Legal Aid WA Panels and Lists Membership Criteria This document contains the membership criteria for the following panels and lists. Please click on the panel or list you wish to view: Civil Law Panel Civil Law Panel Veterans matters Criminal Law Panels: Crime Murder Crime Sexual offences Crime Serious indictable Crime Magistrate and other indictable Crime Children s Court Crime Appeals Dispute Resolution Chairperson (Children s Matters) List Dispute Resolution Chairperson (Property Settlement) List Family Law Panel Dispute Resolution Panel Protection and Care Panel Independent Children s Lawyer and Child Representative List Violence Restraining Order Panel Page 1 of 5
Civil Law Panel To be eligible for membership of the Civil Law Panel, applicants must three years post admission experience as a civil lawyer; experience in a range of civil law matters; a high level of advocacy, negotiation and litigations skills in civil law; and Civil Law Panel Veterans matters To be eligible for membership of the Civil Law Panel Veteran s matters, applicants must met the criteria for membership of the Civil Law Panel; and have experience in veteran s matters Criminal Law Panels To be eligible for membership of the different Criminal Law Panels applicants must demonstrate that they meet the following criteria. Crime Murder ten years post admission experience as a criminal lawyer; advanced criminal law experience in the Supreme Court together with demonstrated jury trial experience; and Crime Sex offences advanced criminal law experience in the District Court and before the President of the Children s Court together with demonstrated jury trial experience; and Crime Serious indictable a high level of criminal law experience in the Supreme and District Courts together with demonstrated jury trial experience; and Page 2 of 5
Crime Magistrate and other indictable three years post admission experience as a criminal lawyer* *Practitioners with between two and three years post admission criminal law experience will be considered if they have an approved supervisor in place; and Crime Children s Court three years post admission experience as a criminal lawyer* *Practitioners with between two and three years post admission criminal law experience will be considered if they have an approved supervisor in place, but will not be assigned matters that are to be dealt with before the President of the Children s Court; and criminal law experience in the Children s Court knowledge and understanding of the Young Offenders Act 1994 (WA) and Children s Court of Western Australia Act 1988 (WA); if less than four years post admission experience as a criminal lawyer, completed Youth Law training provided by Legal Aid WA; an ability to communicate effectively with children; and Crime Appeals Criminal Court of Appeal knowledge and demonstrated experience in this jurisdiction; and DR Chairperson (Children s Matters) List To be eligible for membership of the DR Chairperson (Children s Matters) List, applicants must registration as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner; a qualification as a lawyer, or a qualification as a psychologist or social worker; three years post admission experience in law, or three years post-graduate experience in their area of qualification; recent experience in chairing or facilitating mediation conferences; recent experience working in a range of family law matters; understanding of the dynamics of domestic and family violence; excellent mediation and negotiation skills in family law; and Page 3 of 5
DR Chairperson (Property Settlement) List To be eligible for membership of the DR Chairperson (Property Settlement) List, applicants must a qualification as a lawyer; registration as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner, or accreditation under the National Mediator Accreditation System; three years post admission experience; recent experience in chairing or facilitating mediation conferences; recent experience working in a range of property settlement matters; understanding of the dynamics of domestic and family violence; excellent mediation and negotiation skills in family law; and Family Law Panel To be eligible for membership of the Family Law Panel, applicants must demonstrate that they have: three years post admission experience as a family lawyer; a high level of family advocacy and negotiations skills, including the ability and preparedness to conduct litigation up to and including trial; knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of family and domestic violence; and Dispute Resolution Panel To be eligible for membership of the Dispute Resolution Panel applicants must demonstrate that they have: met all of the Family Law Panel criteria above; and completed Legal Aid WA s Dispute Resolution solicitor training. Protection and Care Panel To be eligible for membership of the Protection and Care Panel, applicants must demonstrate that they have: met all of the Family Law Panel criteria above; completed Legal Aid WA s Signs of Safety training; and child protection advocacy and negotiation skills, including the ability and preparedness to conduct litigation in protection matters, up to and including trial. Page 4 of 5
Independent Children s Lawyer and Child Representative List Practitioners on this list will be assigned matters to act as either an Independent Children s Lawyer in the Family Court or as a Child Representative in the Children s Court. To be eligible for membership of this List, applicants must a current practising certificate five years post admission experience as a family lawyer* *Family Lawyers with less than five years post admission experience who have other relevant professional qualifications and experience will be considered (eg psychologist, social worker, teacher); completed the Independent Children s Lawyer National Training Program run by National Legal Aid and the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia; completed Legal Aid WA s Signs of Safety training; advanced competency in family law and child protection advocacy and negotiation skills, including the ability and preparedness to conduct litigation up to and including trial; understanding of child development and the dynamics of family and domestic violence; understanding of the principles and skills required and a capacity to undertake Independent Children s Lawyer and Child Representative work; an ability to communicate effectively with children; and Violence Restraining Order Panel To be eligible for membership of the Violence Restraining Order Panel applicants must demonstrate that they have: three years post admission experience as a family or criminal lawyer; a high level of advocacy and negotiation skills, including the ability to conduct restraining order matters; a demonstrated understanding of the dynamics of family and domestic violence; and Page 5 of 5