National Pro Bono Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme
application form
Notes on the Application Form
This Application Form is for cover under the National Pro Bono Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme (Scheme) administered by the Australian Pro Bono Centre (Centre) for pro bono projects approved by the Centre.[1] A broad definition of a “Pro Bono Project” (Project) is applied by the Centre based on the Law Council of Australia’s 1992 definition of “pro bono legal work”.[2]
The information in this Application Form will be used by the Centre to determine whether the proposed Project is eligible for professional indemnity insurance cover for the lawyers and paralegals who may work on the Project.
Background on the Scheme
The Centre has taken out an insurance policy with Lawcover Insurance Pty Limited (Policy) that provides professional indemnity (PI) insurance cover for lawyers and paralegals carrying out or involved in legal services conducted with the prior approval of the Centre. A copy of the Policy is available on the Centre’s website. Please read the Policy carefully as it includes terms and conditions, including exclusions from cover.
The Centre has paid the Policy premium and there is no application fee or charge to any of the persons insured. The Centre will also be financially responsible for any excess that is payable in the event of a claim.
The National Pro Bono Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme is a “safety net” policy, and cover will only extend to circumstances where there is no other applicable PI insurance for the lawyers and paralegals working on the Project. In some circumstances, other PI insurance may be available through applicable employers, community legal centres or referring agencies.
The Policy has been approved under relevant legislation and/or regulations as providing appropriate insurance cover in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia. However, in some jurisdictions, applications for insurance under the Scheme will only be approved for lawyers holding certain categories of practising certificate.
Criteria for approval of a Pro Bono Project
In order for a Project to be approved by the Centre an Application Form must be submitted that describes a Project that will provide “pro bono legal work” as defined in the Policy:
1. A lawyer, without fee or without expectation of a fee, advises and/or represents a client in cases where:
(i) a client has no other access to the courts and the legal system; and/or
(ii) the client's case raises a wider issue of public interest; or
2. The lawyer is involved in free community legal education and/or law reform; or
3. The lawyer is involved in the giving of free legal advice and/or representation to charitable and community organisations.
Where a proposed Pro Bono Project will provide advice or representation to a charitable or community organisation, the Centre will have regard to whether the organisation works for the public good or whether the legal matter raises an issue of public interest which would not otherwise be pursued.[3]
The Centre maintains a Register of Approved Projects on its website which lists the details of all approved Projects. The Register can be viewed here on the Centre’s website.
Responsibilities of the Supervising Lawyer
It is the responsibility of the Supervising Lawyer to hold an appropriate practising certificate and to supervise the work undertaken by the lawyers and paralegals working on the Project. As a result of the approvals that the Scheme has under various State and Territory legislation and policy, the Centre will only approve a Pro Bono Project where the Supervising Lawyer holds an unrestricted or unsupervised practising certificate.
It is the responsibility of each lawyer to ensure appropriate regulatory compliance in the relevant State or Territory. Please contact the Law Society or relevant regulatory authority in the applicable State or Territory if there are any queries or concerns.
This Application Form must be signed by the Supervising Lawyer[4] for the Project.
The responsibility to comply with the obligations of the Scheme (see Declaration) will rest with the Supervising Lawyer. However, the Supervising Lawyer may choose to nominate a Primary Contact Person from within their team to liaise directly with the Centre.
Every six (6) months, or as otherwise required, the names of all lawyers and paralegals who have worked on a Pro Bono Project, and the pro bono hours that each person has worked, must be reported to the Centre.[5] While the Primary Contact Person may liaise with the Centre, the ultimate responsibility for this reporting rests with the Supervising Lawyer.
The Policy will provide professional indemnity insurance cover, subject to its terms and conditions, for all lawyers and paralegals who have worked on a Project provided their names are supplied to the Centre as required.
