Northern Suburbs CLC

NORTHERN SUBURBS COMMUNITY LEGAL CENTRE

10 Cobbler Place, Mirrabooka 6061

nsclegal.org.au info@nsclegal.org.au

Contact details

• Contact person: Nicholas

Snare • HR contact email: info@ nsclegal.org.au • CLC focus: Generalist practice, older persons rights service, domestic violence crisis, restraining order respondents, tenancy advocacy

Volunteering

Which areas of law will clerks be exposed to? Depends on the program into which the student is placed. Most likely areas of exposure are generalist law (civil, criminal, family) and older persons rights (elder abuse, powers of attorney/ guardianship, restraining orders etc). What are the skills/benefits of taking a position at your CLC? Get thrown in the deep end very early i.e., speaking with clients directly – generally on 2nd or 3rd day, hands-on supervision, management of difficult and vulnerable clients. Do you have opportunities for courtroom work/advocacy? Not to students directly, but students can accompany lawyers to Court and tribunals. What kind of tasks do student volunteers undertake? • Taking instructions from clients • Drafting advice • Shadowing solicitors • Research • Sometimes (but less often) attending Court and/or tribunals as needed Do you offer any opportunities to do PLT? Yes. We intermittently get PLT students and are willing to take one or two at a time depending on lawyer availability.

Applications

What advice do you have for students looking to apply?

There’s no harm in asking. Must have a heart for the disadvantaged, that is the overwhelming majority of our demographic. Be prepared for hard conversations with clients because you’ll be getting them soon if accepted.

What does your recruitment/ interview process consist of? Send in a copy of your cover letter, CV and academic transcript. We then assess each against our selection criteria, office space and availability of lawyers. made shortly thereafter and the candidates will be notified. How can students apply? Email to info@nsclegal.org.au

What attributes do you look for in an applicant? • Genuine care for disadvantaged clients, including clients with a difficult history of mental illness, drug misuse, trauma, prior struggles with police etc. • Passion. • Energy. • Willingness to step out of comfort zone. • Solid results - especially for postgrads.

Roughly how many positions are available for students in 2022? 2-4.

Additional Information

Our capacity to take students depends more on the availability of lawyers and our office space, rather than anything else. There is no specific criteria that will ensure acceptance because our availability varies with caseloads. We recommend that you make an application if you’re interested, explain the value you would bring to our very busy practice, and connect your application with our mission to help disadvantaged clients.