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Justice, opportunity

and empowerment
Global Pro Bono and
Corporate Responsibility Report
Contents
Justice

Assisting marginalised and disadvantaged individuals 5

Working to ensure justice at a strategic level 7

Supporting fair trials and due process 7

Opportunity

Supporting young people 8

Assisting organisations which support marginalised and disadvantaged people 14

Impact investing 15

Reconciliation 16

Empowerment

Advising clients with cognitive impairments, mental illnesses or disabilities 21

Assisting vulnerable communities affected by migration 23

Supporting homeless members of our communities 26

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Foreword
Ashurst is committed to being a sustainable global law firm which
delivers positive impacts for its employees, clients, profession,
environment and the communities in which it is based.
At Ashurst, we see the law as a profession that comes with ethical obligations, including that of making the
law available to all. Our global pro bono practice allows our lawyers to fulfil this obligation and meaningfully
contribute to communities.

We operate pro bono as a stand-alone legal practice, where our pro bono clients experience the same levels of
service as our commercial clients. These legal services are provided in accordance with our established pro bono
criteria which state that pro bono is the provision of legal assistance free of charge:

• to disadvantaged and marginalised people of limited means;

• to non-profit organisations and social enterprises assisting people who are disadvantaged and marginalised,
where payment of legal fees would unreasonably deplete the organisation’s economic resources; and

• in matters for the public good of broad public or community concern.

We are committed to creating a world leading pro bono practice and our Board has set a pro bono target of 52
hours for each of our lawyers per year; a goal reflected in our global pro bono policy. Alongside our pro bono
legal work, we also play an active role around the world in supporting the development of local pro bono
culture, infrastructure and collaboration.

We continue to develop focus areas for our pro bono practice globally, regionally and at a country level with a
view to effecting positive change in those areas. As an example, since 1999 Ashurst in Australia has focussed
on Indigenous Australians, people with a cognitive disability or mental illness and their carers and people in
rural, regional and remote areas.

Our global corporate responsibility programme is separate from the global pro bono practice. Corporate
responsibility is a core component of our firm’s culture and is a reflection of our values - collaboration,
excellence, innovation, integrity and accountability - in action.

Our global corporate responsibility programme is made up of projects local to individual offices within our
network, which reflect the social, political, economic and environmental challenges of each jurisdiction, as
well as regional and global efforts which we run across all of our offices. Projects fall within four focus areas:
volunteering and giving; business community leadership; reconciliation (Australia only); and environment.

As the global head of pro bono and corporate responsibility, I am very fortunate in being able to witness
first-hand the passion, enthusiasm and commitment demonstrated by Ashurst’s people through both the
global pro bono practice and global corporate responsibility programme. I am delighted to share some of
their FY15/16 work with you through this report.

Sarah Morton-Ramwell
Partner, Global Head of Pro Bono
and Corporate Responsibility

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“We believe all individuals should be able to have
access to the legal system to protect or assert
their rights, irrespective of their financial situation.
This belief is at the heart of our global pro bono
practice, ensuring that we focus our efforts where
access might otherwise be denied.”
Paul Jenkins, Ashurst Managing Partner

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Justice
Assisting marginalised and disadvantaged individuals

For people experiencing poverty and for vulnerable members of society,


community-based free legal advice services are invaluable. Once
identified, some problems are straightforward and easily resolved;
others prove more complex and require longer term assistance. A legal
problem can have significant impact on a number of areas of everyday
life, especially for marginalised and disadvantaged individuals.

We are fortunate to work with many excellent community-based advice organisations to provide pro bono
assistance. This assistance ranges from running clinics which address everyday legal problems, through to
secondments. Some of our projects include:

Everyday advice

Our long-standing clinic at Toynbee Hall’s advice centre in London provides the local community with a
resource for accessing legal advice on civil and consumer problems. Following significant funding cuts in the
UK, many everyday legal problems are no longer covered by legal aid, creating an increasing gap in provision
for people who need advice but cannot afford to pay for it. In response to this growing demand, we partnered
with Tower Hamlets Law Centre to open a new clinic for people with social welfare benefit concerns, and with
Lambeth Law Centre and DLA Piper to create an unpaid wages clinic for people facing unauthorised deductions
from their salary.

Each week a lawyer from our Canberra office attends the Women’s Legal Centre, a community legal centre which is
run by women and aims to improve women’s access to justice. The Centre prioritises the most vulnerable women
in the community including those who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; culturally and linguistically diverse;
dealing with family violence; and disabled.

Preventing elder abuse

Elder abuse is mistreatment of an older person that is committed by someone with whom the older person
has a relationship of trust such as a partner, family member, friend or carer. Elder abuse can take various forms
including physical, financial and psychological abuse and appears to be becoming more frequent due to the
ageing population. By providing free legal assistance to older people who have experienced such abuse, we are
able to assist them to protect their rights and protect themselves from homelessness.

Our client was an elderly man with significant health issues who spent approximately A$50,000 to
convert a shed on his family’s property into a flat, on the understanding that he would be able to live
there for life. Five years after moving in, a family member commenced eviction proceedings against
our client. We defended our client at eviction proceedings and had the proceedings dismissed. We
also lodged a caveat against the property to protect our client’s financial contribution. Our client
subsequently received a financial settlement for his investment in the property, allowing him to
purchase his own caravan and maintain his independence. He told us that his health has significantly
improved since leaving the property.

