Free Legal Clinics In The Heartland

Source : The Sunday Times, Sep 2, 2007

Legal help at 2 centres is part of Law Society's move to make the law accessible to everyone

THE Law Society will offer free legal advice in two heartland locations, in a bid to make such help readily available to the public.

Starting from Sept 10, at least two volunteer lawyers will be at either the North West or South East Community Development Council - on alternate days from Monday to Thursday - to help those who need legal assistance.

Each session will run from 7pm to 9.30pm, and each person will be given up to 20 minutes to consult a lawyer.

This is part of the Law Society's move to make the law equally accessible to everyone - a point raised by Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong yesterday at the launch of the Law Awareness Weekend at VivoCity.

CJ Chan said the poor and less educated were often 'taken advantage' of by those who know the law. 'There are laws and a legal system in Singapore that protect citizens' rights, and citizens or residents in Singapore are entitled to equal protection of the law.'

The opening of the Community Legal Clinics was also meant to promote pro bono work among lawyers.

Law Society president Philip Jeyaretnam calls pro bono work a 'special responsibility': 'We all benefit from being lawyers and from having the advantages of our education and we, as a profession, see the need to give back in return for the position we hold.'

Before the Law Society's Pro Bono Services Office was set up last month, there was no central body coordinating lawyers doing independent pro bono work. Free legal clinics in the past were held on an ad hoc basis at family service centres or community centres.

The Law Society currently recommends, but does not make it compulsory, that each lawyer puts in 25 hours of pro bono work a year.

Lawyer Harold Seet, who has been practising for 26 years, said: 'People tend to look at lawyers as people who are difficult to approach and who hoard a lot of money.

'So we are trying to dispel all that. We are ordinary, approachable people just doing our jobs.'

At VivoCity yesterday afternoon, 14 lawyers provided free legal counselling for passers-by with legal queries.

Mr Gopinath Pillai, a litigation lawyer who heads the society's Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, spoke to about 10 people during a two-hour stint yesterday afternoon.

Many of them, he said, just wanted to know if they needed a lawyer for their simple cases.

Besides the legal consultation booths, there are also talk-show style discussions on topics such as gambling, consumer credit, family laws and employment laws.

The event continues today with the free legal advice available from 2pm to 4pm.