Impoverished communities in the capital city will easily access legal help for free with the opening of a new legal centre.

The new Pretoria-based office‚ officially launched on Wednesday‚ is jointly established by the Law Society of the Northern Provinces (LSNP) and ProBono.Org‚ a non-governmental organisation that works with private law firms to provide pro bono assistance.

The centre will be a one stop shop for those who need help with professional legal services. However‚ only those who pass a means test will qualify for free assistance.

They must earn less than R7 000 per month and own assets worth less than R360 000.
If a client’s matter has merit‚ the office will refer it to appropriate attorneys within the LSNP‚ including Gauteng‚ Mpumalanga‚ Limpopo and North West.

The Law Society’s rules require all its attorneys to do 24 hours of pro bono work every year. In Gauteng alone over 13 000 attorneys are registered with LSNP‚ its Pro Bono coordinator Humphrey Shivamba said.

Through the establishment of the office‚ attorneys' hours can be used to run legal clinics‚ workshops‚ public consultation or to take on matters through the referral system.

“The more we open the channels to allow attorneys to get involved‚ with options‚ the easier it is to entice them to do pro bono work‚” said Shivamba.

Community legal advice offices in rural areas will also benefit from the expertise of lawyers based in Pretoria.

“We want to use attorneys in Pretoria to act as mentors for the paralegals working in those offices and receive intakes [in Pretoria] from rural areas as well‚” said Probono.Org's manager in Pretoria‚ Jolindie Ferreira.

Ferreira and Shivamba predict they will have their hands full‚ saying there is a great need for facilitating legal aid to the poor in the LSNP jurisdiction.

The office is based at the Kutlwanong Democracy Centre in Visagie Street‚ Pretoria.