority of the actions that ALOS undertook on behalf of our clients (Figure 4) involved correspondence to other parties to disputes in order to try and reach some sort of resolution that would be in the best interest of all parties involved. We also help our clients with the requirements for filing of legal documents or applications.

Figure 4: Actions on Behalf of Clients 2010

Filing of Documents & Applications Written Correspdondance Telephone Correspondance

20

40

60

80

100

Property / Tenancy

MV Accident

Negligence

Violence related Offences

120

ADELAIDE LAW SCHOOL 13

Others

140

14 ALOS InAugurAL AnnuAL rEpOrt

OuTREaCH TO SaLVaTION aRMy

Every second friday students and supervisors from the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service (ALOS) participate in an outreach service to the Salvation Army. this enables the service to reach more disadvantaged people in South Australia thus facilitating their access to justice. the Salvation Army staff support the service by allowing the use of their premises free of charge, as well as taking messages for the service during the week and making appointments with prospective clients. As the Salvation Army is not equipped with trained legal professionals, the outreach program is very helpful to assist the Salvation Armys clients who have legal concerns. While this enables ALOS to reach a wider range of clients, it also helps ALOS achieve their goals in assisting members of the community to have access to justice. ALOS has been operating an outreach service to the Salvation Army since 2008 and has continued this successfully throughout 2010. this outreach service will continue through 2011.

CASE STuDY

A DIffICuLt DIVOrCE
Mr C came to ALOS seeking help getting a divorce. He was married 13 years ago for a period of one year. As he had not had contact with his wife since separating, we had the initial problem of determining her current location. Mr C applied for a marriage certificate and from this the correct spelling of his wifes name was determined.

After searching the phone books for her current address, we visited the Australian Electoral Commission to find her current address. fortunately she was listed so we were able to proceed with filling out and filing the divorce papers for Mr C. Mr C filed these documents and served them via registered mail. Several weeks passed and Mr Cs wife had not collected the divorce papers from the post office box. Mr C came to see us again to fill out

documents to dispense with service of his divorce documents. We were able to fill these documents out and write an affidavit outlining the steps he had taken to divorce his wife in the conventional manner. He filed these documents. Mr C was successful in getting his divorce granted. It was a good feeling being able to help Mr C as without services such as ALOS Mr C would not have known the procedure for getting a divorce.

ADELAIDE LAW SCHOOL 15

kaTHLEEN MCEVOy
Supervisor

After completing her law degree Kath first worked as an articled law clerk and then in private legal practice before returning to the Adelaide Law School as an academic. Kath is currently on leave from the Adelaide Law School and is now an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of the Professions. She has taught in the areas of Public Law, Constitutional Law, Labour Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation. Kath has a strong interest in administrative law, dispute resolution and procedural fairness issues, and has taught and published in these areas.

Over the years Kath has been a member of numerous Commonwealth and State tribunals. Her positions have included Chairperson of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, and Member from 1981 1996; Legal Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal; Deputy Presiding Member of the SA Equal Opportunity Tribunal; and Inquiry Commissioner for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1997 2002). Kath is currently the Presiding Member of the Public Housing Appeal Panel. Kath was a founder of the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service and has been involved as a supervisor at the Service since its inception.

INCuLCaTINg TRaDITION OF PRO bONO WORk

the clinic is relatively low cost and is focused on providing access to justice to the most underprivileged people in South Australia, the homeless. In this way the service assists students to make choices about the types of experiences they seek, and the commitments they want to make at various stages of the course of their studies. this is reflected in the comments made by students which are included below. the role that ALOS plays is not only important in providing access to justice to the underprivileged members of society, it is also central to fostering a positive attitude to pro bono work in future lawyers. the time I have spent at ALOS has really made me appreciate how important pro-bono work is to ensuring that less advantaged people have the opportunity to obtain legal advice. As a result of my experience at ALOS I expect that I will seek to promote access to justice through pro-bono work for the remainder of my career.
Anika Francis | Student Advisor

Pro bono work is an essential requirement of any good lawyer; however, it is something that is greatly overlooked by many current practicing solicitors. While the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service (ALOS) aids in developing a law students practical experience, ALOS also offers the opportunity to develop and nurture a commitment in law students to practice law in a way that promotes justice access to all members of society. In particular ALOS provides students the opportunity to work with the poor and disadvantaged people in South Australia research suggests that a positive pro bono experience early in a law students career increases the likelihood that students will undertake pro bono work later in life. ALOS in conjunction with the Clinical Legal Education program is central in aiding and promoting a culture of pro bono work in future students.

