As a student in the Sussex Law School, you can get involved in a range of Pro-Bono projects. Through taking part in these projects, you can focus on an area of legal interest to you and develop employability skills through providing free legal services.

Projects

Citizens Advice Project

This project marks an exciting collaboration with Central and South Sussex Citizens Advice (CASSCA). The Citizens Advice service offers general advice on a range of issues relevant to people in need in the local community. Students deliver advice to clients face to face and by telephone, email and webchat. There are also opportunities to take part in Citizens Advice policy, research and campaign work by gathering frontline data.

Students receive intensive training and spend one day a week working at local Citizens Advice Bureau.

The project is a great opportunity for students to build up knowledge and skills across a range of areas (e.g. debt, welfare benefits, consumer protection) while providing a valuable public service.

CLOCK (Litigants in Person)

As part of this project, you'll assist litigants in person who do not have access to legal aid. The project’s main focus is on family law (including child protection) but related matters like benefits and housing do come up as well.

Following training, you'll be directly stationed at the Brighton County Court to assist litigants with any issues they might have.

You support litigants, help them complete court forms and assist with the preparation of legal bundles. The project also sets up a referral system, where you can refer the litigant to relevant legal aid solicitors or third sector organisations.

Through working with the local community and supporting their access to justice, you will gain exposure to the court system and work closely with court staff and local solicitors. 

Employment Law Clinic

You can experience Employment Law in action whilst contributing to the local community through the Employment Law Project. Following training, you'll be involved with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau Employment Advice Centre and take part in cases assigned from the Free Representation Unit.

Focusing on current employment law issues such as bogus self-employment, employment discrimination, unfair dismissals, zero-hour contracts and trade union freedoms, you'll develop vital legal skills.

You will do this through providing legal assistance to potential litigants, as well as community institutions and civil society actors.

Family Law Clinic 

The Sussex Law Clinic provides free legal advice to the local community. You'll be trained and take part in giving out and researching legal advice in partnership with our in-house lawyer.

Clients will approach the Clinic where you will interview them and then research the legal issue and draft a letter of formal legal advice. The process will be overseen and managed by our in-house solicitor.  

Housing and Welfare Law

The Housing project works with local and national charities to assist clients who are homeless or on the verge of homelessness with issues relating to housing, benefits and matters deriving from their situation.

You can work with two charities: Brighton Housing Trust (BHT) and Justlife and will:

• assist the legal team at the BHT Advice Centre
• undertake offsite case management and research
• take part in visits to the County Court to assist in Duty Solicitor obligations
• undertake clerking.
• meet Brighton residents facing legal issues relating to their housing situation through Justlife.

Criminal Justice Law Clinic

The Criminal Justice Law Clinic takes part in two central activities.

First, the Clinic will work in conjunction with the Prisoners' Advice Service (PAS). PAS is a national charity which provides advice to prisoners and their families. We will work in collaboration with PAS by providing a 'letters clinic', in which we would respond to prisoner requests for assistance by researching the issues and preparing a draft letter of advice. This collaborative project provides much needed support to prisoners and their families via a charitable organisation.

Second, the Clinic has a Criminal Cases Review Group, in which students will be able to respond to requests for advice on appeal against conviction/sentence. Students will (under the supervision of a qualified in-house solicitor) conduct a review of the case to determine if any potential grounds of appeal exist. If potential grounds are identified in any case, the matter will be passed on to firms that can conduct such work under Legal Aid contracts.

Migration Law Clinic

The Migration Law Clinic offers migration and asylum legal advice on a pro bono (cost-free) basis to any individual who requires advice in this legal field and cannot afford to pay a legal practitioner.

Students are involved with meeting clients who require migration or asylum legal advice, producing a letter of advice to those clients, and setting out key suggestions on the best way forward for their claims or legal situations. Both the meetings and letters of advice will be supervised by in-house and external legal practitioners specialising in migration and asylum law. Students wishing to be involved with this Clinic project are required to also take the new Migration Law and Policy third year optional module.

Peer Mediation Clinic

The Peer Mediation Clinic offers free online mediation sessions to all students enrolled at the University of Sussex who are experiencing disputes and conflicts with their peers or students interested in consensual, peaceful resolution of disagreements.

As an enthusiastic team of law students who have studied Dispute Resolution and trained as peer mediators, we aim to help you solve your conflicts. Originating from various parts of the world we hope to demonstrate our diversity by embracing an approach that is fully inclusive and non-biased.  

For more information about the Clinic visit the Peer Mediation Clinic web page.