1. Best Practice in Legal Outreach
Kurt Maroske
February 2019

2. LawRight
LawRight is a not-for-profit, community- based legal organisation that coordinates the provision of pro bono legal services for individuals and community groups.
The Outreach Legal Clinics provides free legal information, representation and advice to vulnerable people, including:
those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness;
refugees; and
people experiencing mental health concerns.
Our Outreach Legal Clinics started in as the Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic, and we currently operate 10 clinics in Brisbane and 3 in Cairns.

3. Who LawRight Are
We are a community legal centre, and a member of the Community Legal Centres Queensland and the National Association for Community Legal Centres.
We are a partnership, and work closely with law firms, non- legal community agencies, the Bar Association of Qld, university law faculties, the Qld Law Society, and Legal Aid Queensland.

4. How LawRight Helps
LawRight improves the lives of vulnerable people for the common good by:
Increasing access to the justice system, improving the health and wellbeing of clients, and improving access to housing, income and legal rights;
Creating positive change through proactive reform of systems, laws and policy.
We identify the unaddressed legal problems of vulnerable people by:
Implementing research frameworks to systematically identify access to justice gaps;
Creating resources that diagnose unrecognised legal need or respond to unaddressed legal need.

5. Why do outreach? Provide access for vulnerable clients
Tailor your service to a chosen demographic
Be where your clients are
Fill an unmet legal need
Intervene before a problem escalates
Meet the needs of remote communities

6. How to do outreach Understand the importance of collaboration
Value multi-disciplinary, holistic support
Train your partner agencies
Integrate with partner agencies
Think about technology

7. The Outreach Lawyer Understand relevant areas of law
Understand multiple and compounding disadvantage
Understand your clients’ capability
Communicate legal concepts simply and carefully
Be culturally sensitive
Be trauma-informed

8. 3 Resources
Outreach Best Practices
Consultation Report
Research Report