Robert Ludbrook ONZM passed away in October, after giving a lifetime of service to fighting injustice. He sought to make sure the most vulnerable in our society have access to effective legal services. His achievements were many and hugely significant, stretching over decades – here are a few select highlights.
In 1968-9, there was a move to set up a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) in Auckland. By 1970, the Auckland City Council decided to establish it in Ponsonby, then an economically deprived suburb, and appointed Peter Harwood to head the venture. Robert joined in the planning, and due to his practical experience, Robert organised the CAB legal services’ operations very efficiently. The Ponsonby CAB was an immediate success, and today, there are more than 80 CABs across Aotearoa.
The success of the Ponsonby CAB revealed the high level of unmet legal need. Discussions started about setting up more community-based legal services. Robert went to Berkeley University in 1974, as the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) representative at a “Legal Services for the Poor” workshop. There, he researched potential models, including working at a Neighbourhood Law Office (NLO) in rural California, and believed the NLO model was appropriate for here. Robert’s advocacy was supported by Bruce Slane and Brian Lynch of the Auckland District Law Society (ADLS) and negotiations followed between the ADLS and the NZLS about setting up a pilot scheme.
Robert spearheaded the practical setting up of the NLO in Grey Lynn and provided many hours of unpaid work. The assessment of the initial three years of operation in early 1980 confirmed the office was a success, and while this was acknowledged by the Government, it stepped back from providing further funding. This was the start of a difficult period for the Grey Lynn NLO, but it managed to survive and was eventually joined by other Community Law Centres. It was renamed the Auckland Community Law Centre, and there are now 24 CLCs across the motu.
In 1980, Robert resigned as a litigation partner at Cairns Slane, after 15 years specialising in family law, and travelled to England where he worked for nearly three years in the Children’s Legal Centre in London. This convinced him Aotearoa needed a dedicated service providing specialist knowledge of the law affecting young people.
Robert approached Ted Jones at the Youth Resource Centre in late 1986, with a proposal to set up an office. Ted and Robert had worked together previously to help young people develop the skills necessary to assert their legal rights. The Youth Resource Centre provided rent-free premises, and Robert provided his legal services free for 12 hours per week. It was called the Youth Law Project, as it wasn’t necessarily intended to continue long term. However, it continues today since the beginnings in 1987, changing its name to YouthLaw Aotearoa and has helped thousands of young people and their families. Robert devoted many hours of free legal work at YouthLaw during the 1990s, as did his wife Sandra.
From 1981 to 2019 Robert edited Ludbrook’s Family Law Practice for Brookers, and he also wrote Counselling and the Law. Robert was one of the lawyers who pioneered the Youth Advocate Scheme in the late 1980s in the Children and Young Persons Court. One theme Robert pursued relentlessly for many decades was adoption reform, as he felt the 1955 Adoption Act was hopelessly outdated and contradicted the Human Rights Act and the Bill of Rights Act.
In 2021 he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to family law and children's rights. Throughout his career, Robert was always prepared to denounce injustice, forthrightly but politely.