Victoria Legal Aid consultations
Voices for Change recently met with Annie and Kasia from Victoria Legal Aid to discuss the service’s CLIENT FIRST STRATEGY. They wanted to hear how VLA can make it easier for ABI clients to receive legal assistance. They are looking for a consistent approach to ‘good’ client engagement. People with ABI, among others, are a lived experience group VLA considers a priority client. We had some recommendations for them:
Just one lawyer, please!
We appreciate not having to explain ourselves or tell our story over and over again. Having the same lawyer makes us feel at ease
Lived experience: the way to go
We feel strongly that legal services need workers with lived experience employed in their practise. Peers with lived experience of the criminal justice system. We believe these workers have actual experience of the criminal justice system, not just understanding from books
Preferred contact methods
Telephone is best (talking)
Regular contact is important. Helps clients remember things
Paperwork is daunting
Online technology (emails etc.) can be really difficult or impossible for some
Build rapport in informal settings
Meeting over a coffee at a cafe is a good way to engage with us. They are easier places than the legal service
Give clients with an ABI extra time
Life situations can suddenly crop up which we need to attend to (eg. childcare emergencies). We need leniency and acceptance. We can only concentrate on one thing at a time and we can get frustrated. Sometimes we speak harshly, but we don’t mean it. It’s just the way it comes out sometimes
Easy English explanations
It helps if lawyers can explain to us in simple ways what is going on. Please don’t use language we don’t understand, both in writing and when talking to us
