This article has been provided by Phillip Dicalfus, Principal Solicitor at Illawarra Legal Centre
Illawarra Legal Centre (ILC) has recently started working with a seconded paralegal from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), Kishaya Delaney. Illawarra Legal Centre was offered the assistance of a seconded paralegal from HSF as it was one of the community legal centres in NSW hardest hit by this past summer's bushfires.
Kishaya Delaney is a Wiradjuri woman from Orange, NSW. She lives in Wollongong and is currently in her final semester of a Bachelor of Law (Honours). Kishaya has worked at HSF since late 2017, where she commenced as an intern before transitioning to a paralegal role. She completed a vacation clerkship in 2018 and is set to begin a graduate position at HSF in 2021. When the bushfires hit over the summer, Kishaya was working as a paralegal with the Pro Bono & Citizenship team at HSF.
HSF, like many law firms, had been involved in a range of discussions about what pro bono support might be needed following the devastating bushfires across the country. Community legal centres and disaster recovery teams working in the worst-impacted areas of NSW have continually reinforced that secondments and funding for locum lawyers at CLCs was the most impactful way legal support could be provided.
The HSF Pro Bono & Citizenship team was aware that Kishaya lived in Wollongong and approached her to see if she might be interested in working one day a week as a secondee at Illawarra Legal Centre. When she expressed interest, the team contacted Community Legal Centres NSW who put Kishaya in touch with Phillip Dicalfas at ILC, and it quickly became clear that someone with Kishaya's skill set and initiative could assist ILC with paralegal support. Kishaya started working at the ILC in April, on a one day per week basis.