Applications for 15 new Justice First Fellows open 14 August 2017

Liberty, Deighton Pierce Glynn, Govan Law Centre, and North Kensington Law Centre among 2017 host organisations.

This year, The Legal Education Foundation is funding 15 trainee solicitor posts at law centres, private practice firms, and specialist legal charities around the country, as part of its groundbreaking Justice First Fellowship scheme (see full list of 2017 host organisations, below).

The Fellowship scheme was launched by TLEF in 2014, to create social welfare lawyers who are equipped to become future leaders of the profession.

Successful applicants must have completed their Legal Practice Course (or equivalent), and be able to demonstrate strong commitment to social justice.

As well as completing their solicitor qualification at a leading social justice organisation, Fellows receive additional training in key skills, such as business planning, fund raising, and communications. They will also have responsibility for an individual project, aimed at increasing access to justice.

The Fellowship scheme is now into its fourth year, and the first eight Fellows qualified as solicitors in January 2017.

Four years in, and the Justice First Fellowship scheme is building exactly the kind of momentum in the sector that we were hoping for. After this recruitment round, there will be 50 solicitor and barrister Fellows in some of the most committed and highly-respected social justice organisations in the country. Their work is starting to make a significant difference to their communities and the social welfare law sector, which has been under sustained pressure over many years. Our first intake of Fellows are all now working as solicitors and making full use of the skills and knowledge the scheme has equipped them with.

2017 Justice First Fellowship trainee solicitor hosts

• Brighton Housing Trust
• Coram Children’s Legal Centre
• Deighton Pierce Glynn
• Derbyshire Law Centre
• Govan Law Centre
• Greater Manchester Law Centre
• Hackney Community Law Centre
• Just for Kids Law
• Legal Advice Centre (University House)
• Liberty
• Mary Ward Legal Centre
• Migrant and Refugee Children’s Legal Unit
• Minton Morrill Solicitors
• North Kensington Law Centre
• Speakeasy Advice Centre

For details of the posts offered at each host organisation, see the 2017 Opportunities.

The full press release can be viewed here.