OXILP pro bono

Students at the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) work with trained advisers and legally qualified caseworkers. CAB volunteers work in open door sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

As a student volunteer, you may help clients to research problems they have on the CAB information systems. Students can also sit in with specialist advisers in the areas of:

• debt
• welfare
• immigration
• benefits
• employment

In these areas students write letters to clients, to other legal organisations, sit in on meetings with clients and write up case reports. CAB is interested in getting more students involved in carrying out legal research. Volunteering at CAB provides students with an opportunity to gain experience of real life cases. As a result, it continues to be one of the most popular of the organisations involved in the Oxilp pro bono scheme.

Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) is a severely under-staffed charity. The organisation works on getting bail for asylum seekers who are being detained pending the result of their applications. In particular, BID:

• prepares and presents bail applications
• provides training on bail and detention
• works to improve the bail process so that people can live freely while their claim to stay in the UK is being processed
• publishes research and information about detention

As a student volunteer, you may be required to validate the reasons for the detention of an individual, to speak to the Home Office Representative and to the detainee, or to work on preparing the bail application. BID organises training sessions at Oxilp for interested students. Students are required to give a commitment of one morning or afternoon per week.

This scheme was set up by former LPC students at Oxilp. Student volunteers travel to schools in pairs to teach Sixth Form pupils elements of Human Rights Law, as part of the Citizenship programme or as part of their General Studies curriculum. You don't have to be an expert on Human Rights to get involved in this project. The teaching materials are provided, so, more importantly, the scheme requires people who can put that information across with enthusiasm and interest.

The Oxfordshire Youth Offending Team (YOT) has had a big impact in the Oxford area, offering mentor support to young offenders. This is a new organisation added to the OXILP Pro bono scheme in 2005. YOT are very keen to get Oxilp students involved in their work, and to establish an ongoing link with the Pro Bono Scheme. This project offers a wide scope to those who would like to get involved.

The Oxfordshire Short-term Advocacy Service (OSTAS) is part of the Oxfordshire Advocacy Development Group, which helps disadvantaged people to find out about their rights.

Student volunteers may be required to attend meetings with people to provide support and, in some situations, to help them to get their views across. Student volunteers gain experience in dealing with clients, as well as building upon their advocacy and practical research skills. A commitment of 2/3 hours per week or fortnight is required, and interested students have to undertake one full day of training.

The Free Representation Unit (FRU) is a London-based charity which provides representation to those members of the public who don’t have the funds to pay for legal representation. FRU acts in cases which are referred to the organisation by their referral agencies, primarily involving disputes before employment and social security tribunals.

As a FRU Rep you will be responsible for the entire conduct of the case:

• interviewing the client
• taking instructions from the client
• liasing with the other side
• negotiating settlements
• drafting witness statements and other submissions
• representing your client at tribunal

FRU Reps are backed up by two full-time caseworkers who are on hand to oversee cases and are available to give advice and guidance whenever it is needed. For FRU Reps to become accredited to represent clients in cases before tribunals, it is first necessary to undergo a rigorous induction procedure. This ordinarily consists of a training course, observation of a case being conducted, and the satisfactory completion of several written opinions. This is an incredible opportunity for those willing to give the required level of commitment.

The Internal Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) have asked the student volunteers on the OXILP Pro bono Scheme to help out with the work they do. Primarily, students are required to draft headnotes for a backlog of judgments from Jamaica. Guidance notes are provided to interested students, who can put in as much or as little time as they can contribute. The project provides a unique opportunity to students to utilise and improve their drafting and writing skills.

Pro-Natura is a non-governmental organisation, created in Brazil in 1986, that specialises in sustainable development. Pro-Natura’s mission is to conserve biodiversity through integrated sustainable development projects adapted as models that are replicable at a regional level, in partnership with public entities, private initiatives, and organised civil society.

Pro-Natura’s projects span the globe, with projects in Brazil, Nigeria and Guyana. Pro-Natura UK are keen to benefit from the knowledge and skills that LPC students can offer. In particular, they are looking to establish an ongoing research project/awareness raising campaign related to the land rights of indigenous people in Nigeria and Guyana.