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The Pro Bono Group offers students the opportunity to apply their legal knowledge in a rewarding and charitable environment. Pro Bono work is highly regarded by a variety of firms and organisations who seek graduate employees. We work with a number of local firms and professionals in the community in order to support the students and staff at the University as well as the greater population.
As a member of Pro Bono, you will have the opportunity to attend a number of educational and enriching events over the course of the year. Last year these events included several Workshops and the professional Meet and Greet networking event held in Harry Peach Library and Council Chambers.
This year students will have the largest number of teams to apply to than we have ever had before. The teams that you are able to apply for include: The Legal Advice Clinic, The Miscarriages of Justice Team, The Street Law Team, The Lawyers Without Borders Team, Project Light, The Insight Project, Amicus Charity, Immigration and Asylum Project, and Litigants in Person.
Please follow the Pro Bono Group link to find out more about the work we do and the opportunities that we can provide you with. We encourage students from all courses to apply.
Check out our social media and website to find out about which project suits you and how to apply!
Street Law Project:
Street law aims to make issues of law accessible to the local community. The project cover issues ranging from cybercrime to women's rights and tailor their presentations to reach different demographics within the local community.
If you love presenting and meeting people from a wide variety of backgrounds, this is the Project for you! Equally if you enjoy researching topical legal issues, this is the project for you!
Any questions, please contact the Director of the Street Law Project, Sue Parnianfar, sp755@student.le.ac.uk
Legal Advice Clinic:
The legal advice clinic offers free legal advice to students, staff and members of the general public. Common areas of advice given include: employment law, housing and tenant.
Contact us on twitter @UoLlegaladviceclinic.
Any questions, please contact the Director of the Legal Advice Clinic, Paula P Sarmiento, mpsp1@student.le.ac.uk
Legal Advice Clinic: "What About Me?"
The Clinic is offering an opportunity for 3 students to get involved in a time-limited project to support the Leicester Family Court, and to produce a piece of writing reflecting on the position of the child when parents separate.
In response to the What About Me? Report by the Family Solutions Group, the Court seeks to ensure that local separating parents are supported when making decisions about their children, and ensuring that their children understand their rights.
Group work: Students taking part in this project will consider the Report, and the position of children of separating parents, and will produce online or other resources for separating parents and their children, highlighting what resources are available to assist them during the process of separation, in order to ensure that the children’s best interests are recognised.
Individual work: Students will then reflect on the law relating to the children of separating parents and, in particular, the extent to which the child’s voice is listened to and acted upon during separation. Is the law in this area satisfactory? Each student will produce an essay on this subject (up to 2,500 words) which will be marked and given feedback. The essay with the highest mark will be published in the Student Law Review.
Any questions, please contact laura.bee@leicester.ac.uk.
Legal Advice Clinic: Citizens Advice Opportunity
Citizens Advice LeicesterShire (CitAL) will host 15 - month volunteering placements for up to 15 students. The following students are eligible to apply:
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Second and final year non-Law students
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First year JD Pathway students
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Full or part-time LLM students.
The placements programme will enable students to develop practical skills and experience of delivering information and advice across a wide range of areas, including:
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debt
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housing
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employment
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relationships and family
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community care
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immigration
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discrimination
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consumer problems
Any questions, please contact laura.bee@leicester.ac.uk.
AMICUS:
Amicus is an American charity who helps to provide fair representation for those facing the death penalty in the U.S, and is the only legal charity on campus!
Our project hosts the largest and most successful Amicus project in the world with two world-leading research teams. The project also aims to raise awareness & funds for the charity throughout the year through a series of events.
If this sounds like something you would like to get involved in or if you have any questions please email Probono@le.ac.uk
If you would like more information, please visit the Amicus website: www.amicus-alj.org.uk
Miscarriages of Justice:
The Miscarriages of Justice Program is a great way to engage practically with real-world criminal law cases. We work closely with the case files of prisoners who have maintained their innocence and who have exhausted all other means of appeal. With the goal of discovering new legal grounds, we review the legal practices, evidence and witness statements and submit an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
If this sounds like something you would like to get involved with or if you have any questions please email probono@le.ac.uk
The Insight Project
The Insight Project aims to inspire and lead young minds to discover their passion for law. They visit schools in underprivileged areas to introduce topics relating to law and crime through interactive lesson plans. They will be creating online elements for the first semester!
If you have any questions please contact the Director of the Insight Project, Parneet K. Grewal, pkg8@student.le.ac.uk
Project LIGHT
Project LIGHT's purpose is to provide healthcare and legal support to homeless people in Leicester, through volunteering opportunities with the City Council and local charities such as The Bridge, Action Homeless and the Y Support Project.
If you have any questions please contact the Director of Project LIGHT, Reanne Chandla at rc464@student.le.ac.uk
Immigration & Asylum Project
The Immigration and Asylum Project aims to support asylum seekers who lack the funds to make an asylum claim. This year, the project is hoping to work with the Red Cross, volunteering with their Refugee Services team. This role involves working on case files of vast variety, providing us with more knowledge of the asylum process. The Red Cross also provide outstanding training to ensure we are equipped for the role, which will give lots of assistance to anyone wishing to study immigration law or work in the immigration field.
If you have any questions, contact the Project Director Kornelia Skrobisz, ks609@student.le.ac.uk
Lawyers Without Borders- Student Division
Lawyers Without Borders is a charitable organisation that harnesses the pro bono work of lawyers from around the world into volunteer service in global rule of law, capacity building and access to justice initiatives.