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Supporting victims of crime

Victims of crime often suffer injury or loss in the process of, or as a result of, the offence. Where the offence
results in death, this loss can extend to others, including close relatives. Many countries operate criminal injuries
compensation or victim support schemes to provide financial compensation in such situations, and this work is
an important part of our pro bono practice in Australia. Lawyers in our Perth office provide legal assistance with
preparing and submitting applications to the Office of Criminal Injuries for consideration under its compensation
scheme. Lawyers in our Sydney office have also helped victims of crime make applications for compensation
under the New South Wales (NSW) government scheme. In 2013 the scheme was significantly altered and we
continue to assist victims of crime who need assistance in navigating the new system.

Going to court

When legal problems escalate and court proceedings are commenced, not everyone can access legal aid or
afford legal representation. Therefore, self-representation is becoming an increasingly common feature in some
jurisdictions. Self representation can be very challenging for individuals who are unfamiliar with the law, court
processes and the courtroom environment.

In recognition of the practical challenges of providing pro bono representation to every self-represented litigant,
a number of pro bono schemes have been developed to provide “touch points” for self-represented litigants to
receive guidance on various matters including relevant laws and procedures, the identification of legal arguments,
the evidence required, and making a decision on whether to try and resolve the dispute outside a court setting.

Our London office assists a College of Law litigation clinic through which trainee solicitors provide initial assistance
to individuals in the early stages of court proceedings. Where an appeal is in progress, the Royal Courts of Justice
Citizens Advice Bureau helps self-represented litigants understand the legal and procedural issues they may be
facing in the appeal, and offers pro bono help to determine how to proceed. Our lawyers provide pro bono legal
advice through this scheme.

A similar scheme operates in Brisbane, where the Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House (QPILCH) Self
Representation Service provides free legal advice and assistance to self-represented litigants for the duration of their
proceedings in Queensland courts. Through the scheme, our lawyers advise self-represented litigants on court and
tribunal procedures, assist in drafting court documents and provide general advice around mediation and dispute
resolution options.

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Working to ensure justice at a strategic level
Ensuring individuals can access the justice system is fundamental to our global pro bono practice. In instances
where an individual’s legal issues cross borders and require action on a regional or global scale, we work with
specialist organisations to address these issues.

Equality Now is an international human rights organisation dedicated to action for the civil, political,
economic and social rights of girls and women. Our lawyers assisted Equality Now by undertaking a
review of sexual violence laws in over 50 countries worldwide. Separately, an Ashurst secondee in New
York was able to support Equality Now’s strategic litigation at national, regional and international levels
to establish legal precedents on women’s and girls’ rights.

The Advice on Individual Rights in Europe (AIRE) Centre is a specialist charity whose mission is to
promote awareness of European law rights and assist marginalised individuals and those in vulnerable
circumstances to assert those rights. The Centre achieves this in a range of ways, including strategic
litigation. We assist the Centre on strategic litigation linked to European fundamental rights relating to
migration, gender based violence and discrimination. In 2015 the Supreme Court of England and Wales
heard joint appeals on the scope of the “right to reside” test for social assistance benefits such as income
support. We assisted the Centre to intervene in both appeals.

The International Child Redress Project (ICRP) is a non-profit organisation working to ensure that all
child abuse victims have access to civil justice. We participated in a cross-office research project for ICRP
relating to transnational claims against perpetrators of child abuse and exploitation.

Supporting fair trials and due process


Alongside our pro bono work on civil matters, we maintain long-standing relationships with several organisations
working to secure fair trial and due process rights for individuals in the criminal justice system.

The quality of representation in a capital trial can make all the difference to the outcome of the
case. Unfortunately, capital defence lawyers in the United States (US) are often overworked, under-
resourced and under-funded. Research also shows that the death penalty is disproportionately
imposed on the most vulnerable members of society, violating their right to due process and the
concept of equal justice before the law.

Amicus is a small legal charity which helps provide representation for individuals facing the death
penalty in the US. Through the Amicus casework programme, we provide remote support to lawyers
acting as capital defenders in the US, supporting them in the preparation of appeals.

Through Amicus, our lawyers are assisting US capital defenders in a case where the client is on federal
death row. The case involves complex issues of fact and law including the client’s background and
mental health, the adequacy of legal representation at trial and the conduct of the trial and jury
deliberations. Our team in London and Glasgow has been able to help review over 40,000 documents
covering a period of 50 years and over a decade of legal proceedings.

Reprieve is a London-based legal action charity that promotes the rule of law around the world.
Reprieve’s objective is to secure each person’s right to a fair trial. We support Reprieve’s death penalty
team through the provision of remote casework assistance, together with research on procedural and
ethical issues relating to the death penalty.

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“We believe that a young
person’s success in life should
be determined by how hard
they work and the skills and
talents they develop, not by their
background or family income.”
Ben Tidswell, Ashurst Chairman

8 © Teach First
Opportunity
Supporting young people

Young people today will be our leaders tomorrow. We are proud


to work with a number of community organisations which work
to support and inspire young people to develop their skills and
aspirations for the future.

Through our corporate responsibility programme our offices deliver or are involved in a number of work experience,
mentoring and student support programmes which include:

• A
long-standing relationship with Bonner Primary School in Tower Hamlets, London where approximately
45% of students are eligible for free school meals compared to a national average of 15%. In partnership with
Future First, we run the “First Steps” programme with Bonner Primary School. Through a series of workshops
with our volunteers, the programme aims to inspire Year 6 students (10 -11 years of age) to start to think about
future career pathways and to start building confidence and skills that will help them as they pursue their
goals.

• I n partnership with Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership, we founded InterACT, a programme which
uses an innovative combination of drama and volunteer support to help young people learn how to cope with
situations of conflict. With encouragement from our volunteers, young people work with actors to explore
possible paths of action, developing ways to communicate and respond effectively to situations of conflict.

