Te Ara Ture - Pro Bono Clearinghouse tool launched
Te Ara Ture (the bridge to the law) is a new service that matches lawyers wanting to do pro bono work with people needing legal services. For many years, the lack of a clearinghouse to make this connection has meant that would-be litigants have spent hour after hour on the phone trying to find a lawyer to take on their case on a pro bono basis.
Community Law Centres o Aotearoa received budget funds to build a “portal” to help match lawyer to client. It will make it easier for those who want to do pro bono work as well as those seeking legal help. Both individual lawyers/barristers and law firms will be able to use it.
The service was launched recently at Parliament by Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi. After a short deployment phase, Te Ara Ture will be available to all lawyers to start using from 1 July 2021. Attending the launch, NZBA President, Paul Radich QC, noted that the Bar Association has long been a supporter of the initiative. He congratulated Community Law, including its Chief Executive Officer, Sue Moroney, and Darryn Aitchison, the inaugural Director of the Pro Bono Clearinghouse, for bringing this project into being.
The New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa. President, Tiana Epati acknowledged the increasing support and the significant change aimed at transforming the way we think about justice, and our justice system.
To register your interest please email or visit the website, which will be live from 1 June 2021.