Student Perspectives on Pro Bono Work

ALOS has been a very important key in my legal career because it has made me realise the disparity between those who are disadvantaged and those whom can afford the services of a lawyer. Disadvantaged people have a severe barrier in front of them because of their lack of education, and working at ALOS has made me realise just how important it is to promote basic access to justice for these people whom would normally have absolutely no idea about their legal rights. I wish that working in a pro bono environment was a sustainable career option, because I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to assist the less fortunate.
Talia Radan | Student Advisor

providing pro bono assistance to our clients at ALOS has given me a real understanding of the real need and value of this sort of work to the community. programs like ALOS highlights the need for outreach programs in providing an important service to the community and just as importantly, the secondary result of fostering inspiration for law students to want to commit to the public good. I believe that if more students worked in an environment like ALOS, they will realise the responsibility they have as future officers of the court to ensure our legal system operates for the good of all.
Kyle Ong | Student Advisor

CASE STuDY

HELpIng CLIEntS HELp tHEMSELVES

this case is an example of how we help our clients help themselves. the client had a fine issued to him several years earlier but he had failed to pay the fine.

As a result of this failure, the fine had been steadily escalating up to an amount that our client could not afford to pay. We did some research on behalf of Mr M and realised that he had some extenuating circumstances that prevented him from paying the fine and he had a good basis to apply to the Magistrates Court to reduce the fine to its original amount.

We outlined the required procedure that Mr M would have to undertake in order to seek this order. He felt empowered to do the filing and affidavit himself but he wanted some reassurance that we would help him if he needed the assistance. We were happy to give such an assurance and Mr M was able to help himself get out of his legal predicament.

ADELAIDE LAW SCHOOL 17

FuNDINg OF aLOS
After initial funding from the Law foundation of South Australia, the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service is now entirely funded by the Adelaide Law School as part of its commitment to pro bono community contributions, and offering an authentic learning environment for students. the service is provided with premises by Westcare, as well as access to phone lines, fax, printers, computers and a photocopier. Without Westcare the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service would not be able to function. the university of Adelaide It department also facilitates email for ALOS free of charge, and the Adelaide Law School hosts a web page relating to the service, also free of charge to ALOS. The annual running cost of the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service is made up as follows: Solicitor/Manager $20,217

Adelaide Law School/university staff supervision/Management Associate professor kathleen McEvoy 15 sessions @ 4hrs each = 60 hours Senior Lecturer Margaret Castles 15 sessions @ 4hrs each = 60 hours Sundry stationery, stamps, etc $600

18 ALOS InAugurAL AnnuAL rEpOrt 18 ALOS AnnuAL rEpOrt 2010

Acknowledgements
The ADELAIDE LEGAL OUTREACH SERVICE greatly acknowledges the support of the following organisations: ADELAIDE LAW SCHOOL, The University of Adelaide for the funding they supply, in particular for the employment of the managing solicitor, Jane Moularadellis and the time of staff members, Margaret Castles and Kathleen McEvoy. WESTCARE for allowing the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service to operate from their premises JUSTICE NET LEGAL SERVICES COMMISSION THE SALVATION ARMY

The ADELAIDE LEGAL OUTREACH SERVICE is also supported by many individuals who give their time and expertise pro bono. It is their generosity that enables the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service to operate successfully. In particular the Adelaide Legal Outreach Service would like to acknowledge the support of: JANE MOULARADELLIS Managing Solicitor MARGARET CASTLES University Staff Supervision and CLE Course Co-ordination KATHLEEN MCEVOY University Staff Supervision

DISCLAIMEr
the information contained in this publication is correct at the time of printing but may be subject to change without notice. With an aim to continual improvement the university of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. As a result, the specific courses available to students may vary from year to year. the university of Adelaide assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided by third parties.

prIntED 09/2011

thisbigdesign.com.au

Adelaide Legal Outreach Service (ALOS) Telephone +61 8 8118 5200 (fridays) Message service +61 8 8313 0921 (every day) Enquiries alos@adelaide.edu.au Managing Solicitor jane.moularadellis@adelaide.edu.au

for further information regarding the Adelaide Law School Clinical Legal Education Program please contact: Margaret Castles margaret.castles@adelaide.edu.au The Faculty of the Professions The University of Adelaide South Australia 5005 Australia Adelaide Law School +61 8 8313 5063 www.law.adelaide.edu.au

CrICOS provider number 00123M the university of Adelaide 2011

www.law.adelaide.edu.au