• P
RIME is an alliance of law firms and legal departments across the United Kingdom (UK) who have made
a commitment to broaden access to the legal profession. Members, including Ashurst, are committed to
providing fair access to quality work experience. Each year approximately 25 school-aged students from
socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds attend PRIME work experience placements in our
London office. Students interested in a career in law or business are recruited for these work experience
placements through our partnership with education charity Teach First, from a range of their schools inside
and outside of London.

• L ed by ITV, the Legal Social Mobility Partnership (LSMP) is a collaboration of law firms, their clients and
commercial organisations across several cities in the UK. LSMP offers promising state school students from
socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds access to a Work Insight and Skills Programme, with
the aim of broadening access to the legal profession and developing students’ career aspirations. The LSMP
consists of two weeks’ intensive skills training coupled with work insights. Students first spend a week in a
private practice law firm and then spend a further week visiting four different in-house legal teams. A day is
also spent with various sports clubs in London, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham to learn about resilience
and the psychology of achieving goals from the clubs’ performance coaches. We are proud to partner with
Nomura on LSMP.

• T
he Law Firms Encouraging and Assisting Promising Students (LEAPS!) Mentoring Programme in Sydney
focuses on sharing skills, encouraging students to set career and life goals and empowering them to
effectively deal with challenges and opportunities they will encounter throughout their lives. Ashurst
volunteers have participated in LEAPS! for the last 12 years, mentoring students from a high school in Western
Sydney. In 2016 we are proud to be partnering on the Programme with nbnTM for the fifth consecutive year.

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© The Access Project

• T
he Access Project has a proven track record of helping students boost their grades and gain places at
university. Our volunteers in London have provided tuition and support to Access Project students from
socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds since 2013.

• T
he Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) aims to make a practical improvement in social mobility for young
people from around the UK from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Social mobility
refers to the relationship between an individual’s starting point and where they end up as adults, usually in
terms of their job, salary or household income. SMF supports more than 1,000 young people every year who
have the ability to flourish in universities and professions but may lack the encouragement and support
networks to help them get there. Volunteer e-Mentors from our Glasgow and London offices advise 16 and 17
year-old students on a range of topics, increasing understanding of various career pathways and university
applications.

• T
he Urban Assembly School for Law & Justice (SLJ) is a public high school in Brooklyn, New York. Many
students who attend the school would be the first in their family to attend college. Volunteers in New York
have established a “Career Day” event, which aims to expose SLJ students to a variety of professional options.

• T
he Drive Forward Foundation is a UK charity which aims to provide young people who have left the care
system with skill development training designed to build confidence and support the young people into
career pathways. We have partnered with Benefacto, a social enterprise that works in collaboration with
local charities to organise volunteering opportunities, to enable our employees to support the Foundation’s
activities.

In Australia we work in collaboration with a range of organisations to support young Indigenous Australians as part
of our reconciliation work (see page 17).

“34% of care leavers aged 19 and over are not in


education, employment or training. Drive Forward
Foundation provides an essential service for young
people leaving the care system”.
Linz Darlington, Benefacto Founder and CEO

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© Teach First

Teach First
Founded in 2002, Teach First is an education charity which works in partnership to transform the life
chances of children from socially and economically disadvantaged communities, by creating a movement
of inspirational teachers and leaders. Teach First works to achieve the vision that, one day, no child’s
educational success will be limited by their socio-economic background.

In 2015 we formed a partnership with Teach First and Burnt Mill Academy Trust (BMAT), a school based
in Essex. The partnership supports both the recruitment and training of new teachers at BMAT’s schools,
and will also support students directly through a range of employability and skills based opportunities
including: work experience, insight days, skills workshops and mentoring.

“The inequalities in our educational system are most acute in


communities outside big cities, where truly excellent teaching
can be the strongest change factor in enabling children from
disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed. Ashurst’s support will allow
us to reach more pupils in disadvantaged communities across the
UK and ensure that all children regardless of background are able
to unlock the benefits that a high-quality education can bring.”
Brett Wigdortz OBE, Teach First Founder and CEO

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Projects around the globe
Further corporate responsibility support for young people across our
network includes:

London India

in collaboration with our own LGBT network, SPECTRUM, and supporting Nayee Asha, a school in India for
charities Create and METRO we launched the LGBT Youth Creative children of parents suffering from leprosy; also
Arts Programme, providing long-term support to LGBT young sponsoring a school graduate on a four year
people across South London and Medway. Through participation in engineering course at college.
creative arts workshops with Ashurst volunteers, the Programme
aims to give young people the opportunity to express themselves
in creative arts workshops and build supportive and trusting
relationships with peers in a fun and safe environment.

New York Paris Ethiopia

supporting the Children’s Magical supporting Petite Maman, an using the Ashurst Madrid Solidario Prize to
Garden, a community garden located organisation assisting disadvantaged support an orphanage in Meki, Ethopia via
on New York City’s lower east side young mothers in the suburbs of Paris, Fundación Pablo Horstmann.
between four local schools which by arranging office clothing collections.
aims to connect urban youth and their
communities to nature.

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Philippines Beijing Tokyo

supporting the Little Bamboo supporting Blue Sky Healing supporting Book for Smiles, an initiative
Foundation which in turn Home, a small private medical by the British Chamber of Commerce,
supports children in the harbour foster home in Beijing that by donating books to be sold, where the
of Cebu City in the Philippines, helps orphans and children proceeds are used to provide tuition
through early education. from disadvantaged families to for young people leaving social welfare
receive medical care. facilities in Japan.

