legal advice
legal advice

legal advice

ATTORNEY

Side Hustles for Lawyers | Airtasker AU

You may already be leading a busy life as a legal professional. Still, if you’re seeking ways to earn some extra income, you can choose from various secondary or side jobs that you can take up in your spare time. Thanks to the gig economy, it’s easier to find quick jobs that let you use your experience. 

Are you looking to pay off law student debt or simply want to support your expenses? These ideas for the best side hustles for lawyers may come in handy.

1. Take up legal writing jobs

If you’re skilled in writing, you might want to consider taking up legal content writing for legal publications, firms, websites, government institutions, and companies. You can use your knowledge in the legal industry to research, draft, and edit content—whether it’s briefs, pleadings, reports, opinions, letters, or contracts. 

2. Try grant writing

Another writing-related gig for lawyers to make extra money is grant writing. Provide your services to companies or organisations needing legal expertise—this may entail looking for new sources of funding, research, documentation, and drafting the grant application. 

3. Offer freelance notary services

notary stamp on a table

Get appointed to become a notary public and start practising on the side. To be eligible, you need to hold a current unrestricted practising certificate and be competent and of good character. Check the Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS) for more information.

4. Do transcription

Legal transcription is one side job for lawyers that can be done remotely. With your familiarity in writing legal documents, you’ll be able to successfully convert audio or video recordings of pleadings, depositions, or other court materials into text documentation.

5. Work as a legal editor/proofreader

As a lawyer, you’re well-equipped to navigate the nuances of legal documents. In

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LAW

This man advises his clients that elections, rates and mortgages are invalid

He calls himself an advocate, charges for advice on fines and council rates and makes incredible claims about his success in courtrooms around Australia.

But Derek Balogh — who was briefly jailed in 2008 after refusing to vacate his home despite a court order — has left a trail of failed cases in his wake.

Mr Balogh offers support in court and Fair Work Commission hearings and charges up to $1,497 for access to his teachings.

The Melbourne man claims agencies like the police and courts have been secretly turned into businesses and such entities now exist only to make money. He runs regular online classes, sometimes attended by dozens of people, where he teaches that elections and mortgages are invalid.

University of Technology Sydney legal expert Harry Hobbs described the advice given by Mr Balogh in his paid meetings as “false hope”.

“People who are struggling get enticed into his orbit and end up worse off,” Dr Hobbs said.

“There is no magic wand or magic get-out-of-jail-free card that allows you to avoid the ordinary laws of the land.”

Lawyer Samir Banga says people should “get proper legal advice“.(Supplied)

Sydney-based solicitor Samir Banga has been contacted for legal support by people who have followed Mr Balogh’s unqualified guidance.

“Some might not pay a few council rates and go, ‘Oh shit, I better pay,’ and some pull away after they learn, but the negative consequences could be as small as mispayments of interest, as negative as losing their houses,” Mr Banga said.

Mr Balogh tells his members that he has had many successes, but he did not provide examples when asked by 7.30.

7.30 spoke with eight people who have engaged Mr Balogh for various purposes, and examined published court, tribunal and Fair Work Commission findings

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LEGAL

Christian Porter tells inquiry ‘someone’ in department assured him robodebt was legal but ‘I can’t recall who’ | Royal commission into robodebt

Christian Porter has insisted that someone in one of the two government departments responsible for the robodebt scheme assured him it was legal, while telling a royal commission he did accept some responsibility for the scandal.

The former social services minister and attorney general told the inquiry he could not be sure who provided the legal assurance, but he was sure he had asked about it.

“I do distinctly recall putting a question … that everyone’s assured about the legal underpinnings,” he said. “I can’t recall who it was that affirmed that assurance, but someone did, and I recall that it was a departmental person.

“I couldn’t say if it was [Department of Social Services or Department of Human Services]and it happened quickly, and we moved on because it just wasn’t the focus of what was going on.”

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The meeting occurred while the robodebt scandal was the focus of intense public controversy in early 2017, though ministers have claimed they were focused on complaints about the practicalities of the program, not its legality.

The royal commission is investigating why and how the unlawful Centrelink debt recovery scheme was established in 2015 and ran until November 2019, ending in a $1.8bn settlement with hundreds of thousands of victims.

Porter, who is no longer in parliament, appeared at the inquiry after the former human services and current Coalition frontbencher Alan Tudge told the royal commission he did not accept and he was responsible for his department’s failure to check the scheme was legal.

Porter was also asked by the commissioner, Catherine Holmes AC SC, if he took “any responsibility” for what happened. He said: “I do. I look back at this and I see myself

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LEGAL

Parent Legal Center in Smithers, helps families navigate the legal system

Parents Legal Centers (PLCs) help parents with child protection matters in communities, provide legal services and often work with other agencies to address the specific needs of their clients. There are ten PLCs, including the one that services the Smithers/Hazelton and Houston areas.

“In Smithers at the PLC, we focus on building strong relationships with our clients,” Megan Olson, managing lawyer said. “This creates trust for them to keep moving forward and strengthen their families. The majority of our clients come to us during one of the most difficult moments of their life. Our purpose for being here is to help them through this process in a supportive, positive manner.”

“We collaborate with other service providers in the community and complement the services they provide. We refer clients to get additional help, as well as help build relationships. Our clients often come to us isolated and distrustful. We work to bridge the relationships with people who can help them.

“For example, a mom comes to us having just left a violent relationship. We can meet her at the Transition House, and help connect her to counseling and housing services. We explain the legal process and, together, we come up with a plan for her to safely start her new life with her children.

“Joined by our advocate, she meets with the social worker from the Ministry of Children and Family Development and shares what she has been working on. Ultimately, the kids stay with their parents and we have worked to keep things from escalating to court or from the kids having to spend time away from their mom.”

In another example, they meet a dad in court.

“We provide legal representation for him in the court process and successfully advocate for the children to return to him under a

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LEGAL

Korean Legal Clinic creating bilingual legal glossary to bridge culture and language barrier

The Korean legal clinic was established in 2019 by a team of Korean lawyers upon realizing there was no Korean and English legal clinic in Ontario. In addition to the language and cultural barriers and differences, Chun says 33 percent of Koreans living in Canada experience financial difficulties, contributing to the limited access to legal services amplified by the other obstacles encountered as immigrants.

The clinic held public legal seminars in 2021, followed by consultation sessions with some participants where the lawyers gave summary legal advice, but Chun says the pandemic limited some activities.

Chun, who joined as executive director in March, says the clinic is moving towards in-person services this month to provide consistent services and manage the law student volunteers.

“We’ve been getting our inquiries only by email. So, we would communicate with the questions over email and give them referrals or summary legal advice. However, we realize that certain people prefer to meet in person, which provides them with more comfort.”

Love Toronto, a non-profit organization assisting Korean immigrants who have difficulties with settling in Canada, has offered free office space for the Korean Legal Clinic at 5915 Leslie Street, North York, and Chun would be providing legal advice that runs up to 30 minutes on Tuesdays from 6 to 8 pm.

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