The Tyranny of Distance: Clinical Legal Education in ‘The Bush’

Abstract

<p>This paper analyses the challenges faced by clients, students and teachers involved in a clinical program which uses new technology to deliver legal services in remote areas of Southern Queensland, Australia. A range of novel issues were addressed by Griffith University Law School, Learning Network Queensland and Caxton Legal Centre in their partnership development and delivery of this clinical program which involves the use of audio-graphics conferencing to enable students to provide legal advice and assistance to people hundreds of kilometres away. The ‘Advanced Family Law-Clinic’ program commenced in July 1999 with financial support from the Federal Attorney-General’s Department. The paper considers the range of issues which arose in development of the program.</p>

Lost in space? the role of place in the delivery of social welfare law advice over the telephone and face-to-face

“…A further possible difficulty is that there may be a limited choice of local providers (see also Giddings and Hook, 2002). In this research, a dissatisfied face-to-face client continued to use the local service (although there were a few other providers in the area).…”

“…It is not inevitable, for instance, that a face-to-face agency will be familiar with the local authority's personnel or policies. Equally, it is not impossible for remote services to develop local knowledge with the resources and commitment to do so (Giddings & Hook, 2002). However, CLA currently provides a telephone service to clients across the country on a randomised basis, which makes local knowledge more difficult to acquire and retain.…”

“…A potential limitation of local provision is that, in close-knit communities, clients may be reluctant to seek advice in relation to issues such as domestic violence or abuse, due to concerns about their confidentiality being compromised (Mayo et al, 2014) or about the independence of local lawyers and the police (Giddings and Hook, 2002). In addition, clients may not want to risk being seen going into a local advice agency.…”

Queensland Community Legal Centres' Use of Information Technology to Deliver Access to Justice

“…This technology has been particularly utilised by clinical legal education students working with geographically distant clients preparing court-related documents and correspondence. 34 The main benefit of using audio-graphic technology is its broad geographical reach, which enables access to legal services to be provided to a larger clientele within a shorter time-frame, whilst minimising or negating travel-related expenses. 35 It has also been recognised that some clients are more comfortable with telephone-than face-to-face interviewing, particularly as the telephone is such a regular means of communication for those in rural and remote localities.…”