The Policy has certain obligations and responsibilities which are set out in this Declaration and the Policy. Key amongst these is the obligation to notify the Centre of any claim or circumstance which could lead to a claim and also to co-operate with the insurer. As these obligations will apply once the approval is granted, the Supervising Lawyer should read the Policy and, if required, seek professional advice as to the protection the Policy affords prior to submitting the completed Application Form.
Pro bono partnerships between in-house legal teams and law firms
Where an in-house legal team partners with a law firm to undertake pro bono legal work and the Supervising Lawyer for the project is a law firm lawyer additional conditions apply.
The additional conditions are that:
· both the Supervising Lawyer and the in-house lawyer who is the Primary Contact Person must sign the declaration contained in the Application Form;
· the Centre’s PI Scheme will only provide coverage to the in-house lawyers to the extent that the law firm’s PI insurance policy does not (ie as a ‘safety net’);
· the Centre’s PI Scheme will not provide any coverage to the law firm lawyers involved in the project, including the Supervising Lawyer;
· for reporting purposes, only the hours undertaken by in-house lawyers should be reported to the Centre for the purpose of reporting to Lawcover; and
· given the parameters of the approval it is the in-house lawyer who is the Primary Contact Person who has responsibility for reporting pro bono hours to the Centre.
National Pro Bono Project letterhead and email endorsement
The Centre provides “National Pro Bono Project” letterhead for use in providing advice under the Project. This letterhead includes the following endorsement to make it clear that the advice is being provided by an individual lawyer covered by the Policy and not the corporation or government that employs them:
“Legal advice is being provided through a pro bono project approved by the Australian Pro Bono Centre”
A similar endorsement should be included on emails relating to an approved Pro Bono Project.
Where the Project is a joint project between a law firm and in-house legal team, and the Supervising Lawyer is a law firm lawyer, this letterhead and email endorsement should only be used by the in-house legal team. It should not be used by the Supervising Lawyer or other law firm lawyers working on the Project.
application form
Please complete the following details.
SUPERVISING LAWYER
1. Full Name(s) of Supervising Lawyer(s) as it appears on their Practising Certificate:
2. Contact Details of Supervising Lawyer(s):
Title / Position:Email Address:
Alternate Email:
Direct Phone Number:
Mobile Number:
3. Details of Employer of Supervising Lawyer
Name of Employer:Postal Address:
4. Please provide details of the practising certificate held by the Supervising Lawyer including:
State or Territory in which the Supervising Lawyer holds apractising certificate
the type of practising certificate
held by the Supervising Lawyer
(eg corporate, government, private)
whether the Supervising Lawyer’s practising certificate is
unrestricted / unsupervised / YES / NO
PRIMARY CONTACT PERSON
5. Does the Supervising Lawyer wish to nominate another to be the Primary Contact Person? If so, please provide the details of the Primary Contact Person below:
Full name:Title / Position:
Email Address:
Alternate Email:
Direct Phone Number:
Mobile Number:
OTHER LAWYERS AND PARALEGALS
6. Is it proposed that other lawyers or paralegals (other than the Supervising Lawyer) will be working on the Project? YES / NO
7. Names of other lawyers or paralegals proposed to be working on the Project (if known):
8. Have you had any claim made against you for professional negligence for any prior legal work undertaken?
a. YES / NO
b. If you answered “Yes” to question 8(a), please provide details:
9. Are you aware of any matters, circumstances or facts that may give rise to a claim for professional negligence against you for any prior legal work undertaken?
a. YES / NO
b. If you answered “Yes” to question 9(a), please provide details:
THE PROJECT
10. Is the Project being conducted in conjunction with other parties or agencies? If yes, please provide details of the partnership.
11. Please provide details of the name and description of the Project, such as the pro bono client and the type of legal work proposed to be undertaken. Please consider the definition of “pro bono legal work” contained in the Policy. (Attach further details if necessary.)
