Get Involved with Volunteering
Students can apply to volunteer at one of our pro bono clinics. From volunteering, you will improve your interpersonal and client care skills, legal research and public speaking. Since the launch of our first pro bono scheme in 2008, we have expanded to 5 internal schemes.
Providing free legal advice and support is also known as 'pro bono' - a Latin term meaning "for the good of the public". You can apply for various pro bono activities with us as a student.
You can apply to volunteer with pro bono schemes at the beginning of semester one of each academic year but you can only volunteer with one scheme at a time.
Below are the current schemes that you can get involved with. The pro bono schemes are competitive and allocated places based on an application and interview.
Pro Bono Schemes
- CommLaw
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Working alongside fully qualified commercial solicitors, you will give reliable and relevant advice and participate in various advice sessions offered to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).
Open to all students on Law based courses (LLB, LLM, MA Law) within the School of Law. You will be told when applications open at the start of semester one.
- Family Law Project
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Working with the probation service, you will be assisting men who have been convicted of a crime and are currently supervised by the probation service. They may have been convicted of a crime of violence, and the court may have imposed a restraining order. They would not currently have any contact with their children but want to.
Open to all students on courses within the School of Law. You will be told when applications open at the start of semester one.
- FreeLaw
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You will provide free legal advice to the public with your working group. By conducting interviews and undertaking the required research, you will cover most areas of the law. A qualified solicitor always oversees the research to ensure the advice received is accurate and relevant.
Open to all students on Law based courses (LLB, LLM, MA Law) within the School of Law. You will be told when applications open at the start of semester one.
- Miscarriages of Justice Review Centre (MJRC)
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You will be involved in the study and re-investigation of alleged wrongful criminal convictions. You will gain unique first-hand experience and insight into this area of criminal justice, utilising a mentored teaching environment to maximise learning opportunities.
Open to all students on courses within the School of Law. You will be told when applications open at the start of semester one.
- Support Through Court (STC)
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The School works with STC based in Bartolome house. With Support Through Court, you will support unrepresented litigants, inexperienced court users, witnesses, and family members. The work you will undertake varies from practical information and help filling in forms to attending court with litigants and taking notes of the proceedings. You will benefit from full STC training and having the opportunity to build your knowledge of county court and family court procedures.
Open to all students on courses within the School of Law. You will be told when applications open at the start of semester one.
- External Schemes
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There are also many opportunities to volunteer with our external partners.
Degree Recognition
Using your experience from our in-house pro bono clinics, you can gain credits towards your final year if you are on one of the LLB courses. The 鈥淪pecial Project: Pro bono鈥 module is optional for final-year students who volunteer 鈥 or have volunteered - at one of the pro bono projects approved by the School.
You will build on training and experience in various legal and criminal justice processes, develop transferable skills, and prepare for further study and employment. The pro bono project will form the basis for learning and assessments undertaken on the module, but the work carried out on the project is not assessed or credited towards the module.
This module is approved as a Research Module for final-year undergraduate students, as it requires you to conduct self-directed research, including retrieval and evaluation of accurate current and relevant information from a range of appropriate sources. This module is part of a suite of optional special project modules, so it is not available to any student undertaking another special project module.
Qualifying Work Experience
Time spent with the School's pro bono clinics and external partners may count as Qualifying Work Experience under the Solicitors Regulation Authority's SQE (Solicitors Qualifying Exam) route to admission as a solicitor, and the School will support students who wish to register their pro bono volunteering.