Battling domestic violence, assisting the Supreme Court of Tonga and helping provide legal support to the Solomon islands – it’s all in a semester’s work for University of Queensland law students.
More than 110 UQ law students have been recognised free legal work at the annual Pro Bono Student Awards.
UQ Pro Bono Centre Director Monica Taylor said the TC Beirne School of Law aimed to build a strong pro bono ethos in students, along with professional excellence.
“Students have worked alongside organisations as diverse as the Supreme Court of Tonga, the Landowners Advocacy and Legal Support Unit in the Solomon Islands, frontline domestic violence services in Brisbane, a number of private barristers and many community legal centres,” she said.“Through the Pro Bono Centre, our students are able to apply their emerging skills to a range of areas such as community legal education, law reform and legal casework.
“In doing so, they are serving their community by responding to unmet legal need in our society.”
Fifth-year student May-Ann Chen said her pro bono experience with the Immigrant Women’s Support Service had led her to consider areas of law she had not previously thought about.
“I really enjoy being able to speak to clients and I feel like I'm making a real impact,” she said.
“I've also been able to develop some very useful skills such as working with interpreters. It’s a fantastic way to supplement what you are learning in the classroom with what actually goes on in the outside world.
“There are some very interesting, unique areas that you can be involved in, such as migration law, Islamic law and family law.”
Ms Taylor said the awards were an opportunity to acknowledge the students who had participated in the university’s pro bono program, and to inspire them to continue serving their communities.
For more information on the Pro Bono Centre, click here.
Media: UQ Pro Bono Centre director Monica Taylor, m.taylor@law.uq.edu.au , +61 7 3365 6192, +61 (0) 431 866 344; Nadine Davidson-Wall, n.davidson-wall@law.uq.edu.au , +61 7 3346 9263.
