Meet the lawyers helping women fund their escape from domestic abuse

News.com.au

4 days ago

It was an idea hatched over a couple of beers, while airing frustrations at having to turn away victims of domestic violence who couldn't afford legal representation.
Jack O'Donnell and Andy O'Connor came up with the idea of a first-of-its-kind divorce and separation loan, based not on someone's income or credit score, but on their likely property settlement.
Three years on, the JustFund founders and co-CEOs have to date helped more than 2300 people – mainly women fleeing abusive relationships – and secured more than $1.3 billion in settlements.
'We'd come to realise after spending years working in it [law] that it is a really unfair system,' Mr O'Donnell told news.com.au.
'Unfortunately, we kept turning away really good people who deserved really good advice, simply because they couldn't afford our fees and that never seemed right to us,' he said.
The duo believe their offering separates them from traditional banks, with those in need able to pay them back after the settlement is finalised with the divided assets.
Mr O'Connor said traditional lenders will look at income and credit score when a loan is applied for, which can become difficult for those who don't work.
'For most people, that means it's a computer says no outcome for that request,' he said.
'It's in putting yourself in the shoes of the borrower, of a client going through separation, and understanding, a) how the product needs to work for their circumstances and b) looking at eligibility in an entirely different way.
'You can't take a copy paste approach to normal lending and apply it in this space.
'When someone's in the shoes of separating from their partner and they're staring at a lawyer charging six, seven, eight hundred dollars an hour, if they're fortunate, if they and their partner can reach a settlement very, quickly, very cheaply, that's great.
'But not everyone's as lucky as that, particularly when you throw into the mix the existence of increasing awareness of the prevalence of domestic violence and financial control.
'In particular, what we see in so many of the experience of our clients, is how the system can be weaponised and how financial imbalances can play out in the negotiation of a settlement for a client.'
JustFund takes a 'family law approach' to value the assets that will be divided between the parties and forms a view as to what share the borrower is likely to receive.
A borrower is able to access the approved funds within days, with the team of 18 lawyers able to move more quickly if someone's circumstances were urgent.
Mr O'Connell said the most important thing to do was to empower those going through a difficult relationship, domestic abuse or financial control to 'take control of their own futures'.
'The reality is barriers to access to funding are really significant in how those situations play out, and we hear time and time again from clients that our approval of their funding application is the difference between them being able to move out of their homes and situations,' he said.
In Australia, data shows that about one in six women have experienced financial abuse – a common form of family violence – from a former or current partner.
'This can include things like stopping someone from earning money, controlling finances or denying access to money,' a spokesperson for Safe and Equal told news.com.au.
'It also includes incurring debts in someone's name, stealing someone's possessions, or excluding someone from financial decisions that impact them.
'Economic abuse is particularly insidious because it keeps a victim survivor financially dependent on their perpetrator, trapped and unable to safely escape without facing immense financial stress or, in many cases, poverty and homelessness,' they said, adding that because the abuse can escalate after separation, many victim survivors feel like they must remain in the relationship for their own safety.
'If they do manage to safely escape, the impacts can be lifelong, causing significant stress and damage long after the relationship has ended.
'We see this a lot in cases where the perpetrator has accrued large debts in the victim survivor's name,' the spokesperson said.
Safe and Equal said many victim survivors are unable or unwilling to go through costly separation or divorce proceedings, particularly when their abuser has the financial means to weaponise court systems and keep them embroiled in expensive litigation processes as a form of 'punishment' – such as prolonging family court proceedings, hiding assets, stalling joint property or debt settlements, or not paying child support.
'Victim survivors will often settle for much less than what they are entitled to, just to avoid the ongoing control and abuse,' the spokesperson said.
'In many cases, they never fully recover financially.'