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Pro bono
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Pro bono

At Deacons, we see pro bono legal services as a natural extension of our obligation to make an active contribution to the wider community in which we practice.

It’s an obligation that we take seriously - both for the opportunities it can create in the lives of others and for the professional enrichment and personal reward it brings to our staff.

View Deacons Pro Bono Annual Report 2009

Overview of pro bono activities

Deacons’ staff undertake pro bono activities and services on behalf of:

  • Disadvantaged or marginalised people who cannot afford legal services
  • Non-profit organisations that work on behalf of members of the community who are disadvantaged or marginalised, or that work for the public good, and
  • Public interest matters of broad public or community concern that would not otherwise be pursued.

Our activities include litigation, legal opinions and advice, drafting documents, research, negotiations and mediation, involvement in law and legal policy reform and community legal education. Deacons only takes part in pro bono activities that match the skills and expertise of our staff. On that basis, we do not undertake criminal, immigration or family law matters.

Deacons’ pro bono activities are brought to our attention by partners and staff, by law societies, institutes and associations, community legal centres and occasionally as a result of direct approaches by members of the public.

Pro bono work is undertaken on a voluntary basis by staff at Deacons. The work carries the same status as fee-paying work and is given equal recognition in staff promotion. Over the past year, more than 40 partners and 180 Deacons staff played an active role in pro bono matters or advice for a range of national, state and local organisations, and selected individuals.

Some examples of our work in the community include:

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"Extending a hand into the wider community we practise in has always been part of the Deacons’ ethos, both for the enrichment it brings to the lives’ of others and for the professional and personal reward it returns to our staff. Now more than ever, we remain firmly committed to our pro bono clients and keenly aware that our role in the legal and business community puts us in a unique position to support them through uncertain times. That’s not something we have any intention of turning away from.”

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