Malawi Jakarta Port Moresby

supporting law students in Malawi commencing a pilot project to supporting CARE, Australia’s “El Niño
through Nick Webber Trust scholarships, paint and repair an elementary Appeal”, assisting those affected by the crisis
created in memory of Nick Webber, a school located in a remote area in in Papua New Guinea, where there have
newly qualified solicitor at Ashurst who Serang, West Java. been multiple reports of deaths, especially
died tragically in a car accident while of children, due to food shortages.
undertaking pro bono work in Malawi
during his qualification leave.

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Assisting organisations which support marginalised and
disadvantaged people
Opportunity is a theme that repeats frequently across our pro bono work. We regularly advise charities, non-profits
and social enterprises on many of the same legal issues that are faced by our commercial clients. Through this
support, each pro bono client is better placed to make the most of an opportunity presented to them, in order to
better support marginalised and disadvantaged people of limited means.

• T
he Spanish credit crunch exposed many families to the reality of wage earners being made redundant
and losing the ability to pay for rent, bills and food. Our Madrid office assisted a group of individuals in the
incorporation of Fundación Tengo Hogar which is now helping families recover from financial instability
through the provision of low cost housing.

• T
he Hospice Africa Organisation (HAO) is a non-profit organisation operating out of seven countries delivering
teaching courses to doctors and nurses all over Africa. HAO strongly advocates for the delivery of palliative
support to patients who may otherwise be unable to find the support they need. Over the last 20 years,
HAO has treated over 21,000 patients along with their families. Our Paris office has assisted HAO, offering
corporate structure and governance advice.

• Social enterprise is a growing global sector that now sits alongside charities and traditional non-profit
organisations. Social enterprises aim to address social or environmental concerns and improve communities
and people’s life chances. Unlike charities, social enterprises generate the majority of their income from
selling goods and services; profits are reinvested back into the business or the local community. The majority
of social enterprises start small, with limited funds available for legal advice. We are providing support to the
sector by focusing on social enterprises that assist people in need.

The Legal Health Check Project


The Legal Health Check Project, first piloted in our Sydney office in 2015, is an intensive one day capacity
building initiative which we offer to organisations which assist people who are marginalised and
disadvantaged. Board members and employees in management positions are invited to attend a
morning of seminars in key legal areas including corporate and governance, employment, and tax. In the
afternoon the organisations participate in separate advice sessions with our lawyers across a range of
areas. We regard this project as a valuable way we can support our pro bono clients with understanding
key legal areas relevant to their operations.

“The best aspect of the day was the quality of the


lawyers that presented and their ability to address
specific issues relevant to my organisation.”
Doug Talbert, The Housing Connection Retired CEO

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Impact investing
The growing area of social finance and impact investing sees funds invested in ventures and initiatives that are
designed to create positive impact in communities and provide a financial return. Our pro bono work in this area
continues to develop with the creation of our Impact Investing group. Examples include:

• B
ig Issue Invest is the social finance arm of the Big Issue Foundation. It invests in social enterprises and
charities that prevent and tackle poverty and create opportunity for people across the UK. We have provided
support to Big issue Invest in London on a range of funds and seed loans to social enterprises.

• A
lterfin is a social investor that aims to help build a financial network that is accessible to groups of socially
and economically disadvantaged people in developing countries who rarely have access to financial resources.
Lawyers in our Brussels office have provided Alterfin with regulatory and commercial advice associated with
this work as well as worked on options to secure further US financing, by identifying regulatory constraints
and drafting loan documentation.

• I n Australia we are advising the Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing on the design and
establishment of Impact Capital Australia, a flagship independent financial organisation similar in concept
to the UK’s Big Society Capital, with a mandate to drive the market for impact investment. We are also
active in industry initiatives relating to the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the impact investing
opportunities it is creating.

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Reconciliation
We are committed to taking measurable steps to progress reconciliation in Australia. We launched our first
Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2014 and this sets out our four key objectives in the areas of capacity building,
legal assistance, employment and cultural recognition and awareness.

Our RAP commitment is led by our Board and we have an established RAP Working Group comprising a number
of Australian partners and managers, as well as two external Aboriginal advisors, Jack Beetson and Russell Dunn.
In 2016 we have set up a network of Reconciliation Champions, with Champions in each of our Australian offices.
Our Champions work with the corporate responsibility team to organise staff events and raise awareness. We
have recently invited the Koorie Heritage Trust in Melbourne and Professor Jack Beetson in Sydney to run training
sessions for our people on cross-cultural awareness and cultural competency, and further sessions will be run
across our other Australian offices.

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“Reconciliation in Australia is
about building better relationships
between non-Indigenous and
Indigenous Australians for the benefit
of all Australians.”
Reconciliation Australia

We are proud to work in collaboration with other law firms, universities, individuals and communities to support
young Indigenous Australians through our corporate responsibility programme. Examples include:

• T
he Santos & Ashurst Indigenous Law Students Work Experience programme commenced in Brisbane in 2013.
Indigenous law students who participate in this programme undertake two weeks of work experience with
the legal department of Santos and two weeks with the resources team at our office in Brisbane.

• P
roject Imba is a programme inspiring and building future pathways for Indigenous young people from
Cunnamulla. The programme was developed (and continues to be led) by Corey Curran and Allison Boland,
two former Ashurst-Santos work experience students who wanted to inspire and assist Indigenous secondary
students from Cunnamulla to go to university. The programme includes a three day workshop with students
in Cunnamulla followed by a field trip to Brisbane, where students spend time in our Brisbane office.

