Salvos Legal has created a unique and sustainable model of access to justice. As a social enterprise, all profits from our commercial legal services to Australia`s leading companies and government agencies fund the provision of pro bono legal services to disadvantaged people in our community through our sister company, Salvos Legal Humanitarian. Salvos Legal is the exclusive property of The Salvation Army Australia. Today, Salvos Legal is a law firm specializing in social enterprises. It has a commercial arm that provides fees for services to large corporations, governments and individuals, and a humanitarian department that provides free legal services to disadvantaged and marginalized people who would otherwise be unrepresented. The revenues of the commercial branch finance the humanitarian department. Many asylum seekers living in detention centres and referred by the Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network and Supporting Asylum Seekers Sydney, for example, have called our telephone advice line, which provides over 600 people with access to free legal advice each year. These are people who otherwise would not have had access to legal advice in court. Attorney Luke Geary founded Salvos Legal, a service that provides both paid legal services to large corporations and free pro bono advice to those who cannot afford legal representation. Many of General Booth`s ideas were implemented early in the history of the army. However, it wasn`t until 2010 in Sydney that the military set up a social enterprise law firm around the world to maintain the kind of legal services Booth had offered 120 years earlier. One of them was a Poor Man`s Lawyer agency – an agency that provided legal advice to people who could not afford to pay for the privilege.
Salvos Legal has been permanently closed and no longer offers legal assistance. If you need legal help, we recommend that you contact your local legal aid office or community legal centre. Our mission is to provide the public with holistic justice funded by competitive commercial legal advice. We strive to bring about systemic change in the availability of access to justice for all, so that no one is without a trusted advisor who offers comfort and guidance when needed. Salvos legal is dedicated to the implementation of established policies that support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Salvos Legal is an award-winning social enterprise law firm owned by The Salvation Army. We act for NSW and federal agencies, ASX 200 companies, small businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals. Uniquely, all of our profits fund our humanitarian arm, Salvos Legal Humanitarian, which provides free legal services to vulnerable members of the community. The Migration Institute of Australia recognised our contribution and awarded Salvos Legal the 2017 Pro Bono Award for its long-standing commitment to providing pro bono legal services to migrants and refugees. Salvos Legal is a social enterprise law firm – profits from our commercial firm are used to fund Salvos Legal Humanitarian, our humanitarian arm that provides free legal services to people in need in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Therefore, due to the nature of our work, we apply many principles on a daily basis. The legal industry is highly regulated and Australian law societies have a strict code of conduct to which lawyers adhere.
It also includes a commitment to a professional and ethical standard of advice. As a member of The Salvation Army, we can provide holistic care to humanitarian clients. In addition to legal needs, we can connect people with Salvation Army social and pastoral services to address the underlying legal causes. We work with The Salvation Army`s Freedom Partnership, where people face modern slavery and need legal assistance. We also have a directive on trafficking in human beings and slavery, which provides guidelines for dealing with incoming calls of this kind. Salvos Legal has taken appropriate measures to ensure that human rights violations in the workplace are prevented, including: • Complaint handling guidelines to resolve problems/conflicts in the workplace in a respectful manner. • Training and conferences will be organized for lawyers on human rights issues. The service was then called Courtyard Legal. The demand grew and spread to other areas of legal advice until it reached a level where Luke – and The Salvation Army – made it a point to provide services throughout the military at large. For example, our free community education program educates migrants about the legal system, domestic/family violence, and visa options. Almost 50% of cases in free counselling centres concern refugee and migration law. We have reached over 22,500 cases since our inception and helped in over 3,600 cases in 2017 by providing free legal advice and support without funding.
In the 2016/17 financial year, 36,939.4 hours per bono were performed. Volunteering with Salvos Legal Humanitarian offers you a unique opportunity: • Gain practical experience in criminal, family, refugee and migration law as well as daily case management in an environment of best practices; • Develop your fundamental legal skills through the active mentorship of our distinguished team of staff; • Gain 4 months of experience for your full internship certificate in a social justice context; • Join our in-house continuing education program and earn at least 5 continuing education points during your 4-month internship; • Benefit from our employee wellness program, which supports professional and personal development; • Join an innovative, energetic and friendly team in a boutique firm They have assisted in nearly 19,000 files, at no cost to The Salvation Army or the government. Salvo`s legal and individual employees have received numerous awards from the legal profession for their business model, excellence and compassionate work. Salvos Legal and Salvos Legal Humanitarian have more than 40 permanent staff and 250 volunteers at the New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria headquarters, as well as 16 free legal aid offices. Our purchasing policy supports local businesses and aims to reduce our environmental impact, which allows us to try to source from local independent suppliers wherever possible. Our firm was named Law Firm of the Year 2014 at the Australian Law Awards, Australian Law Firm of the Year (up to 100 lawyers) and Corporate Citizen Firm of the Year at the Australasian Law Awards 2016 and 2017.
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