Pro Bono for law students

Taking part in pro bono has numerous benefits for both you and your career, but also has a huge benefit to the wider community.

Doing pro bono work allows you to develop key employability skills needed for your future career. It’s also a great way to network within the industry and build your job application and CV. If you are considering undertaking QWE, it is a great means of showcasing legal skills and gaining that sought after QWE at a firm of your choice.

The work you do also has a huge impact on the communities around you, providing a vital service to those who cannot access legal assistance. At The University of Law, we work with a broad range of organisations, charities and law firms, to ensure our students have the opportunity to experience a range of legal sectors and gain first-hand experience of making a difference to people’s lives.

We offer a wide breadth of opportunities, allowing us to tailor projects around your CV and career goals. Examples of these are dependent on the campus you study at and local communities, but some key example opportunities include:

Legal advice clinics: We offer students the opportunity to triage clients or observe advice delivery in our legal advice clinics that range from focusing on wills and family law to small business advice. Several of our clinics are supported by lawyers from major law firms and organisations such as Shoosmiths, Womble Bond Dickinson and Disney.

Public legal education programmes: We offer a wide range of Public Legal Education opportunities that help members of the public understand relevant laws and raise much needed awareness. Examples include students engaging with the Schools Consent Project, delivering presentations to local schools and colleges, and delivering invaluable information sessions to Litigants in Person embarking on Court or Tribunal proceedings.

Legal Skills development opportunities: We organise a range of events throughout the year to give students the opportunity develop key legal competencies. Examples include legal research and drafting skills development with Amnesty International, mediation training and participation in the National Student Mediation Competition, and training in communication skills to support our Streetlaw community scheme. Throughout the year, we also run a rolling series of Solicitor Competency workshops.

There are numerous essential employability skills that you will develop through your pro bono engagement that will help set you up for a successful career. Tailored around your career goals, you’ll learn key skills such as client care, commercial awareness, interviewing clients, drafting legal documents, and developing the ability to take on research projects. Moreover, these skills will be developed by engaging with members of the public and other professionals ensuring you are confident and prepared for job applications and your future career.

The great thing about our pro bono offering is that no day is the same. A typical day could involve: Training with your Supervising Solicitor to feel confident and knowledgeable to triage a client regarding a legal issue of concern. You will gain an understanding of the practicalities of working in a particular area of law, make a difference to a client who truly needs support and assistance, and also gain invaluable insight into applying the law that you are studying in your classes.

Your campus Pro Bono team would welcome you engaging in our schemes.

At the start of your course, you will meet with Pro Bono staff for an induction, which will include details of the range of schemes on offer and how to sign up.

Throughout the year you can also contact your Pro Bono team via email to ask any questions or book an appointment.