• T
he North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA)/Ashurst Indigenous Cadetship was established in
2012 to provide financial support and mentoring to an Indigenous law student throughout their studies, as
well as work placements with NAAJA and Ashurst in a range of areas of law.

• F or the second consecutive year we have worked with Allens Linklaters and members of the Bar to support
the running of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students’ Mooting competition between students
from Griffith University, the Queensland University of Technology, the University of Queensland and Bond
University. In 2016 the grand final was held in the Banco Court before the President of the Queensland Court
of Appeal McMurdo P, Boddice J of the Supreme Court and Damien O’Brien QC.

• I n 2015 we sponsored an innovative legal education initiative in Alice Springs. The “Know Your Rights” project
was developed by the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service in partnership with Desert Pea Media,
both pro bono clients of the firm. It was designed to engage Aboriginal teenagers using music and social
media to raise awareness and understanding of legal rights and respectful relationships amongst young
Aboriginal people in and around Alice Springs.

• For the past two years we have participated in the Legal Studies Professional Practicum, which is offered
jointly by the University of Western Australia’s School of Indigenous Studies and Law School. The practicum
forms part of the Advanced Diploma in Indigenous Legal Studies, which is designed to create a pathway for
Indigenous students to access postgraduate law studies at UWA. As part of the practicum, a student from the
course completes work experience at Ashurst for one day a week over a ten week period.

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NAAJA Secondment

NAAJA acts for Indigenous clients across Australia.


Since 2003 we have placed a lawyer on full time
secondment with the NAAJA Katherine (Northern
Territory) office. Our secondee manages a case load
and provides community legal education in Katherine
and in remote communities including Timber Creek,
Lajamanu and Kalkaringi. The work includes credit and
debt advice, assistance with police complaints, and
covers a range of legal areas including torts, coronial
inquests, victims’ compensation, discrimination,
housing, employment and motor accident claims.

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“Locking people up for minor offending is not the answer.
Arrest and detention should only ever be used as a last resort.”
Jonathon Hunyor, FORMER NAAJA PRINCIPAL LEGAL OFFICER

Our commitment to assisting Indigenous people and organisations through the provision of pro bono legal
services is a core component of our RAP. We are proud to have worked with some of our clients for over 40 years.

Woor-Dungin

Woor-Dungin is a coalition of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, philanthropy and pro bono


service providers working in partnership to access the resources and support they require, and to achieve
self-determination. Woor-Dungin helps Aboriginal community-controlled organisations establish strong,
evidence-based programmes, source philanthropic funds and pro bono support, and strengthen governance and
management skills. Woor-Dungin has invited us to participate in a significant law reform project alongside the
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Law Institute of Victoria to amend the Victorian Anti-Discrimination
Act in relation to spent convictions. Pro bono work to support the project is now underway.

NSW Wills Project

It is estimated that only about 2% of Aboriginal people in Australia make wills compared with about 55% in the
wider community. In recent years there have been three key significant studies on the legal needs of Indigenous
Australians, each of which identified wills as one of the most significant areas of legal need.

Our Wills Project assists individuals in rural, regional and remote communities in NSW to develop and finalise
their wills and other estate planning documents. Each year our lawyers travel to regional and remote areas of
NSW to provide pro bono estate planning assistance to Aboriginal people. Our lawyers deliver community legal
education sessions in relation to both wills and advanced decision-making in the morning and take instructions
from those who want to prepare estate planning documents in the afternoon.

Fighting paperless arrests

In March 2015, we filed proceedings in the High Court of Australia on behalf of long term pro bono client NAAJA, and
an individual plaintiff, to challenge the constitutionality of the “paperless arrest” regime in the Northern Territory
which gives police new detention powers. We partnered with the Human Rights Law Centre on the matter.

The regime under the Police Administration Act grants police power to detain someone for up to four hours if
they suspect the person has committed, or is about to commit, an “infringement notice offence”, which includes
minor offences such as making undue noise and failing to keep their front garden clean. Under the laws, there is
no opportunity for someone to protest their innocence or challenge the need for their detention before a court,
and police can keep someone in detention for up to four hours without giving them the opportunity to apply for
bail, or longer if the person is intoxicated. In the first eight months of operation approximately 80% of the 2,000
people detained were Aboriginal. The plaintiffs argued that the law was disproportionate and a breach of the
constitutional separation of power, or alternatively (if the federal separation of powers did not apply to a territory)
unconstitutional because it involved the Territory courts in punitive executive detention. In November 2015, the
High Court (Gageler J dissenting) found the laws valid, but imposed limitations on their operation.

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“We aim to support those in the community at the point
when help is most needed, whether this is through pro bono
legal services, volunteering, fundraising or awareness raising.”
Mary Padbury, Ashurst Vice-Chairman

20 © Finding Your Feet


Empowerment
Supporting marginalised and disadvantaged
individuals on their journey to self-empowerment

Through our pro bono and corporate responsibility work, we aim to


support marginalised and disadvantaged individuals on their journey
to self-empowerment.

Our corporate responsibility activities in this area are typified by the relationship between our Glasgow office and
Finding Your Feet, a charity created by single parent Corinne Hutton whose hands and feet were amputated after
she suffered pneumonia and septicaemia in 2013. The charity works to support those affected by amputation or
limb deficiency, providing assistance aimed at increasing rehabilitation and independence. Our Glasgow office
joined together to support the charity’s valuable work, raising thousands of pounds through fundraising activities
including bag packing, manning water stations, sponsored assault courses, abseils, cycles and marathons.

