The Senate has endorsed a motion recognising the plight of the East Timorese refugees and has called on the Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock to grant special visas on humanitarian grounds.

Northern Territory Labor Senator Trish Crossin proposed and moved the motion.

A NT law firm has offered to take on some of the cases involving more than 80 Darwin East Timorese told to leave the country on a pro-bono basis.

Charles Yuen is a licensed migration lawyer and says he has made the offer because he believes the East Timorese have the right to fight the Federal Government's rejection of their refugee applications.

Mr Yuen says he is willing to negotiate his fee. "What I'm offering initially are for those who have financial difficulties in paying my normal fee that I'd be happy to reduce it down to half or they could agree to a lump sum that's within their own budget to pay for, and for those who are really needy, I'd be happy to do it absolutely free – no charge," Mr Yuen said.