Why Should You Get Involved In Student Pro Bono?
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What is Student Pro Bono?
‘Pro Bono’ comes from the Latin saying Pro Bono Publico meaning for the ‘good of the public’.
Free Legal Advice
Legal pro bono work comprises the provision of legal advice and assistance free of charge to those members of the public who cannot afford to pay for it.
Legal Skills Development
Students can be actively involved in serving the local community, using their knowledge from their studies whilst developing their legal skills in the process.
Community Services
Students often provide vital services within their communities and with the cutbacks to legal aid and access to justice becoming more restricted for those who cannot afford private advice, student pro bono services are becoming increasingly important.
More and more people are finding themselves in need of legal advice but unable to afford a lawyer. In addition to this, the changes to legal and aid and the benefits system mean an increased number of people in need are unable to access necessary legal support.
Getting Involved
There is a range of pro bono activities that students can get involved with, from volunteering at a legal clinic to Streetlaw and law mentoring.
The involvement of students in pro bono work is a crucial way of alerting the next generation of lawyers to the importance of pro bono work – a crucial way of ensuring that the pro bono ethos continues within the legal profession.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Martha De La Roche
Martha is the Clinics and Law Schools Project Officer at LawWorks. Having previously worked at Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre throughout her Law LLB, she also has experience in setting up and developing new advice services, most notably in her work with the Ealing Advice Service.
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