Over 100 registrations were received in the first three days following the launch of an on-line student roster at the UQ Pro Bono Centre in July.
The new roster will allow the Centre to link TC Beirne School of Law student volunteers with law firms, barristers and community legal centres who are seeking student assistance in their pro bono activities.
Undergraduate law students can join the roster by completing an online form. Law firms, barristers and community legal centres can then make requests for student assistance in their pro bono work and students are linked with these firms and centres according to their availability and interest.
UQ Pro Bono Centre Co- Director Mr Paul O’Shea said students undertaking pro bono work through the new roster will not receive academic credit.
“Pro bono, by definition, is work for no reward. The benefits to students lie in the work experience, the professional networks formed, as well as the knowledge that they are working in the public interest for the benefit of the community.
“Pro bono, in Latin, means ‘for the good’ and the UQ roster is good for the community, good for the School of Law, good for the legal profession and good for the students,” Mr O’Shea said.
The current major stakeholder for the Centre’s volunteers is the Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House which administers three schemes: its own public interest scheme, and the new Qld Law Society and Bar Association of Queensland Pro Bono Schemes.
The UQ Pro Bono Centre was launched earlier this year under the patronage of The Hon Paul de Jersey AC, Chief Justice of Queensland as part of the School of Law’s commitment to justice and the effective equality of all persons before the law.
Media: Mr Paul O’Shea, Co-Director UQ Pro Bono Centre, 07 3365 6614, p.oshea@law.uq.edu.au or Lynda Flower, School of Law, 07 3365 2523, l.flower@law.uq.edu.au
