July 24, 2024
Australian and Fijian lawyers addressing unmet legal needs
Thanks to the generous support of the UK Government, the Blue Pacific Pro Bono Collaborative was able to mobilise ten Australian lawyers from four leading law firms to Fiji for secondments varying from two months to two weeks.
Through the Collaborative, Australian lawyers work alongside Fijian lawyers appointed by the Fiji Law Society to provide pro bono legal support to the Pacific Community (SPC), the Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) and the Fiji Law Society. During that time, the lawyers work on projects that address issues such as gender-based violence, access to justice and community resilience, therefore contributing to stability and security in the region.
The Fiji Law Society also hosted its inaugural Pro Bono Roundtable, which has sparked conversations around the development of a more formalised pro bono system that would enable legal practitioners to help address the significant unmet legal needs in the country. Although many Fijian lawyers already do pro bono work, they do so on an ad hoc basis and at their own expense. A collective system would provide lawyers in Fiji with the support they need to take on more pro bono work.
