Access to justice remains one of Fiji’s most stubborn challenges. For many citizens, the cost of legal advice or representation is simply out of reach. The result is a justice system that works well for those who can pay and too often fails those who cannot. Across the common-law world, the answer has not been left solely to the State. In Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Canada and Italy, the private legal profession has built structured, measurable pro bono ecosystems that deliver sustained legal help to people who would otherwise go without.
On Saturday, 31 October 2026, at the Fiji Law Society Convention, a session will be delivered on “Pro Bono Ecosystems That Work: How Foreign Jurisdictions Have Built Thriving Pro Bono Cultures and What Fiji Can Learn from Them”. This session will examine those models in detail and ask what can be adapted to Fiji’s scale, culture and institutional landscape. The session starts from a clear-eyed diagnosis: Fiji’s current pro bono landscape is fragmented, largely dependent on individual goodwill, and lacks the reporting frameworks, clearing-house coordination and professional incentives that turn sporadic generosity into reliable capacity.
The speakers bring direct experience of the systems that work in other jurisdictions. Giovanni Carotenuto, President of Pro Bono Italia, has helped build a national pro bono culture in a civil-law jurisdiction that once regarded unpaid legal work as purely charitable rather than a professional obligation. Coby Foster, Special Counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright in Australia, works inside one of the region’s largest firms and understands how ranking systems, mandatory reporting and judicial endorsement turn pro bono from a side activity into a core performance metric. Sara Lane, Senior Associate in Ashurst’s pro bono practice in Australia, brings hands-on knowledge of coordinated clearing-houses and the practical partnerships between law firms, community legal centres and law schools. Jotishna Nair, Partner at VPN Lawyers, offers the perspective of a Fijian practitioner who has looked at international models and considered how Fiji can turn it into local realities. Moderating the discussion is Nemani Vakacakau, Principal of Falcon Chambers, who will keep the focus on what is feasible and sustainable within Fiji’s legal market.
The Convention’s overarching aim, in Reforming for Resilience: Advancing Legal Reforms & Professional Excellence, is tangible in this session. A thriving pro bono ecosystem does not replace publicly funded legal aid; it multiplies its reach. When law firms, the Law Society, the judiciary and civil-society organisations share data, coordinate referrals and celebrate measurable contribution, the volume of free legal help rises dramatically. Clients who once faced eviction, domestic violence or unresolved land disputes without counsel gain representation. Young lawyers develop skills and professional identity. The public begins to see the legal profession not only as a commercial service but as a pillar of social solidarity.
Fiji does not need to import any foreign model wholesale. What it needs, and what this session is designed to deliver, is a practical implementation framework tailored to local conditions: clear professional expectations, modest but consistent reporting, a simple referral mechanism, and recognition that makes pro bono work a source of professional pride rather than an afterthought. The lawyers who leave the Convention with those tools will be better equipped to close the access-to-justice gap one case, one firm and one coordinated programme at a time. In doing so they will demonstrate that the rule of law is not a privilege reserved for those who can afford it, but a shared commitment the profession itself is ready to honour.
