The Impact of Pro Bono Work

National Pro Bono Day, celebrated on the Tuesday of National Law Week, recognises the legal profession’s vital role in improving access to justice for vulnerable communities through pro bono work. It highlights the importance of closing the justice gap and ensuring everyone can access legal assistance — values that are central to the work we do at Circle Green.

We were delighted to have Edward Chan, Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright contribute to our Protection Visa and Appeals Legal Service for six months.

Edward Chan’s secondment with our Humanitarian team exemplifies how pro bono contributions can create meaningful change for those in need, while also fostering personal and professional growth for the lawyers involved.

A huge thank you to Edward Chan and Norton Rose Fullbright for supporting the integral work carried out by our Protection Visa and Appeals Legal Service.

I am an associate at Norton Rose Fulbright, and I have recently completed a six-month pro bono secondment in the humanitarian law stream at Circle Green Community Legal (Circle Green) in Perth. Circle Green is a community legal centre which provides three specialist legal services in Workplace Law, Residential Tenancy, and Humanitarian Law.

Before joining Norton Rose Fulbright, I gained experience in the humanitarian and migration space. As a committee member of the Amnesty International Club at university, I worked closely with the local Amnesty International branch to raise awareness of ongoing humanitarian crises. I have also worked in a private migration firm, assisting with providing migration advice to Afghan clients fleeing persecution by the Taliban when they took over the government in 2021.

Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity to be involved in Circle Green’s Protection Visa and Appeals Project. The protection visa (seeking asylum) system in Australia has extensive backlogs through the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) and to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA), resulting in significant delays in processing and reviewing onshore Protection Visa applications. These delays are compounded by backlogs at both the merits and judicial review stages, hindering the timely entry of migrants seeking protection. This project aims to create a sustainably structured legal service that delivers client-centred, trauma-informed support so that clients seeking protection have access to best-practice legal services throughout their asylum journey. This will enable them to actively participate and understand their rights and options. As part of this project, I advised clients on their prospects of success across multiple stages of their protection claim including the initial protection visa application, merits review at the ART, as well as judicial review at the FCFCOA.

During my time as a secondee solicitor at Circle Green, I experienced tremendous growth both professionally and personally. Professionally, I have improved my drafting, file management, and advice delivery skills. I have particularly learned how to support clients whose first language is not English and who have never been exposed to Australian legal processes. This included drafting and delivering complex advice to clients, being able to explain that advice in a way that they could understand, as well as communicating that advice via a third party (an interpreter). One of the hallmarks of Circle Green’s service delivery model is its focus on trauma-informed legal advice.  With the support of the team, I learned how to provide advice efficiently while ensuring it was trauma-informed and culturally sensitive, taking into account any vulnerabilities the clients may have.

Working with clients that are deeply traumatised by their circumstances and understanding their stories and plight, while supporting them throughout their legal journey, has been some of the most rewarding, albeit challenging, work I have done during my time at Norton Rose Fulbright. The resilience of clients who have come from war-torn countries and their ability to continue to be optimistic despite the adversities they have faced, is nothing short of inspiring. I was also constantly inspired by my colleagues at Circle Green in their unwavering ability to deliver high quality legal services to such a vulnerable cohort of clients. The continual support and the willingness of the Circle Green lawyers to provide feedback on my work while respecting my autonomy and allowing me to challenge myself by running my own matters, enhanced my experience.

As my time at Circle Green has come to an end, I will not only miss the client interaction but also the life-long connections I have built with the lawyers and the staff in the Humanitarian team.

I am beyond grateful that Norton Rose Fulbright was able to cater to my interests and allow me to engage in such a meaningful and unique learning opportunity early in my legal career.

Read more about our Protection Visa and Appeals Legal Service