Barry McAlinden is a specialist family law barrister. He deals with all types of cases concerning children in the public and private law jurisdictions. To celebrate Pro Bono Week, he discusses one of his pro bono cases from the past year.
Please tell us about the pro bono work you did
I acted for the maternal grandmother and step-grandfather in a High Court application for return orders concerning their 2 grandchildren. The children had been removed from the jurisdiction and taken to Iran.
The children’s mother had died very young in tragic circumstances. Days after a final hearing in which the grandparents had been granted child arrangement orders for ongoing direct contact with their grandchildren, the father removed the children from the jurisdiction, leaving the couple heartbroken and distraught.
The case involved numerous High Court hearings and mounting costs. And the couple were struggling to pay their legal costs and having to borrow money which was causing them more psychological and financial strain.
In the interests of ensuring them access to justice, and to alleviate that stress, I agreed to act pro bono.
What impact did the pro bono work have on the people and communities you worked with?
I think there are various impacts.
Firstly, in this particular case, it gave the couple ongoing access to advice, advocacy and [pastoral] support at a very upsetting and critical time, without adding to the psychological burden of the ongoing proceedings.
Secondly, more generally, it provides wider reassurance that, in the appropriate case, lawyers are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that justice is served and will prioritise that over short-term financial gain.
Thirdly by acting pro bono you help the administration of justice by providing appropriate position statements, summaries of the law and the drafting of technical orders to assist the court.
Did your pro bono work have an impact on your professional career? If so, in what ways?
Taking on pro bono work has several positives in terms of enriching your practice, particularly in fighting cases where there is obvious injustice.
Also, the circumstances of a case often cause real and evident distress and heartache to a client. So it gives you a sense that what you’re doing is making a difference, alleviating stress and anxiety, and serves a greater good.
Any final comments
Taking on pro bono work through organisations like Advocate, demonstrates to the wider world that there is a vocational aspect to our work as lawyers in fighting for justice, serving the greater good and the administration of justice, that is not orientated around financial gain. We were all inspired to be advocates for a reason.