The launch of a free law clinic will give law students at Queensland’s Bond University the opportunity to practise their skills in a real-world environment, beyond the classroom.
Bond Law Clinic opened on 25 September and is located at the Faculty of Law at Bond University, enabling law students to volunteer their time during their degree to gain practical experience in diverse areas of law. It’s headed by an experienced solicitor, Sara Loughnan, and offers advice across a wide range of legal matters, including consumer law, commercial, and property. Ms Loughnan has spent 28 years working in her own legal practice in Mackay and has been appointed Principal Solicitor of the free clinic.
Supporting law students and the community
The clinic’s dual focus will help Bond law students gain meaningful practical experience, while also delivering free legal advice to those in need.
“The Bond Law Clinic will operate on a pro bono basis. This is an important aspect because we’re here to help everyone, particularly those in the community that might otherwise not be able to afford legal advice,” Ms Loughnan said.
“While the Bond Law Clinic does not provide ongoing or court representation, the legal advice service helps people understand their rights, responsibilities, and options so that they can make informed decisions about what to do next.
“It’s also great to be able to provide students with the opportunity to practise their skills in a real environment where students can see how the legal knowledge they are acquiring in the classroom can be applied to the legal issues faced by our clients in everyday life.”
These include:
- Consumer law (defective products, warranties, refunds, and returns)
- Property law (issues regarding body corporate decisions or failure to make a decision, and tenancy issues, such as ending a lease or getting a bond refund)
- Debt disputes (when money is owed to or by the client)
- Contracts/ agreements (in many areas to be reviewed or explained, such as employment agreements, partnership agreements, sales/ purchases of property or goods)
- Family Law (advice about options when considering separating from partner)
- Business issues (business structures, intellectual property, director’s duties, supply / credit agreements, disputes)
Having only opened earlier this week, Ms Loughlan told The Bursar that promotion of the free clinic has been limited to “internet search engines, BU open day, and word-of-mouth”.
Despite that relatively soft launch, they’ve already had around 50 enquiries, and, with a plan to contact Community Legal Centres, Legal Aid, and community directories in the near future to spread the word they are up and running, Ms Loughlan anticipates steady growth.
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“As we are offering phone and online appointments we expect to get – and are getting – enquiries from throughout the state,” she says.
This semester, Ms Loughlan says 12 law students will be involved, “however, we will be aiming to grow the clinic to the point where any Bond student who would like to participate can be given that opportunity”.
“We will have differing student volunteer roles ranging from administration, research, marketing, and business development to those assisting lawyers in the actual client appointments,” she told The Bursar. “Obviously, the more volunteer lawyers we have, the more community service we can offer.”
Francina Cantatore is a Bond University Associate Professor and Director of the Bond Legal Clinics Program.
“The Bond Law Clinic is a flagship initiative for Bond University,” she said. “It’s not only a great legal resource for the Gold Coast community but also offers our students hands-on experiential learning opportunities.”
