Key organisations join forces to help meet growing legal need

L-R: Vasili Maroulis (Marrickville Legal Centre), Nicole Sommer, (Environmental Defenders Office), Nadia Bromley (Women's Legal Service Queensland), John Orrock (Barhead Solutions) 

 

• Four key organisations in grassroots solution to meet growing community demand for legal support
• Harnessing technology through the launch of innovative legal practice management system Consensus for Purpose
• Community legal centres always looking for new ways to meet demand and reduce the current gap, which sees more than 200,000 people turned away each year

Sydney, 31 May 2024 - With the cost-of-living crisis continuing to fuel demand for support from Community Legal Centres (CLCs) around Australia, Marrickville Legal Centre (MLC), the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) and Women's Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ) have joined forces to find a solution.

The three organisations have worked with award-winning Microsoft Partner Barhead Solutions to develop and refine a legal practice management system called Consensus for Purpose that will improve access to justice in Australia. Lead partner MLC is one of the largest generalist community legal centres in NSW with a catchment area of over 2 million people, which includes some of the most diverse and disadvantaged areas in the state.

Community legal centres are doing their best with limited resources but cannot keep up with the demand. Many centres around the country are struggling with bottlenecks at intake, which are causing delays and barriers to justice for people in the community.

Every year, CLCs across Australia have to turn away more than 200,000 people in need of legal help. CLCs continue to advocate for funding to expand capacity but have also found a practical way to reduce barriers and increase efficiency. Many more people will be able to receive help through the use of this innovative legal practice management system, Consensus for Purpose.

The collaboration, led by MLC, is an excellent example of the power of grassroots engagement and the tenacity of the community sector in serving the community.

Consensus for Purpose will help CLCs reach more people, more efficiently by alleviating the administrative burden on CLC lawyers by approximately 30%. 'Of all the document/practice management software I have used, Consensus for Purpose best centralises all the work associated with a service,' said Zoe Bush, the Senior Solicitor for Safe Climate, Corporate and Commercial at EDO.

'It allows team members to collaboratively work on a matter simultaneously, minimises the risk of lost work, and its functionality extends beyond mere document management, so service providers' time and tasks can be centrally managed. I am very impressed that Consensus for Purpose has been built from scratch!'

Supporting CLCs with their adoption of technological solutions, such as Consensus for Purpose, is not only beneficial for CLCs and their clients, but also for the broader community - improving access to justice improves our society as a whole.


About Consensus for Purpose

 

• Consensus for Purpose will streamline the entire client journey, with technology reducing the administrative burden and freeing up CLCs to focus on legal advice and speeding up the process for those needing help.
• The game-changing platform integrates seamlessly with existing Microsoft software, including Outlook and SharePoint.
• Data security has been at the core of the design of Consensus for Purpose. As it is built upon Microsoft's Dynamics 365 offering, it has the built-in benefits of data storage within Microsoft's Australian data centres and protection of Microsoft's access and authentication protocols.

Marrickville Legal Centre CEO Vasili Maroulis:

'Demand for free legal advice and representation has definitely increased due to the rising costs of living. Consensus for Purpose will enable CLCs to drive greater operational efficiencies by improving the automation of basic administrative tasks, that will ultimately and most importantly, enable CLCs to assist more people in our community with fewer resources.

'Consensus for Purpose is truly a collaborative grassroots effort, which wouldn't have been possible without the participation of the EDO and WLSQ.'


EDO Legal Director Nicole Sommer:

'This technology can help community legal centres all around Australia provide better access to justice by freeing up resources and streamlining the administration of our services.

'For EDO, it means more resources to deliver public interest legal services on environmental law. A significant percentage of EDO's clients are overburdened with environmental harm and face significant barriers accessing justice about environmental matters. These include First Nations clients and those living in rural and regional Australia. With this tool, more of our specialist lawyers' time can be spent delivering those services.

'We are delighted to have been able to work with amazing partners to bring this project to fruition, for the benefit of our clients and the community at large.'


Women's Legal Service Queensland CEO Nadia Bromley:

'More and more women each year are relying on our services to navigate the complexities of the legal system. Our communities grapple with heightened levels of poverty, violence, and homelessness, making it imperative for us to find innovative solutions to ensure our precious resources are utilised efficiently. The Consensus for Purpose system means we can dedicate more time to delivering frontline services, ultimately helping more women. This positive outcome is a testament to the power of collaboration — our partnerships have allowed us to proactively create a solution rather than waiting. Together, we are shaping a more efficient and responsive pathway to justice for those who need it most.'


Barhead Co-founder John Orrock:

'Underpinned by Dynamics 365, Consensus for Purpose leverages Microsoft's extensive innovation and establishes a secure and scalable platform for use by CLCs, inclusive of AI readiness. The collaborative effort maximises investment — building once and deploying to all, eliminating wasted IT spend and ultimately providing a best-in-class solution for CLCs of any size.'


If you are interested in using Consensus for Purpose or supporting its ongoing development, please contact the project's Digital Transformation Specialist, Meghan Kemp at mkemp@mlc.org.au
MEDIA CONTACT: LJ Loch 0488 038 555 or ljloch@alphaconsulting.global