How to find Legal Volunteer Opportunities – Law Student Edition

By Levon Curtis.

Reading time: three minutes

In celebration of International Volunteers Week 2024, Levon Curtis discusses legal volunteer opportunities and how to find them.

Legal volunteering offers law students a valuable opportunity to enhance their education while also serving the needs of local community members. This article seeks to provide some relevant sources in which law students can sign up for volunteering opportunities.

University Law Clinics

Many universities have law clinics which students can volunteer at as part of their studies or alongside their studies. At these clinics, students can take part in legal interviewing, drafting, and advising clients within the local area. These clinics can advise on a variety of different practice areas, and they can be a great foundation for applying what you’ve learnt at university to real-life problems. Reaching out to your university or law school can be your first point of call when finding out whether they have a Law Clinic. However, many university Law Clinics can be found in this list here.

Read this article to find out why aspiring lawyers should volunteer this summer: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/05/22/why-aspiring-lawyers-should-volunteer-this-summer/

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)

The CAB is also a great place for students to volunteer to help give vital advice to clients and fundraising to keep citizens supported. Local citizen’s advice are independent charities, but opportunities may include:

• offering advice and information to clients via the phone, in-person or online;
• supporting the charities through admin, customer service or supporting other volunteers;
• fundraising; and
• being a trustee.

For advice-giving roles, the minimum age at the CAB is 16, however, those under 16 can still apply for other roles.

If you are interested in volunteering, check out if there is a CAB near you and what opportunities they have, reach out to them, and complete a short application and interview. More information can be found here.

Legal Charities

There are further legal charities that exist which law students can volunteer at alongside their studies to benefit their local community. Many University Law Societies will signpost and offer students opportunities to apply for volunteering roles at local legal charities.

A national charity that focuses on allowing citizens to receive legal advice is ‘The Access to Justice Foundation’. A great way to volunteer for this charity is to organise an event in which money can be raised to benefit those throughout the country! To find out more about how to create an event, see here.

Read this article to find out the value of giving back to the legal community: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/05/22/the-importance-of-giving-back/

Another national charity is ‘Support Through Court’ (previously named the Personal Support Unit), which aims to provide a safe space with volunteers to help clients decide their next steps. They welcome applicants over 18 who are available for a minimum of two days a month of volunteering.

Volunteers can support clients by:

• explaining the court process;
• helping clients fill out court forms and organise court papers;
• helping clients plan what they will say in court; and
• going to court hearings with them.

To find out more about this volunteering opportunity see here.

More Legal Charities and Pro Bono opportunities can be found here.

More Legal Volunteer Opportunities

Many more legal volunteer opportunities can be found online. Many articles have been put together to find out about legal volunteer opportunities. Further, it must be noted that all legal volunteering opportunities are helpful and benefit other students or citizens.

Read this article on the profound impact of pro bono work in the legal profession: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/05/21/the-power-of-pro-bono/

Law Works has provided a helpful document online which consists of many different volunteering opportunities for students to take part in. A link to this can be found here.