Our aim is that the Fellowship is a route to a long and rewarding career using law as a tool for social justice, with Fellows going on to become leaders in their field and important advocates for access to justice and the rule of law.

The Fellowship is made up of three parts:

1. Training: a two year fully funded training period in any UK nation, and a free place on the Professional Skills Course at BPP campuses or equivalent compulsory training in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
2. Project: Fellows develop a project in collaboration with their Host organisation. Projects help advance access to justice and can potentially provide a future income stream for the Host organisation.
3. Wider support, development & networking: Fellows attend regular sessions on project development, professional development and wider skills training (e.g. communications and fundraising), well-being support as well as access to useful networks. Fellows also build important relationships with their cohort which gives them essential peer support throughout their training. And they remain part of our JFF alumni network post-qualification as well. Similarly, our Hosts become part of a national network of organisations committed to supporting the next generation of social welfare lawyers.

 

Background to the fellowship

The Legal Education Foundation is an independent foundation supporting communities across the UK to use the law to improve their lives and the lives of others. Our work is underpinned by our commitment to rebalancing power to confront injustice. We fund organisations which use the law to secure rights and address systemic failures. We also support work advocating for policy improvements and rule of law principles in the administration and development of law.

The Foundation recognised that in order to ensure the law is there for everyone who needs it, communities must have talented and committed social welfare lawyers, and so the Justice First Fellowship was formed in 2014. The first nine Fellows started their training contracts in early 2015.

To date the fellowship has supported eight cohorts to qualify. The vast majority of these alumni continue to use their training and networks for social justice, many in the same host organisations where they first became Fellows.

The scheme has been supported by a range of partners including BPP, Unbound Philanthropy, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, BBC Children in Need, City Bridge Trust, AB Charitable Trust, Royal Bank of Scotland, and commercial law firms.

 

Why social welfare law is important

Social welfare law is a broad term covering areas such as debt, housing, employment, welfare benefits, community care, education, immigration and asylum. It is often referred to as ‘the law of everyday life’. Leaving legal problems unresolved contributes to a range of adverse consequences, such as poor mental health, and prevents progress in many areas of life.

Changes to legal aid and pressure on local authority budgets mean that vulnerable people are increasingly unable to access legal help for these issues. Legal advice helps people to take more control over their lives and secure fair treatment and protection.

Training opportunities for aspiring social welfare lawyers are scarce, prompting concerns about how the next generation of specialists will emerge as experienced lawyers retire. The Justice First Fellowship helps to address this by enabling lawyers to complete their training and go on to a career in which they use the law to bring about positive change in people’s lives.