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Australia: Time trials for in-house lawyers doing pro bono

In-house lawyers want their number of approved hours for pro bono work increased or allocated differently so they can finish advising on select matters.

Lawyers are spending large parts of their day grappling with the legislation and case law relevant to a specific pro bono matter, without enough time to follow it through, Telstra legal counsel John Cross has said.

“We’re looking at talking to [Telstra] management about a different model of engagement with pro bono: either to get more lawyer days approved or the same number of days and have them allocated in a different way,” he said.