ANIKA

ANIKA improves access to justice by harnessing the power of legal education. Each year, 490,000 Australians don’t receive the legal help they need. Meanwhile, law students are desperate for practical training. ANIKA connects people who desperately need legal advice with law students from partner universities. Community members will submit their legal problem on anikalegal.com. The matter is assigned to a law student who drafts the advice. This is reviewed and amended by an ANIKA lawyer and then sent to our user. Our online model allows users to get quick, free legal advice - no exorbitant fees or huge turnaround times.

The law is complex. Legal fees are unaffordable. Legal aid funding is scarce. Each year, 170,000 Australians are turned away from community legal centres.

This grant will enable ANIKA to develop as a project of Moonee Valley Legal Service, to provide community members with the legal help they desperately need.

Further, this single investment in ANIKA’s development means that it can be rolled out state-wide. Our university partners will pay a fee-per-student enrolled in the ANIKA unit, so ANIKA will be financially independent, providing free legal advice on an ongoing basis, to those who need it most.