Our Clinic
Legal Advice Clinic
The Legal Advice Clinic is like a real law firm, operating out of the Law School! Real clients receive free legal advice, without which they would often have no other way of accessing justice. Law students are involved at every stage, and there are different ways of getting involved. First years can be Apprentices (attending client meetings and taking notes but not giving advice). Second and final year students can become Student Advisers. Once they are fully trained, they do legal research, interview clients, and give advice both in person and in writing. All this is supervised closely by the Clinic team, who are all qualified solicitors.
Students can get involved as a volunteer (look out for information about Clinic Academy, our training for extracurricular Student Advisers). Or you can do the same work as part of your LLB, as Student Advisers on our final year Law in Practice clinic modules. All Student Advisers receive comprehensive training and are fully supervised. However, if you want to take part but you are not confident enough to become an adviser yet, you can ask to attend a client appointment as an Observer. We have a Summer Vacation Scheme where students can volunteer for a week over the Summer. Most of our opportunities are first-come, first-served. This is because the most important qualities we are looking for in Clinic students are enthusiasm and passion for the work, reliability, and an excellent attitude. We can teach you everything else!
Students who get involved in the Clinic give overwhelmingly positive feedback. They report increased confidence, professional skills, and a better idea of how the law operates in real life.
If you would like a clinic appointment for some legal advice, please see our Clinic Client page here.
COMMUNITY ADVOCACY
Community Advocacy is a Clinic-managed project where students put their legal capability, drafting, argument-structuring skills to use by helping members of the public contact organisations (usually in writing) to assert their rights. This could be making a complaint, requesting documents, seeking further information about a decision that has been made, reporting anti-social behaviour, contacting a local MP for support, filling in forms and so on. Members of the public may need this service if they do not have access to the internet or struggle to use it, do not read or write fluently in English, or because they are not confident at formulating an argument in writing.
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Students can work on the project as volunteers or by taking the final year LLB module Law in Practice: Legal Advice Clinic Community Projects. Students develop communication skills by dealing with the public in person, and drafting on their behalf. Students report that this project makes them feel really useful because they can provide immediate practical help to people who would not be able to move forward without it.
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LIFE SKILLS
Life Skills is a Clinic-managed Street Law project where students prepare interactive and fun teaching sessions for a range of audiences on legal topics. The aim of the project is to empower local communities to understand and assert their rights. Last year, students designed and delivered sessions on Lasting Powers of Attorney and Deputyship for community groups, after receiving a request for them. We plan to work with the local Employment Tribunal to design and deliver a set of sessions about bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal, to support unrepresented litigants.
Students can work on the project as volunteers or by taking the final year LLB module Law in Practice: Legal Advice Clinic Community Projects. Students develop their legal research, communication, public speaking and presenting skills.