Pro bono opportunity for law students: criminal appeals

Criminal appeals pro bono clinic

Join our six-week programme to help a client challenge their conviction for a serious criminal offence, working as part of our volunteer casework team to identify possible routes to appeal. All of our work is carried out remotely, so you can participate from anywhere in the world.

Key information

For undergraduates, graduates and students on a BTC, LPC or SQE course we provide the opportunity to gain firsthand experience of complex criminal appeals cases, whilst developing invaluable practical skills and working remotely as part of a diverse casework team.

Cost: £100 +VAT

Once you have completed your registration, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access the materials and engage with the team.

Challenging convictions for serious criminal offences

Over the course of six weeks, you will be reviewing a criminal appeals case where our client believes that they have been wrongfully convicted. You will be given a complete case file and asked to collaborate with your peers and the clinic team to identify potential grounds of appeal and help the client progress their case. Whether it is evaluating the impact of fresh evidence or researching and drafting new legal arguments, you are expected to take responsibility for your own work and ensuring that we meet each client’s needs.

You will meet with the clinic team remotely each week to discuss progress, exchange ideas and allow for any necessary supervision. We use a secure messaging platform so that everyone in the team can discuss the case between meetings.

The programme includes comprehensive learning materials dealing with the relevant aspects of criminal appeals as well as an introduction to criminal litigation and topics that you can expect to encounter on the LPC, SQE or bar training course. We also offer free mental health drop-in sessions and legal research workshops.

The benefits

Make a difference!
Gain firsthand experience of working on regulatory cases
Improve access to justice
Demonstrate your commitment to pro bono
Increase your employability
Develop discussion points for pupillage, training contract or scholarship interviews
Work in a challenging but collaborative and supportive environment
Interact with clients, expert witnesses and other legal professionals
Make the leap from academic learning to applying it in practice
Access BTC / LPC / SQE content
Participate from anywhere in the world

How can you get involved?

Step 1

Step 2

Take part in the casework programme over six weeks.

Step 3

Decide if you would like to take part in follow up activities, including the opportunity to review a further FTP case, work on a mini project within the clinic or sign up for our skills training programme and Qualifying Work Experience opportunities for the SQE.

EXPERTS

Our Experts

Jyoti Kumar

Junior Case Lawyer

Jyoti has a background in regulatory affairs and having completed the Bar training course now represents professional discipline clients in interim hearings and university FTP cases.

Benjamin Bardell

Case Lawyer

Ben focuses on case preparation for professional discipline hearings and specialises in the early resolution of regulatory concerns.

Khaled Hussain-Dupré

Senior Case Lawyer // Director of Legal Education

Khaled is a qualified lawyer whose main area of practice is professional discipline. He is regularly instructed to represent healthcare professionals in fitness to practise proceedings and also leads the development of our legal education programmes.

Sam Wilson

Programme Director - FTP

As a practising nurse who is re-training to become a solicitor, Sam understands both facets of regulatory proceedings. She works tirelessly on behalf of clients, focussing on empowering registrants so that they can make informed choices about their case.

Niina Ankers

Junior Case Lawyer // Mediation Lead

Niina is a CMC accredited mediator and leads our mediation team. Having completed the Bar training course Niina represents clients in interim hearings and university FTP cases.

ABOUT US

We are a not-for-profit established in 2022 and our goal is simple – to provide flexible legal work experience to people from non-traditional backgrounds so that they can fulfil their potential.

Over the past eight years, across different organisations, our team of people have trained thousands of aspiring lawyers in casework methodology, giving them the knowledge and skills to complete

meaningful work on client cases. This expertise is distilled into casework programmes as well as our QWE and SQE opportunities.

We’re proud that our innovative model ensures that clients who would otherwise be denied access to justice can rely on a highly-focused team of qualified and trainee lawyers, while students get access to the most dynamic and exciting real-life legal experience imaginable

Next steps

Benjamin Bardell

Case Lawyer

Registration Paused

We are currently inundated with students applying for this programme and are pausing new applications for a short while.