new cooperative aims to improve legal aid firms

A national organisation has been launched with the aim of helping law firms who look after legal aid clients improve their efficiency and business operations.

Legal Aid Providers Aotearoa (LAPA) is the brainchild of Christchurch family lawyer Erin Ebborn, of Ebborn Law, and her CEO Jarrod Coburn.

The cooperative, which will consist of law firms who provide significant levels of legal aid, aims to help members by sharing know-how and skills in areas such as business operations, technology and change management.

"LAPA is the result of a good year's worth of thinking and planning," says Erin Ebborn, "We are very excited about the potential this organisation will have, particularly for the end-user of legal aid."

The organisation has approached 136 law firms across the country that are representative of most urban and rural areas. The first event of LAPA, where membership for the 2017/18 year will be determined, will be held in Christchurch on 1 July 2017.