A group of local law students have been holding a free pop-up law clinic at Corio’s Cloverdale Community Centre every week over August and September.
Under the supervision of practising clinical solicitors, nine Deakin law students been providing free legal advice on topics such as family law, civil law fines and interventions orders.
Clinical solicitor and Deakin academic Hanna Dickinson said everyone should have access to justice.
“The legal system can be overwhelming for some people, both in terms of the processes involved and the financial and emotional costs,” Ms Dickinson said.
“We know that people in the northern suburbs of Geelong are more likely to be homeless, or be disability pensioners, or be forced to leave their homes due to mortgage stress more than anywhere else in the region.
“Helping people in a vulnerable position to break down some of the barriers to the legal system, has the potential to help them move forward positively in their lives.’”
Cloverdale Community Centre chief executive Liz Bonner said the clinic gave community members the chance to both validate and identify their experiences.
“We recently had a client who we suspected was a victim of coercive control, which was becoming worse with other family members getting involved and committing violence against her,” Ms Bonner said.
“We were able to have the clinical solicitor with the law students explain the law relating to coercive control to her, which meant she got the help she needed to extricate herself from that situation.
“The word ‘community’ gets thrown around, but it’s only a community when we work together in collective practice, which is exactly what we’ve been doing with this law clinic. This is absolutely the definition of a community law service.”
Ms Dickinson said the clinic gave the students practical experience with real clients, providing the chance to develop invaluable skills for their legal careers.
“The students involved are saying it’s the best experience they’ve had in their entire degree,” Ms Dickinson said.
“It’s been amazing to watch our students grow over their time working in the Cloverdale pop up law clinic, and also seeing them develop a real appreciation for the ways in which access to justice can impact people.”
