- Pro bono professional discipline / fitness to practise clinic
- Pro bono professional discipline / fitness to practise clinic
Invaluable legal support for nurses
and midwives
Join our six-week programme to help nurses and midwives facing professional discipline (regulatory) proceedings, working as part of our volunteer casework team in preparing for a panel hearing or identifying possible routes to appeal.
If you are a nurse, midwife or healthcare professional seeking legal advice please click here.
Fitness to practise
pro bono opportunities
For undergraduates, graduates and students on a BTC, LPC or SQE course we provide the opportunity to gain unparalleled insight into professional regulation and panel hearings whilst developing invaluable practical skills, 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.
Through our fitness to practise programme you will be helping nurses and midwives facing proceedings by their regulator, the NMC, either by assisting with the preparations for a formal panel hearing or reviewing cases where there has already been a negative panel finding and the client is considering an appeal. In most cases, the client is not able to fund legal representation or is struggling to understand their position and the options available to them.
Over the course of six weeks, you will be given a complete case file and asked to collaborate with your peers and the clinic team. 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 that guide you through the FTP process and the statutory role of the NMC. We also introduce you to some of civil litigation 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.
How can you get involved?
Step 1
Sign up for our free welcome course. This introduces you to some of the basic knowledge you will need as part of the FTP programme. It also explains how we work and what we expect from student caseworkers. It takes about an hour and a half to complete and at the end you get a certificate of completion.
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.
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
Our team
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
Not sure? Start a conversation and we’ll gladly answer any questions!
Olivia Mitev – Programme Assistant
bb@sequentus.org