Legal First Responders: Duty Lawyers as an Essential Service

Abstract

The most vulnerable groups in Australia frequently experience acute, emergency legal need. Those needs are largely met by duty lawyers, providing immediate legal assistance in times of crisis. Yet the role of duty lawyers has been overlooked in discussions about legal aid and access to justice. We argue that duty lawyers and the services they provide—to groups including victims fleeing domestic and family violence, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, clients with disabilities or mental health issues, youths involved in the justice system, people in custody and others—should be more central to any assessment about access to justice in Australia. Recognising duty lawyers as an essential service and as legal first responders will help ensure that they are better resourced and funded. This article draws from initial findings of an extensive project working with legal aid offices throughout Australia. Interviews with duty lawyers are supplemented with data from annual reports to demonstrate that duty lawyers are an important protection in the legal rights of Australia’s most vulnerable groups.