12. Are any fees to be charged to the client for doing the pro bono legal work?
YES / NO
13. Is there any other professional indemnity insurance policy that may provide cover for any aspect of the legal work proposed to be undertaken as part of the Project?
YES / NO
14. What is the proposed start date for the Project?
15. In what jurisdiction(s) is the pro bono legal work proposed to be performed?
16. Have you provided pro bono legal services in this/these jurisdiction(s) before?
DECLARATION OF SUPERVISING LAWYER[6]
I,
(Supervising Lawyer), apply for the above Pro Bono Project to be covered by the National Pro Bono Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme and if the application is successful, I agree to:
· comply with the terms of the Policy;
· keep accurate records of the full names of all lawyers and paralegals who have worked on the Project and the number of hours each person has spent doing pro bono legal work[7];
· ensure compliance with the practising certificate requirements in the relevant jurisdiction for the Supervising Lawyer;
and to advise the Centre as soon as practicable:
· if I am no longer able to supervise the legal work being undertaken on the Project;
· of the full names of each lawyer and paralegal who have worked on the Project[8] and the number of hours each person has spent doing pro bono legal work following the six month period ending 30 June and 31 December each year, starting from the date of approval of the Project, or as required;
· of any written or verbal demand or claim alleging professional negligence arising from the provision of legal services provided within the ambit of the Project made against any lawyer or paralegal who has worked on the Project;
· if I become aware of any circumstance which could reasonably be expected to result in such demand or claim for professional negligence; and
· of the completion or closing date of any approved Project.
Signed by the Supervising Lawyer / DatePRIVACY STATEMENT
The Australian Pro Bono Centre is committed to protecting the privacy of the information you provide to us. We need to collect the information requested on this form to enable us to ascertain whether you are eligible for professional indemnity insurance cover under the Policy.
The Australian Pro Bono Centre may disclose the information we collect on this form to:
· our staff involved in carrying out our functions;
· contractors engaged by us in carrying out our functions; and
· Lawcover in order to meet our obligations under the Policy.
We may also disclose the names of the lawyers involved with the project, the names of their employers and the nature of the project through the Centre’s publications including its website.
By completing and returning this form you agree to us using and disclosing your information as set out above.
If the information provided on this form is personal information, you can ask us what personal information we hold about you and where necessary notify us of any changes so we can ensure the information we hold about you is accurate, complete and up to date.
This application form should be signed, dated and returned to the Centre:
· by email: /· fax: / (02) 9385 7375
· post: / Chief Executive Officer
Australian Pro Bono Centre
Law Building
UNSW, NSW 2052
Page 9
80317
[1] For the avoidance of doubt, these Notes on the Application Form comprise part of the Application Form.
[2] Note that this is different from the definition of pro bono legal work which applies to the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target. The rationale behind using a broader definition in the context of the PI Insurance Scheme is to facilitate as much pro bono as possible.
[3] For clarification as to what is considered “for the public good” please see Centre’s Guidelines for Considering a Proposed Pro Bono Project by In-House Counsel Providing Free Legal Advice and/or representation to Charitable and Community Organisations
[4] References to the Supervising Lawyer in this section, also include the Primary Contact Person in the context of a pro bono partnership between a law firm and an in-house legal team, where the Supervising Lawyer is a law firm lawyer. Please see the section below for further information.
[5] It is essential that accurate records of hours worked be kept as these are reportable to the Insurer by the Centre and may affect the insurance premium. Please note that in the context of a pro bono partnership between a law firm and an in-house legal team, where the Supervising Lawyer is a law firm lawyer, only the hours of the in-house lawyers and paralegals should be reported.
[6] Where the Project is a partnership between a law firm and an in-house legal team and the Supervising Lawyer is a law firm lawyer, the in-house lawyer who is the Primary Contact Person must also sign the Supervising Lawyer Declaration. You may wish to include two copies of page 8 in your application – one signed by the Supervising Lawyer and the other signed by the Primary Contact Person.