The Law Clinic employs a team of lawyers and two administrative staff. Lawyers are specialists in family law (child arrangements cases), special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), international protection and immigration/statelessness. The Law Clinic also works in partnerships with the local voluntary sector to provide placements and volunteering opportunities for students in welfare rights.
Organisation Detail
Liverpool Law Clinic’s primary aim is to provide law students at the University of Liverpool with direct experience of legal advice and representation, in order to deepen their engagement with the law and social justice and to develop their employability skills. Our secondary aims are to:
- promote access to justice,
- provide a valuable service to those living in Liverpool (and further afield) and
- develop research linked to our practice.
The Law Clinic employs a team of lawyers and two administrative staff. Lawyers are specialists in family law (child arrangements cases), special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), international protection and immigration/statelessness. The Law Clinic also works in partnerships with the local voluntary sector to provide placements and volunteering opportunities for students in welfare rights.
For further information, visit our website.
Any questions regarding this organisation or the position should be directed to clinic@liverpool.ac.uk
Job Description
JOB ROLE
Liverpool School of Law and Social Justice which is based in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Liverpool, seeks to appoint a trainee solicitor on either a training contract or qualifying work experience route into the profession. The trainee solicitor will contribute to the established work of its Law Clinic in the field of child law and children’s rights with a particular focus on providing and improving legal services to disabled children and their families. The training will be provided in partnership with Citizen’s Advice Liverpool.
LIVERPOOL LAW CLINIC
The School of Law is committed to enhancing the student experience in a broad sense, ensuring that our graduates are well placed in terms of knowledge and skills to move into suitable careers. The School is very proud of its Law Clinic - a legal practice where Law School students work for clients under the supervision of professionally qualified legal practitioners. The Clinic provides third year law students with the opportunity to take a Law Clinic module where they develop practical legal skills. Other law students can be involved with Law Clinic work through volunteering for advice projects. Liverpool Law Clinic was established in 2007. It employs a team of lawyers and two administrative staff. Lawyers are specialists in family law (child arrangements cases), special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), international protection and immigration/statelessness. The Law Clinic has developed partnerships with organisations and firms locally, across the UK and Europe, provides award-winning legal services on a significant scale and contributes to best practice and research in specialist areas. The Law Clinic works with academic lawyers in the Law Department in research and policy related to children’s rights and access to justice. We advise clients whose cases are not in scope of legal aid or who cannot pay privately for legal advice.
The post will include two placements at Citizen’s Advice Liverpool. They are located in the heart of the city and have been delivering an accredited advice and support service since 1936. They provide advice in debt, housing and employment and provide representation in welfare benefits appeals. Citizen’s Advice Liverpool hosts the Liverpool Access to Advice Network comprising 54 VCSE organisations providing coordinated advice and support to a range of vulnerable groups.
THE POST
- The Liverpool Law School seeks to appoint one trainee solicitor on a two year contract to the Liverpool Law Clinic. The successful candidate will be employed by the University of Liverpool but will complete two six- month placements at Citizen’s Advice Liverpool.
- The successful candidate may follow a training contract or complete qualifying work experience under the new Solicitors Qualifying Exams route to qualification. We welcome applications from candidates following either route.
- The successful candidate will work under the supervision of caseworkers and solicitors to provide free legal services to the public in the area of welfare rights, special educational needs and family law. There will be a focus throughout the training period on developing services for disabled children and their families. Core responsibilities within the post include:
- Providing legal advice, assistance and/or representation to members of the public under the supervision of legal practitioners
- Assisting solicitors and caseworkers to deliver public legal education through voluntary sector partnerships
- Assisting solicitors and caseworkers with the development of student projects designed to improve access to justice for disabled children and their families
- Participating in and contributing to the work of the Liverpool Access to Justice Network
- Assisting solicitors and caseworkers to deliver training to students in relation to access to justice
- Contributing to the wider work of the Clinic and Citizen’s Advice through the development of a new access to justice project aimed at improving outcomes for disabled children and their families.
- Reporting to the Training Principal and Head of Student Experience
