What are Community Legal Centres?

Community Legal Centres (CLCs) are independent, non-profit community organisations providing free legal advice, information and referrals for individuals and communities across NSW.

There are both generalist and specialist legal centres. The generalist CLCs usually only provide services to those people living in their catchment area and practice a wide range of issues. Specialist CLCs provide specific legal services to the whole of NSW.


What do CLCs do?

	They are committed to social justice and promote access to and reform of the legal system.
	They provide quality legal services to the community including:
	giving legal advice and referrals
	some representation in courts
	representation for public interest and test cases
	They aim to empower their clients to do as much as they can in regard to their legal problems.

How can you get involved?

There are many opportunities for volunteers at Community Legal Centres. Each centre has a different policy regarding volunteers. Please click on the following link to the NSW Community Legal Centre Listings.


What kinds of things will you do as a volunteer?

This depends on the centre, but in general you can expect to gain experience in wide range of tasks including:

	Interviewing clients
	Case management
	Drafting
	Policy research

What past volunteers have said….

“[Working at a CLC was] the best part of my law degree. Great to get practical experience in a range of areas, work closely with staff and students as a team.”

“Volunteering gave me an insight into what kind of lawyer I want to be and I also realised a larger range of career options that I had not previously thought of”



For more information visit the NSW Community Legal Centres website at www.nswclc.org.au