LawWorks Clinics Conference – resources and presentations
Published 06/09/2019
The inaugural LawWorks Clinics Network conference on June 6th 2019 brought together over 100 clinic coordinators, supervisors and volunteers from different sectors, organisations and specialisms to share good practice, exchange ideas, review the landscape and further develop the pro bono clinic community. All the information from the workshops and presentations is now publicly available, courtesy of LawWorks.
All presentations are downloadable on the LawWorks website.
An overview of the day:
WORKSHOPS
- SQE Update - this workshop provided an overview of the new route to qualification through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination
- Managing and Supporting Volunteers - this workshop addressed queries relating to insurance, managing volunteers’ expectations, keeping volunteers motivated and the safeguards to consider when looking at risk
- Giving advice via remote access systems
- SRA regulatory developments - this workshop discussed the main changes being introduced by the SRA’s Handbook reforms due to come into effect on November 29th
- Mapping unmet legal need in the community - this workshop encouraged attendees to be open to analysing what cases are coming into clinics versus what ought to be (based on the area) and doing something about it
- Comparing models of clinics - in this workshop, the presenters shared their experiences of running two different types of clinics; an appointment based service operated and staffed by volunteers from a law firm, and a drop in service hosted by a university where students provide advice
- Policy voice: using clinics data to achieve change - this workshop explored how LawWorks collects and uses clinics data to influence policy
- Developing casework and representation clinics
- Tech tools for running clinics - this workshop provided examples of the type of technology that clinics might consider using to improve pro bono advice
The conference ended with an Afternoon plenary, centred around ‘Building successful partnerships: with students, the legal profession, and community organisations’.
