Prisoners' Legal Service (PLS)

Testimonials

• Angelene Counter

  Lawyer - Prisoners' Legal Service - 2023

  I started my career in community legal service as a clinic student at the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS) in my fourth year of law school. This was my first real exposure to legal work and a great learning opportunity, which started my interest in community law. I can still remember the first woman I assisted with getting a permanent visa and how happy she was when she heard the news. After the clinic finished, I stayed on as a volunteer and later worked at RAILS as an administrator and then as a paralegal in their Unrepresented Asylum Seeker Project.

  After graduating in 2018, I worked for a year as a paralegal at Prisoners' Legal Service (PLS) while I completed my practical legal training. The following year, I had the privilege of working as an Associate at the Supreme Court of Queensland. I learnt so much from this experience by working directly with a highly experienced judge, sitting on a wide variety of both civil and criminal matters. From this experience, I now feel far more comfortable in a court room.

  I now continue to work as a solicitor at PLS, mainly working on parole matters. Along with traditional legal work, such as preparing written submissions, briefing counsel and speaking with clients, I'm often involved in sourcing housing for my clients and collaborating with a range of other service providers. My job is incredibly rewarding as I can achieve real outcomes for my clients which can change the trajectory of their lives.

  I never had a set plan for my career; I wasn't even sure I wanted to be a lawyer when I started my degree. However, now I can't imagine not being an advocate. If you are looking to find your place in the law, I'd encourage you to take on any opportunities that interest you, regardless of whether you can predict exactly where it will lead you in the future. I'd also encourage you to find at least one mentor who you admire and discuss your career aspirations with them.

• Mitree Vongphakdi

  Paralegal - Prisoners' Legal Service - 2020

  I have been involved with PLS since the beginning of 2020. I was offered a place as a Mail Clinic Volunteer after being rejected as a Summer Intern for two years in a row! (Note: perseverance is key). After a few months as a volunteer, I was offered a position as a Paralegal. In the Mail Clinic, I assisted with drafting letters providing general and legal information in response to mail enquiries from prisoners. As a Paralegal I give general advice about parole and prison issues over the phone, draft submissions to the Parole Board and other correspondence, liaise with different parties on behalf of clients, as well as assisting with any random admin tasks that pop up.

  In my opinion, working with PLS, whether that is through LAWS5180 or as a Summer Intern, is particularly beneficial for mid-to later-year students who may be interested in pursuing a career in the community sector or in criminal law. Whilst the matters you work on are strictly civil law, you gain experience working with clients who are navigating the criminal justice system and gain an understanding of the issues they face. It is important to note that you will be exposed to matters that do contain graphic descriptions of violent or sexual crimes. Furthermore, it is incredibly important that you are able to remain impartial in your work with clients, as many of them have been convicted of serious crimes.

• Ben Wilson

  Prisoners' Legal Service - 2019

  A friend of mine sent me a screen grab of the PLS website which was advertising for volunteers to help them with their SafeWay program which helps to find homes for prisoners who are trying to re-integrate into the community, usually on parole. I sent a cover letter along with my resume and I was called in for an interview after which they brought me on. Prisoner's Legal Service were extremely flexible. They asked for one day a week with at least a six-month commitment because of the time they take to train you. I have been able to work whichever day I wanted and they have been more than willing to let me take a week off here and there for exams and occasional holidays.

  PLS have let me do pretty much any work I've expressed an interest in. I have: provided legal advice via helpline to prisoners, helped draft parole application, done in-person interviews at a variety of prisons near Brisbane and drafted submissions to a variety of legal bodies including the Queensland Parole Board, the Courts, a coronial inquest and the Human Rights Commission. The work is as varied as you want it to be and consistently interesting. Some of the submissions require the view of information which can contain quite graphic descriptions of violent or sexual crimes, in addition to working with those who have perpetrated those crimes. It happens often enough that I would not recommend PLS to anyone who thinks they would be particularly disturbed by such descriptions or who would be unable to remain impartial with the clients who committed those crimes.

  If what you want out of a Community Legal Centre is a flexible schedule with friendly full-time staff and legal work that is as varied as you want it to be, my experience with Prisoners' Legal Service is such that I would happily recommend it to anyone.