“Finding Your Feet is a young charity and we can say with


confidence that our recent growth and success rests to a large
extent with the positive partnership and rapport we have
enjoyed with Ashurst. For this, Finding Your Feet, its members
and all who benefit from our work, are enormously grateful.”
Corinne Hutton, Finding Your Feet Founder

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Assisting clients with cognitive impairments, mental
illnesses or disabilities

People with cognitive impairments, mental illnesses or disabilities often experience barriers to accessing or fully
participating in aspects of society, including transportation, employment, education and the justice and political
systems. Through our global pro bono practice, we seek to challenge the structures which act as barriers and
remove them.

Independent Parental Special Education Advice Tribunal Support

In England and Wales, local authorities have a duty to assess and provide for children diagnosed with special
educational needs. UK charity Independent Parental Special Education Advice (IPSEA) offers advice to parents and
carers who may wish to challenge assessments before the Special Educational Needs Tribunal. Our lawyers in
London support IPSEA through providing individual casework support and advocacy.

National Deaf Children’s Society remote clinic

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are designed to help with the extra costs associated with disability or
long-term ill-health and can be provided to children with a hearing disability from the age of 16. Our London
office has partnered with the National Deaf Children’s Society in a new remote clinic to assist children with the
legal process of appealing PIP application decisions.

Through the remote clinic two associates from our London office recently assisted a 16 year-old boy
who is profoundly deaf in both ears after contracting meningitis as a baby. Although the boy can
hear through an electronic implant in one ear in certain environments, he experiences difficulty
communicating with others, undertaking a journey without support and reading complex information.
We prepared the supporting documentation to appeal the decision that this young person was not
entitled to PIP. The Tribunal overturned the original decision and awarded PIP to our client. We are
delighted that our client will continue to receive assistance in this key transition period from school to
the working world.

NSW Direct Payment Scheme

The Direct Payment Scheme in NSW, introduced by the Department of Family and Community Services, is
designed to facilitate the self-management of funding for people living with disabilities. Our lawyers in Sydney
are advising individuals who are considering entering into Direct Payment Agreements. We advise clients on their
contractual obligations under these agreements, as well as the increased opportunity to engage services and
support workers by using a variety of different employment arrangements.

Mental Health Legal Centre Justice Project

The Mental Health Legal Centre is a specialist legal service for users of mental health services in Victoria. In 2006
the Centre established the Pro Bono Justice Project to address the low level of legal representation for people
subject to enforced psychiatric treatments in their hearings before the Mental Health Tribunal. With the need for
representation far greater than the Centre’s own resources could meet, the Justice Project enables the Centre to
train, supervise and support our lawyers to represent clients in the Melbourne metropolitan area who are subject
to Community Treatment Orders.

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NSW Wills Project

In addition to helping meet the needs of Indigenous clients through preparing wills (see page 19), our NSW Wills
Project also supports parents or carers of individuals with cognitive impairments or mental illnesses.

Assisting vulnerable communities affected by migration


Migrant workers can face challenges and vulnerabilities during their journey across borders, while working in
a foreign country and when they return to their countries of origin. These challenges can be compounded if
individuals do not speak the local language, do not have local support networks or are unfamiliar with the law
and local customs of the country to which they are migrating. Our pro bono work seeks to assist organisations
that are engaged in efforts to educate employers and support migrant workers.

Justice Without Borders

Justice Without Borders (JWB) is an organisation which works to empower victims of labour exploitation and
human trafficking to pursue legal remedies against their abusers in host countries. We have recently expanded
our existing support of JWB by seconding a pro bono officer to JWB’s Singapore office to help build JWB’s capacity
and coordinate the involvement of our lawyers and commercial clients in their work in Jakarta, Hong Kong, Tokyo
and Singapore.

“Our Ashurst secondee helps to run much of our


programmatic work in Singapore. In particular, working
to assist migrant worker victims of labour exploitation
and human trafficking, while also coordinating a large
pool of pro bono talent that supports our strategic legal
research. Additionally, our Ashurst secondee helps to build
our operations as we develop cross-border access to justice
for those who need it most. Ashurst is a major supporter of
JWB, and this secondment has deepened the partnership
between the organisations.”
Douglas MacLean, Justice Without Borders Executive Director

23
Supporting migrant domestic workers

Around 700,000 migrant workers leave Indonesia each year to work in the Middle East, with the vast majority
taking up domestic work.

Migrant Care, Mideast Youth and Hivos have collaborated to establish The Migrant Domestic Workers Shelter Me
Project. The project aims to empower migrants in their jobs as domestic workers, by addressing the concerns of
employers and generating dialogue on how to improve and monitor the situation of migrant workers. Ashurst,
in association with Oentoeng Suria & Partners (OSP), has provided pro bono support to the initiative through
conducting relevant research.

Ashurst, in association with OSP, has also provided advice to the Humanitarian Organization for Migration
Economics (HOME), a charity dedicated to upholding the rights of migrant workers in Singapore, including victims of
human trafficking and forced labour. As part of HOME’s advocacy, welfare and empowerment work with Indonesian
domestic migrant workers, we provided HOME with a translation of relevant Indonesian laws and regulations and
general advice on migrant worker’s insurance rights under Indonesian employment laws and regulations.

European Refugee Crisis

Europe is experiencing one of the most significant influxes of migrants and refugees in its history. 2015 saw
over one million people entering Europe as refugees and migrants by land or boat via the Mediterranean, with
approximately 4,000 dying in the Mediterranean crossing.

The Refugee Law Clinic is a practical training programme at the Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen in Germany.
Designed as a clinical legal education course, the Clinic allows law students to deepen their knowledge of asylum
and migration law and then apply that in advising individual asylum seekers at local refugee reception centres in
Gießen. In 2015 our lawyers in Frankfurt began supporting the legal work carried out by students at the Clinic.

