11 April 2022: The University of Canberra is now offering vulnerable citizens access to legal advice, assistance and justice, through its new student-led legal clinic, Citizen Centred Justice (CCJ).
The clinic – a first of its kind at the University – is operating thanks to a collaboration between the UC Medial and Counselling Centre, Canberra Law School and a partnership with pro-bono law firm, Adjacent Law & Health.
Director, Health and Counselling Centre, Dr Jenny Weekes said despite celebrating the clinic’s official launch today, she was pleased to have seen it operating since Semester One, 2022.
“This clinic takes legal services to the community where people can seek help from a trusted professional in our Medical and Counselling Centre, and are referred for appropriate legal advice and advocacy,” she said.
“Vulnerable people don’t just walk into legal firms for advice, instead they talk to someone they trust in the community like their doctor, psychologist, or in our community, a staff member.
“Timely legal advice for their problem may help them make more informed choices at an earlier stage and improve wellbeing outcomes.”
The clinic is led by law and justice students from the University’s Canberra Law School, supervised by a qualified lawyer from Adjacent Law & Health and a psychologist from Medical and Counselling.
It not only offers an important service to vulnerable citizens in the Canberra community, but meaningful and technical experience to the University’s students.
Bachelor of Laws student Jo Crooks has been working within CCJ since the beginning of Semester One and said the experience it offered her has been unmatched.
“We are a mix of Law and Justice students and the general consensus is that it’s opened our eyes to the reality of client problems needing to be treated holistically, and not just legally,” she said.
“The collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach between health professionals and lawyers exposes us to the warm handover concept where clients have consented to sharing information, so we have a good foundational understanding as to why they are coming to see us.
“During our time at CCJ, we have been exposed to a variety of legal matters that offers us a broad range of experience to take into the workforce in the future.”
The CCJ clinic is open every Wednesday from 10.30am – 4.30pm.