The Durban office is situated at Suite 701, 7th Floor, 303 Anton Lembede Street (Entrance on Durban Club Place). Our location in the heart of the CBD ensures that we are readily accessible to anybody who may need our services, as public transport is always available. We therefore have a number of clients who walk in off the street on a daily basis. We have a staff component of 8, with numerous volunteers who assist us on a regular basis. The office consists of 2 attorneys, 4 interns, 1 administrator and a Director. We run help desks throughout the week, at various venues in the Durban CBD and surrounds. We have 4 general advice help desks, viz, at Chatsworth, Umlazi, Ntuzuma and Verulam. These are located in areas which predominantly house people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds and cater to the most marginalised members of the community. People who attend at these help desks, get advice on a range of issues. Our specialised help desks are all located in the Durban CBD. Attorneys who staff these help desks are usually experts in their field. They can assess and give advice on the merits of a case on the spot. This ensures that matters are dealt with as speedily as possible and clients are very appreciative of this. In 2014, we had over 3000 clients contacting us. While our primary aim is to assist individual clients in getting legal assistance and attorneys to fulfill their pro bono hours, we also assist NGO’s with their various legal issues. We have recently embarked on an exciting project with an NGO, whereby we provide legal seminars specially tailored to them. Word of this project has spread and we have been contacted by other NGO’s who would like to take advantage of the same opportunity. In addition to the services mentioned above, we also host workshops and seminars for attorneys and members of the community on a regular basis. The seminars for attorneys are run by attorneys experienced in the field and are generally very well attended as attorneys recognise the value of these seminars. We currently have over 200 attorneys on our panel and it is a matter of pride that this number is constantly growing. We also have several advocates on our panel and it is hoped that, going forward, more will join. It is gratifying to note that members of the legal profession see the value of the work that we do and we look forward to growing further…together.
