About PILCH NSW
Formed in 1992, PILCH NSW is a membership based organisation which each year refers around 200 requests for help from the community to our members. PILCH NSW also provides advice, coordinates projects to create systemic change and hosts events to raise awareness about public interest matters. It is a trusted pro bono “clearing house” which works with referral networks such as Community Legal Centres, Law Access NSW, the Legal Aid Commission and not for profit organisations.
Members include law firms, barristers, accounting firms, law schools, corporate law departments, the NSW Bar Association, the Law Society of NSW, NSW Legal Aid Commission and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
Funding is sourced almost exclusively from annual membership fees supplemented by a grant from the NSW Public Purpose Fund and PILCH fundraising efforts. A Board of Directors guides management of the organisation. PILCH NSW is co-located with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
Our Mission Statement
PILCH NSW is committed to protecting human rights, preventing abuses of power by the State, responding to emerging issues of public concern and helping build sustainable communities.
We Aim to Bridge the Justice Gap by:
- Providing the community with access to pro bono legal representation and other professional service to enable pursuit of important legal and social issues that would otherwise go unaddressed.
- Developing and coordinating projects which respond to unmet legal need and which address systemic issues.
- Forming partnerships which encourage and facilitate the clinical training of future lawyers by offering law students volunteering, coursework and internship opportunities.
- Equipping our members with the specialised knowledge and skills required to work with the community across a range of needs.
Underlying the establishment of PILCH is the commitment from lawyers that the provision of pro bono services is intrinsic to legal professional responsibility. PILCH NSW is committed to expanding the ethic of pro bono in connection with corporate social responsibility initiatives.
History
PILCH was established in 1992 to respond to the growing incidence of unmet legal need within the wider community. The first of its kind in Australia, PILCH was an initiative of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), law firms, the Law Society of NSW and the NSW Bar Association. PILCH is part of the National PILCH network including QPILCH and VicPILCH, the Queensland-based and Victorian-based public interest law clearing houses.
