Legal aid at new centre

06 May 2015 - 02:32 By Dominic Skelton

Impoverished communities in Pretoria will be able to get legal help free of charge with the opening of a new legal advice centre. The new office, due to be launched today, is the brainchild of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces and ProBono.Org, a non-governmental organisation that works with private law firms to provide pro bono assistance.The centre, in Visagie Street, will be a one-stop shop for those who need professional legal services.The Law Society's rules require attorneys to do 24 hours of pro bono work every year.Through the establishment of the office, attorneys' hours can be used to run legal clinics or to take on matters through the referrals system."The more we open the channels to allow attorneys to get involved with options, the easier it is to entice them to do pro bono work," said the law society's pro bono co-ordinator, Humphrey Shivamba.Probono.Org's manager in Pretoria, Jolindie Ferreira, said: "We want to use attorneys in Pretoria to act as mentors for paralegals working in rural areas as well." ..

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