No Passport Required: Crossing Interdisciplinary Borders in an Australian Legal Clinic

Doris Bozin, Allison Ballard, Vicki de Prazer and Jenny Weekes
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Doris Bozin: Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra, 2617 Canberra, Australia
Allison Ballard: Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra, 2617 Canberra, Australia
Vicki de Prazer: Medical and Counselling Centre, University of Canberra, 2167 Canberra, Australia
Jenny Weekes: Medical and Counselling Centre, University of Canberra, 2167 Canberra, Australia

Laws, 2020, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: How can disparate professions better collaborate in a legal clinic environment to improve the health and wellbeing, legal and social outcomes for patients/clients? In this paper, we explore how an intentional blurring of the boundaries between the health and legal professions in practice—between lawyers, general practitioners and psychologists, in particular—in the context of clinical legal education may result in better patient/client outcomes. We find that direct interdisciplinary professional referrals for patient/clients within a legal clinic environment can promote effective and timely therapeutic interventions for those with complex and interrelated legal and health problems. Drawing upon the literature around cross-disciplinary professional client referrals and two client case studies from a health–justice legal clinic environment in which doctors, psychologists and lawyers personally cross-refer patients with legal and health problems, we recommend some steps to break down the interdisciplinary borders so as to improve access to justice and health outcomes for vulnerable clients.

Keywords: interdisciplinary; professions; law; health; psychology; access to justice; vulnerable clients (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D78 E61 E62 F13 F42 F68 K0 K1 K2 K3 K4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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