News
ALA opposes ‘claims-harvesting’
25th Jun 2018
Unsolicited contact from lawyers to accident victims is strongly opposed by the peak industry body for plaintiff lawyers, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
“This practice is known as ‘claims-harvesting’ and lawyers participating and benefiting from such activities should be clearly and robustly discouraged,” said ALA President, Laura Neil.
“We have always been vocal in our opposition to this practice and have supported proposed measures to ensure that lawyers do not benefit when a client has been procured by claims harvesting.
“People knowing their rights and where to go for help is a crucial first step in accessing justice.
“However, cold-calling in an intrusive way that breaches people’s privacy is not a practice that the ALA supports. Nor do we agree with the sale of private information by third party providers such as those providing medical booking services.
“Claims-harvesting appears to be on the increase but the vast majority of plaintiff lawyers are highly ethical and are opposed to this practice.
“In fact, legal organisations have been at the forefront of trying to rule out this activity. We will continue to work with other industry groups to put a stop to any claims-harvesting."
The ALA is a national association of lawyers, academics, and other professionals dedicated to protecting and promoting justice, freedom and the rights of the individual.
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