Our Frankfurt office’s corporate responsibility programme supports Frauenrecht ist Menschenrecht e.V. (FIM),
an intercultural counselling centre for immigrant women and their families in Frankfurt am Main. FIM supports
the victims of severe human rights violations such as forced marriages, female genital mutilation, human
trafficking and domestic violence. FIM is committed to education, empowerment and promotion of integration of
immigrants from all over the world.

In recent years, makeshift camps have existed in the French port of Calais, acting as temporary homes for
approximately 1,000 refugees and migrants who have sought to come to the UK. With the refugee crisis reaching
its peak in Autumn 2015, this number grew to approximately 8,000 individuals (5,500 in Calais and 2,500 in
Dunkerque), drawing principally from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Darfur and Eritrea. Grassroots organisations such
as CalAid, Help Refugees and L’Auberge des Migrants formed to meet the needs of people in the Calais camps by
collecting donations to improve living conditions. Our London office collected and donated urgently needed items
for the camps. Several of our staff also volunteered with L’Auberge des Migrants and its Refugee Community
Kitchen, which provides 2,000 hot meals a day at the camps in Calais.

“It has been brilliant working with Ashurst over the past six
months in support of our Calais unaccompanied children
work. The team at Ashurst have been an amazing support,
both ready and willing and highly expert.”
George Gabriel, Citizens UK Senior Organiser

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unaccompanied
child refugees

Interpol has reported 95,000


unaccompanied child refugees on
European soil in the last year, with
10,000 children now reported as
missing. Many of these children will
have lost their parents, or have been
separated from family members, and
have experienced the trauma of war,
from bombings to forced conscription.
Help Refugees UK has reported 450
unaccompanied children in the Calais
camps between the ages of 8 to 17. At
least 150 of these children have family
members who are legally resident in
the UK and have a legal right to be
reunited with them. Our lawyers in
London are working in partnership
with Citizens UK, Islington Law Centre
and Bhatt Murphy to provide pro bono
assistance to unaccompanied refugee
children in Calais to reunite them with
their family members in the UK.

25
Supporting homeless members of our communities
Over 100,000 people are homeless on any given night across Australia. People who are homeless are often
confronted with a complex range of pressures and issues, including financial, social, psychological, medical,
health issues and various legal issues. Through our pro bono practice our lawyers work to support people who are
homeless or who are at risk of homelessness:

QPILCH LegalPods: Brisbane

Young people leaving state care often have significant needs in terms of legal and social support. Individuals
who have been in state care also experience disproportionately poor outcomes in education, employment, health
and housing. Of the 500 young people leaving the Queensland Child Protection system each year, at least 34%
will experience homelessness within 12 months. The LegalPod is an initiative of the Queensland Public Interest
Law Clearing House (QPILCH), designed to support young people as they transition from state care. A group of
three to four lawyers commit to assist a young person with their legal needs (typically housing and debt) as they
transition from state care to independence. We have six LegalPod groups in our Brisbane office, who are each
supporting a young person with their legal needs as they transition from the child protection system.

The Exodus Foundation: Sydney


The Exodus Foundation, founded by Reverend Bill Crews in 1986, delivers various community services
to those in need, including education programmes for children, free meals for the homeless and dental
and medical services for families. The Foundation’s tutorial schools educate over 130 students each
year, and its Loaves and Fishes restaurant serves over 400 free healthy meals each day to people who
are homeless. Since 2002 we have provided a legal clinic on a weekly basis to individuals who use the
Foundation’s services, working with the team at the Foundation to understand and address the root
causes of the clients’ legal issues.

26
Lou’s Place: Sydney

Lou’s Place is a community-based refuge for women who are in crisis, homeless, feeling isolated or in need of
support. For the last 18 years we have seconded a lawyer for one morning each week to provide legal advice and
assistance to the clients of Lou’s Place. Our lawyers work with Lou’s Place staff to try to ensure clients receive the
legal help they require at Lou’s Place, without having to travel elsewhere for such assistance.

YouthLaw: Melbourne

There are estimated to be over 22,000 Australians in Victoria who are homeless or living in unsuitable or unsafe
housing, about half of whom are young people under the age of 25. YouthLaw is a community legal centre
in Melbourne which provides free legal advice to young people. YouthLaw is the only legal centre in Victoria
specifically for people aged under 25. The service was established in 2001 through a partnership between Ashurst
and the community legal sector. In addition to providing general pro bono assistance and community legal
education support, we also second a full-time lawyer to YouthLaw to provide advice and casework assistance in a
variety of areas including crime, credit and debt, victims of crime compensation and Infringement Court fines.

“During my seven months at YouthLaw, I found that


the young people’s legal issues were closely related
to their homelessness as they lived out their private
lives in public spaces. Fines for using public transport
that they could not afford to pay or being reliant on
unregistered cars for transport and accommodation,
for instance, were common. Generally reliant on
little-to-no income, such infringements quickly
mounted up and became overwhelmingly difficult to
pay. There are provisions under Victorian law to have
infringements withdrawn or dismissed on the basis
of people’s “special circumstances” (homelessness,
substance abuse or mental illness). However, most
young people I saw did not even know of their right
to make such an application. And, even if they did,
the review process can be slow, complex, and difficult
to navigate. I regularly assisted clients with these
Special Circumstances Applications.”
YouthLaw secondee

27
QPILCH Homeless Person’s Legal Clinic: Brisbane

We have supported the Homeless Person’s Legal Clinic (HPLC) since it was launched in 2002. HPLC provides
assistance on civil law problems to individuals who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. There are 17
HPLCs operating at various homelessness service agencies across Queensland, all co-ordinated by QPILCH. Our
lawyers assist at a Brisbane HPLC, offering advice in a variety of areas including debt, housing and tenancy,
fines and infringement notices, social security, guardianship, administration and victims of crime application
assistance. Our lawyers deliver workshops on topics including voting, gaining early access to superannuation
and human rights. Our lawyers have also instructed barristers acting on a pro bono basis, assisted HPLC clients to
obtain non-custodial sentences and prepared many active referrals to other free legal services.

