Night Service Volunteers

The night service volunteers run the three weekly legal advice sessions provided by the St Kilda Legal Service.

It needs to be emphasised that the volunteer night service lawyers conduct the vast bulk of the legal casework at the St Kilda legal Service.Our current level of paid staff simply could not replicate this level of casework.

A volunteer receptionist, law students, articled clerks and lawyers with a range of experience and expertise, staff the night service sessions.One lawyer on each evening acts as the Volunteer Co-ordinator Solicitor, assisting the Volunteer Co-ordinator with induction and guidance on service delivery guidelines, as well as assisting the Receptionist with other co-ordination responsibilities.

All the night service volunteers work incredibly hard, are committed to the smooth running of their team, and often undertake additional work.It is also imperative that in amongst the hard work, there is some enjoyment or at least job satisfaction to be had!

A number of our volunteer lawyers have many years of practising experience and/or skills in particularly complex areas of law.Consequently, they are able to meet the very diverse legal needs of our clients and offer a particularly high level of advice and ongoing casework.

The Legal Service also has volunteer lawyers attending an outreach service at RhED, a local program that supports people working in the sex industry.This outreach is provided as part of the Legal Service's Drug Outreach Program.

The volunteer receptionists and law students play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth running of the night service sessions.The receptionists and students ensure the reception function is attended to and the requisite paperwork is completed correctly.The law students also sit in on client interviews, conducted by the volunteer lawyers. Apart from this being an educative role for the students, they also assist the lawyers with research and the file administration.