The LWOB-SD team aim to raise awareness about global human rights violations by conducting legal research, competing in the Rule of Law Innovation Competition, raising money for the parent organisation and holding events. The project works closely with the local Race Equality Centre. Last year’s events included: Stop and Search Workshop, Gender Based Violence Open Discussion and Mental Health Amongst Asylum Seekers and Refugees.
If you have any questions, please contact the Project Director, Alicia Landry, aaml3@student.le.ac.uk
Litigants in Person
The Litigants in Person Project strives to help individuals that are currently not eligible for legal aid and do not have the financial means to fund their own cases. Student volunteers will work in the Leicester County Court assisting litigants with their cases by accompanying them into proceedings to take notes, fill out forms, and prepare legal bundles. Students will also have the responsibility of conducting interviews with service users to determine if there are any financial options for an individual to fund their own cases or if there is any opportunity for a third party charity to offer specialist aid.
All volunteers will have the opportunity to be trained following the C.L.O.C.K (Community Legal Companion) training program, as well as topic specific training provided by the courts and our solicitor partners. Students will also have the invaluable opportunity to network directly with practicing solicitors and members of the judiciary along with multiple charitable organizations.
If this Pro Bono Project interests you, we encourage you to apply. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Natalie Akladios, na379@student.le.ac.uk
Legally Green
The Legally Green Project is a fundraising and advocacy group founded in 2021 and functioning to bring light to pressing environmental issues. As a project, it is geared toward fundraising for urgent causes as they occur, raising awareness, and organising guest speaker lectures, fundraising events, debating competitions, peaceful protests, volunteer excursions, and a journal symposium at the end of each academic year.
Our team is primarily focused on academic research and public lobbying to demand policy changes that can preserve the environment amidst the global crisis, which duly affects us all. This interdisciplinary approach recognises that, as a global issue, the contents of our project exceed merely the legal domain. Therefore, we aim to collaborate with other departments and organisations to achieve our common goal.
The Legally Green Project is a good opportunity for you to get physically involved with a political cause, while still contributing to a structured project via professional and academic avenues. It enables you to engage with current events and political dilemmas through both critical analysis and public advocacy, while being highly rewarding.
If you have any questions about this project, please email Conor Cooper cc565@student.le.ac.uk
Windrush Compensation Project
The Windrush Compensation Project forms part of the free Legal Advice Clinic at the University of Leicester and works in partnership with United Legal Access. The Project works with victims of the ‘Windrush Scandal’ from across Leicester and surrounding areas, assisting them with applications for compensation under the government’s ‘Windrush Compensation Scheme’.
We are offering a free service where we help potential claimants to consider whether or not they are eligible, what they can claim for, and how to prove it. We also assist in getting hold of supporting documents where needed.
Due to the Windrush Compensation Scheme being a government-run scheme, many have an understandable mistrust in “the system”. By raising awareness locally, we can help people to work through their concerns and find out more about the Scheme. Our main goal is to seek justice for those harmed by the ‘Windrush Scandal’, by ensuring that they have the tools to make the strongest application for compensation possible.
Our team is made up of six students and one supervising solicitor, all of whom have been trained to assist claimants. The team consists of a communication liaison officer, publicity director, legal creative director, digital outreach director, policy director and project director.
Our social media pages:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/uol_windrush
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uol_justiceforwindrush/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uoljusticeforwindrush/
If you have any further questions about this project please email Co-Directors: Kwaku D. Ntim-Gyakari, kdng1@student.le.ac.uk or Danai J. Wynter, djw55@student.le.ac.uk
The Magistrates Project
The Magistrates Project is a new non-exclusive Pro Bono project. We aim to raise awareness as to the possibility of becoming a magistrate whilst studying. Becoming a magistrate is a wonderful chance to make a difference in society! In parallel, our project will encourage and support students throughout their whole volunteering journey.
The project will be divided in two teams: a reserve of students interested in serving the UK justice system as volunteer magistrates in the Magistrates’ Court, and a group of ambassadors running various events to publicise this amazing volunteering opportunity.
Any student can apply! Law students are even more encouraged to do so as court experience may be the most valuable asset to standout after law school. Note however that applying to become a magistrate does not guarantee a successful outcome, in which case these students would be offered a place in the ambassador’s team.
For more information, contact probono@le.ac.uk
AVA Project
Against Violence and Abuse (AVA) is a student-led non-profit Pro Bono organisation at the University of Leicester, seeking to educate, raise public awareness, and provide legal support to survivors of Domestic Abuse (DA), Domestic Violence (DV), and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).
We are made up of three branches:
+ our ‘Research, Policy and Reform Team’, which seeks to contribute to academic commentary by addressing current laws, policies and lobbying for reform;
+ our ‘Mobilisation Team’, which seeks to raise awareness, campaign for change, and produce accessible materials and resources; and,
+ our ‘Legal Support Team’, which provides and ensures survivors have access to Pro Bono legal support.
Should you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the Founder and Project Director of AVA, Nea Tank, at nkt4@student.le.ac.uk.
The SEND Project
The University of Leicester's SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilites) Project focuses on producing acsessible, educational resources on the rights of children and young people with SEND; campaigning for meaningful change and fundraising for IPSEA.
For more infomation contact co- directors Mira Dhother md461@student.le.ac.uk or Tejan Raja on tr145@student.le.ac.uk
For further enquiries/questions please feel free to email: probono@leicester.ac.uk or contact the President of our society, Harleen, ht188@student.le.ac.uk.
Membership fee: £10