VALS maintains a strong customer service orientation through the role of Customer Service Agents (CSOs) who act as a bridge between the legal system and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. VALS is actively involved in education, research and community advocacy around legal reform and policy development. VALS strives to achieve this goal: The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service Co-operative Limited (VALS) was founded in 1973 as a community-controlled co-operative society. VALS plays an important role in providing recommendations, advice/information, service work or assistance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the state of Victoria. VALS lawyers specialize in one of three areas of law, namely criminal law, family law and civil law. VALS was created to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system.