About us and Fees
Brigid Justice services can be used by women:
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- who have suffered controlling or abusive behaviours (at any point).
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- with an income under $160,000 who cannot access Legal Aid.
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- able to pay legal fees or obtain litigation funding ($10,000 deposit usually needed for matters going to Court).
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Our fees
You will be provided with a full costs disclosure if you engage our services.
Our fees for a lawyer are on a sliding scale depending on your income and assets:
1. $253/hour (incl GST): income under $110k; parenting only or under $600k property pool
2. $275/hour (incl GST) income over $110k or $660k-$1.5M asset pool
3. $330/hour (incl GST) asset pool $1.5M to $2.5M
4. $385/hour (incl GST) asset pool $2.5M to $4M
5. $495/hour (incl GST) asset pool $4M+
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Brigid Justice was established by and for women survivors of domestic abuse. We offer trauma informed, reasonable cost, coherent, and professional legal advice. We engage our clients with social and psychological support. All our staff are trained in trauma informed practice.
Standing strong with you
A bit more about us
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Affordability
Legal costs can be incredibly expensive, and way too many women end up paying vast amounts to lawyers, or being forced to accept unsafe parenting arrangements or a bad property settlement. Legal Aid is only available to women on very low incomes.
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Our fees are set as low as possible so that we can run our legal practice and pay our staff fairly. Private lawyers charge between $450 and $880/hour. Many of our clients have run up $30,000+ legal bills with previous lawyers. Most of our clients end up paying around half what they would pay a private lawyer.
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Our legal services include everything family law - property settlements, parenting and spousal maintenance. We will also sue perpetrators of domestic violence where this is possible, and advocate for our clients with the Police.
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We understand domestic violence. As a specialist practice, all our clients have suffered domestic violence. We understand how the family law system addresses domestic violence, how perpetrators can use the system to keep abusing, and the many traps for DV victims in the justice system.
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Misidentification is a big problem - where Police charge the victim of abuse. Police can also be slow to act to protect victims. We provide advocacy for our clients with the Police, and criminal representation if needed.
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Trauma informed practice means you can expect to be treated with kindness and respect. We won't tell you what you 'have to do' but give you the information and support you need to make your own decisions in your own time.
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Affordability is created by:
Brigid Justice's charitable status (which reduces our costs).
Remote firm - all our lawyers work from home.
Barristers who reduce their fees for our clients
Extensive use of technology and efficient processes.
Refusing to engage in pointless 'wars of letters' with other lawyers.
Not charging clients for every email, phone call & texts.
Discounting our bills.
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Funding Brigid Justice currently receives no funding from government or philanthropists, and run our practice entirely on client fees.
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Litigation assistance funds. We have limited funds to assist women at risk of homelessness or with no access to funding, in starting property legal proceedings (from the Mercy Foundation, Blue Mountains Quakers, and Katoomba, Blackheath & Sunrise Rotary). These funds are repaid on obtaining a property settlement.
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