Law Firm Recognised for Keeping Families Safe
Law Firm Recognised for Keeping Families Safe
Wednesday 16 December, 2015 - Christchurch
Ebborn Law has been recognised by a group of 40 organisations - who support people who live with family violence - for the contribution it made to the sector in 2015. The award, presented by the Ministry of Social Development’s Canterbury Regional Commissioner, John Henderson, at a meeting of the Canterbury Family Violence Collaborative, recognises the work Ebborn Law has done to keep Canterbury families safe.
Last year there were 3,875 urgent applications for protection orders made in New Zealand, while Police investigated over 100,000 allegations or incidences of family violence.
According to Ministry of Justice figures Ebborn Law acted in 21% of all legal aid domestic violence cases in Canterbury in the year to July 2015. However, it is not the volume of work that attracted this accolade. The Family Violence Collaborative indicated the contribution the firm’s staff and management had made in supporting the sector with innovative solutions, educational opportunities and services to the community were key deciding factors.
Ebborn Law has consistently demonstrated leadership in the law profession despite its youth. From humble beginnings in 2012 to a leader in family law across New Zealand, some careful strategic management has seen it propelled to being the largest family legal aid provider in New Zealand.
The company now employs 13 staff, seven of whom are lawyers (with an eighth due to be admitted in March 2016). Growth has brought challenges along with a sense of the enormity of the need and the attendant frustration that growth cannot happen fast enough to meet that need.
The firm’s innovation extends from its strategic relationships through to the technology it has adopted to help create better outcomes for vulnerable clients. The demand for family legal aid lawyers is high and many refuges, especially those in regional areas, find it difficult to locate local lawyers for their clients who are engaging with the family justice system.
Ebborn Law’s adoption of VLaw™ to deliver legal services over the internet has drawn praise from the Ministry of Justice and will be a boost to refuges in heartland New Zealand. Currently Battered Women’s Trust and Marlborough Refuge both have video conferencing equipment installed at the firm’s cost so they can urgently access legal assistance for victims of family violence.
In 2015 the staff supported or delivered free family law workshops to over 500 social service and government professionals from Southland to Hawke’s Bay and plans to continue these through to 2016 along with umbrella organisation Social Service Providers Aotearoa.
Ebborn Law’s commitment to being leaders in the law profession has served it well and has resulted in a holistic approach to family law that is unique in New Zealand. Through building good networks and giving without expectation of reward, the firm has established a positive working relationship with social services, and is a role-model for lawyers who wish to work collaboratively with the NGO sector.