The Good Stuff: Free legal help

18 September 2009 - 08:56
By Diane Macpherson

One of the hardest things to access if you're poor, is justice.

Legal services are not only expensive but it can also take years for an issue to be finalised, due to huge case backlogs.

There is a non-profit organisation however, that takes on cases for free and provides legal services to the vulnerable and marginalised.

This includes poor, homeless, and landless people as well as communities that suffer discrimination because of their race, class, gender and disability or because of social, economic, or historical circumstances.

The organisation is called the Legal Resources Centre and it has a regional office in Durban at the Diakonia Centre.

This centre -along with three other regional branches around the country - is funded by donations, mostly from overseas. The centre was started up in Jo'burg in 1979. 

Durban-based LRC attorney Sharita Samuel explains how they operate.

"We have a front of house system whereby our office is open from 8am to 4pm from Monday to Friday. And we interview clients and take statements and we figure out whether the issue is something that the LRC can assist in. And it is a range of problems, you know, with access to justice there would be social welfare issues, there would be disability there will be old age pensions, there would be administrative problems that people being unable to access basic rights in terms of these issues."

Sharita gives some more examples of the kind of cases the Legal Resources Centre would generally take on.

"It would also be about education where children are not being admitted to school or where a nutrition scheme is not functioning properly or where a transport system - getting kids to school in rural areas - is not functioning well for whatever reason, maybe the subsidy has not come through or the school is not co-operating. So it's a whole range of issues, but the important thing for listeners to note is that it's not about personal disputes amongst individuals. So if a landlord and tenant, for example, are having problems about rental arrears etc and where the money is due - then the LRC would not be able to intervene in that kind of matter, because it doesn't affect the wider public interest and those kind of matters, I think, would end up with the Legal Aid Clinic's justice centres."

I asked Sharita where the bulk of the Legal Resources Centre's energy goes, in terms of the type of cases they take on, and also to clarify that their services are 100% free.

"Yes, the service that the Legal Resources Centre provides is free of charge. We do not take any fees from our clients for either consultations or representations in court when the matter gets to court, so clients bear no costs when they consult the Legal Resources Centre," she said.

"In terms of volume, we see thousands of clients per annum. On average, I'd say about 4000 to 5000 clients per annum in KZN. It is very rare that the LRC will turn away somebody that comes into our office either by referral or having heard of the service. If we are unable to take the matter on we still give it our time and we make sure that we do a safe and proper referral to the appropriate agency, whether that requires telephone calls, writing letters etc to find out whether the institution that we are referring the client to is capable of providing the service," says Sharita.

The Legal Resources Centre is good to know about - especially if you are aware of someone with a legal issue that affects the broader community. These issues could include anything from access to social services to women's rights issues and unfair procedures inhibiting housing provision.

If know of anyone that needs help from the Legal Resources Centre, please contact them on the details below - and well done to the staff at the LRC for helping to make huge differences in the lives of those whose rights they help fight for.

Contact details:

Durban Office   
Address:
N240 Diakonia Centre
20 St Andrews Street, Durban 4001

Telephone:     +27 31 301 7572
Fax:     +27 31 304 2823
Website: http://www.lrc.org.za

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