Street Law: Perth

Street Law is a non-profit organisation which offers outreach legal services for people who are homeless or
at risk of homelessness in Western Australia. Since 2013 we have operated an on-going, one day per week,
secondment with Street Law through which one of our lawyers spends four months undertaking pro bono work
with the organisation. Ashurst lawyers carry out a wide variety of work in areas such as tenancy, criminal injuries
compensation, debt, fines and administrative law, reflecting the diversity of the client base.

“Sometimes the last thing that


a homeless person is concerned
about are the legal problems
they face. The barriers that
need to be overcome in order
to access justice do not make it
easy for them. Street Law’s efforts
and the way it conducts its
practice (by reaching out to the
disadvantaged in our community
through outreach centres around
Perth) have broken down some of
those barriers.”
StreetLaw Secondee

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Orange Sky Laundry
Orange Sky Laundry is the world’s first mobile laundry service for the homeless,
founded by Nicholas Marchesi and Lucas Patchett (2016 Young Australians of
the Year). We are providing on-going pro bono support to Orange Sky laundry,
which started in Brisbane and has expanded to nine vans across Australia.

“Ashurst’s support has been invaluable to us as


an organisation and no task is too difficult. Their
help makes us safer, smarter and more sustainable
to continue allowing us to provide our free
mobile laundry to our homeless friends all across
Australia and eventually worldwide.”
Lucas Patchett, Orange Sky Laundry Co-Founder © Orange Sky Laundry

29
Homelessness corporate
responsibility initiatives
In addition to our pro bono work, many of our offices also support homeless
members of our communities through their corporate responsibility programmes.
Many of our offices organise volunteering initiatives, fundraising and collection
drives. Some of the organisations our offices have recently supported include:

New York London Munich Hong Kong

running a food drive to supporting Whitechapel supporting HORIZONT supporting the


support City Harvest, an Mission, a charity which e.V., a charity which Crossroads Foundation, a
organisation which is assists homeless and assists homeless non-profit organisation
responsible for delivering marginalised people by children and their which brings together
more than 50 million providing day centres, mothers in Munich. those in need and those
pounds of food to skills training, activity who can help.
kitchens, food pantries, programmes and
and other community specialist support for
food programmes complex needs, as well as
each year. supporting the Mission’s
Women’s Centre.

Paris Brussels Milan Brisbane

supporting Entraides- supporting L’Ilot, an organising food and supporting Micah


citoyennes, a charity organisation which clothing drives to support Projects Inc., an
which assists those assists homeless people disadvantaged families organisation which
directly affected by in Brussels. in partnership with San provides vital housing
homelessness and Carlo Alla Ca’Granda and other services to the
refugees throughout church. community.
Paris.

30
Key contacts
Sarah Morton-Ramwell
Partner, Global Head of Pro Bono & Corporate Responsibility, Sydney
T +61 2 9258 6321
sarah.mortonramwell@ashurst.com

Pro Bono
Claire Fourel
Pro Bono Manager, Europe and Middle East
T +44 20 7859 2359
claire.fourel@ashurst.com

Rebecca Greenhalgh
Pro Bono Manager, Asia & US
T +44 20 7859 2855
rebecca.greenhalgh@ashurst.com

Georgina Perry
Pro Bono Manager, Australia
T +61 2 9258 6352
georgina.perry@ashurst.com

Garth Tinsley
Pro Bono Manager, Australia
T +61 2 9258 6337
garth.tinsley@ashurst.com

Sara Lane
Pro Bono Lawyer, Sydney
T +61 2 9258 6984
sara.lane@ashurst.com

Corporate responsibility
Ella Blakesley
Corporate Responsibility Manager, EMEA & US, London
T +44 20 7859 3644
ella.blakesley@ashurst.com

Sarah Steele
Corporate Responsibility Manager, Asia Pacific, Sydney
T +61 2 9258 6886
sarah.steele@ashurst.com

31
www.ashurst.com

Ashurst’s Beijing and Shanghai Representative Offices are branches of Ashurst Australia (ABN 75 304 286 095) which is a general partnership constituted under the laws of the Australian Capital
Territory. Ashurst Hong Kong is a law firm, Ashurst PNG is a general partnership formed in Papua New Guinea and in Tokyo Ashurst practises through Ashurst Horitsu Jimusho Gaikokuho Kyodo
Jigyo. Ashurst’s Singapore office is a branch of Ashurst LLP which is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under number OC330252. It is a law firm authorised and regulated
by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales under number 468653. The term “partner” is used to refer to a member of Ashurst LLP or to an employee or consultant with equivalent
standing and qualifications or to an individual with equivalent status in one of the Ashurst Group entities. All these entities are part of the Ashurst Group.

Further details about Ashurst can be found at www.ashurst.com. © Ashurst 2016. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from Ashurst.
Enquiries may be emailed to aus.marketing@ashurst.com or email@ashurst.com. © Ashurst LLP 2016 Ref D/6002

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