Law firms pump-out the press releases ... Slater & Gordon hires more social workers for needy clients ... Brydens wants the Libs to loosen-up on injury law ... White & Case brands the Jessup Moot
Things are steaming along brilliantly in the publicly listed law firm sector.
Slater & Gordon's media muffins issued a press release the other day to announce that the firm's groundbreaking social service work was being expanded beyond the shores of Yarraside.
Social workers are to be hired to work in the New South Wales and Queensland branches of the mighty law shop.
There will also be a social worker dedicated to clients with asbestos diseases.
Victorian state manager of S & G, Kath Evans, said that the service was provided free for clients needing "emotional, financial, housing, care or treatment support".
"Our social workers are filling a gap for our clients that a lawyer can't."
The firm's social work manager, Olga Gountras, had a heart-rending story:
"In one instance, we had a client who was seriously injured from a motor vehicle accident and was found to be living in a tent inside a shed, with no access to electricity or running water, in an isolated part of rural Victoria. When his lawyer found out, she referred this client to me. We managed to get him a home through the public housing system within a month, which was a miracle for someone living in a remote area."
As Ms Evans put it:
"Yes we're a law firm, but we actually care about how our clients live."
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Meanwhile, another personal injury outfit in NSW, Brydens, is trying a different promotional tack.
Rob Bryden had his spinners at PR agency Woosh, which is a division of The Narrative, put out a release calling for an overhaul of tort law once the Liberals have their backsides safely on the Treasury leather in Macquarie Street.
"Since 1995 the ability for everyday Australians to seek legal remedies to various injustices has been reduced again and again as the State's laws became increasingly skewed against the injured."
Brydens' motto is "When winning is everything". The Google adwords the firm uses include, "fast win over 98 percent of cases ... we get maximum claims".
Still, Rob wants more. The overhaul of injury laws should include returning worker injuries to the private insurance sector "in order to increase competition", the reintroduction of a truly independent court for injured workers and less restrictions on the rights of injured motorists.
It's all about improving "the capacity of ordinary people to seek justice for major personal tragedies".
Rob's entreaties have been greeted by silence in Macquarie Street, Phillip Street and beyond.
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Global law chain White & Case has got its branding all over the Jessup Moot competition after four consecutive years of sponsorship.
It's also the second year that the firm is stumping-up for the international rounds of the comp, now known as the "White & Case International Rounds" for which teams compete for the gleaming White & Case Jessup Cup.
It's sponsoring run-offs in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Georgia, Poland, Russia, South Africa and the UK.
The 2011 White & Case International Rounds kick-off in Washington on March 20.
The topics to be spruiked by the young debaters from 550 law schools in 80 countries include the legality of military air strikes using unmanned drones, banning women's clothing that has religious significance, and something simply described as "bribery and corruption".
You can follow it all on a Twitter feed where already we discover the the University of Baghdad has won the Iraq round, Kyoto Uni has bagged the Japan round and Universidad de Adolfo Ibáñez the Chile round.
There's still tons more talking to get through.