Victorian boost to justice access with new family-law collaboration
A new low-fee family law service has opened in Victoria, based out of Melbourne Law School, aiming to increase access to justice and address Australia-wide increases in clients unable to afford private fees.
Wallumatta Legal, partnering with Melbourne Law School, will expand the New South Wales-born model into Victoria and provide low-fee legal services to clients who are not eligible for Legal Aid or other free services but who cannot afford the fees charged by most private lawyers.
The new practice, based on campus, will also utilise the help of law students to boost capacity, while training the next generation of community-minded family lawyers.
Melbourne Law School Clinics Director Kate Fischer-Doherty (left) and Wallumatta Legal senior solicitor Nicky Neville-Jones will spearhead the practice' aim to service the 'missing middle' in Victoria.
Wallumatta Legal senior solicitor Nicky Neville-Jones who is working out of the practice’s new Melbourne Law School hub, says: “Wallumatta Legal’s family-law focus is a crucial service for Victorian communities post-COVID, with calls for increased family-law assistance across the State.”
“In New South Wales, close to 45 percent of our clients are low-income earners – that is they earn less than 80% of the average Australian wage, while 60 percent of our clients stated they had experienced family violence. Family law is often an emotional area of law and can dredge up incredibly private and traumatic elements of people’s lives,” she says.
“What we are aiming to do in Victoria is really cut into what we refer to as the ‘missing middle’ – a growing and under-assisted cohort of low to middle income earners with no access to government funded legal services, and no capacity to afford private assistance.
“This can be an incredibly expensive area of law, with matters that proceed to a final hearing often costing clients near $100,000 in private-legal fees and I have seen figures that are more than twice that. These sums are just not in the realm of what is possible for most people.”
Kate Fischer Doherty, Director of Melbourne Law School Clinics program, who will manage the student clinical placements at Wallumatta Legal, says: “Not only will the assistance of law students help to meet surging clientele demands, but the placements will provide students with an opportunity to ready their practical skills with clients from a diverse range of backgrounds”.
“Family law assistance is vital given the complex implications these matters can often have on the wellbeing of women and children in particular. Family lawyers see people at their most vulnerable. Future lawyers, demonstrating their commitment to community justice, can further develop in this clinic a professional identity founded in societal benefit.”
The Wallumatta Legal and Melbourne Law School partnership is supported by a grant from the Victorian Legal Services Board.
Vivian Galanis, Wallumatta Legal, Head of Legal says: “Wallumatta Legal is proud to be partnering with the University of Melbourne and the VLSB in our expansion into Victoria. Their support of our initiative presents a tremendous opportunity to provide much needed legal services and continue our efforts to bridge the gap for the ‘missing middle’ in accessing justice.”
“We have seen significant growth in our New South Wales practice in a relatively short period of time, demonstrating the high level of legal need in this area. We hope to replicate those efforts in Victoria with the recruitment of our Senior Solicitor Nicky Neville-Jones.”
Wallumatta Legal started in NSW in 2021, following a partnership with global law firm DLA Piper and Macquarie University. The project is one of the first of its kind in Australia.
The Victorian practice at Melbourne Law School has already begun servicing clients with family-law matters. Its focus will be on family law, dealing with issues such as divorce, parenting and property matters and offering assistance with both litigated and out of court matters.
