Written By Christopher Claxton-Shirley, student at Kings College London

Pro Bono Law School Challenge

Written By Christopher Claxton-Shirley, student at Kings College London

Law students from all universities have the opportunity to raise funds for the folks at LawWorks and the Bar Pro Bono as part of the annual Law School Challenge. The challenge encourages students to use their skills to come up with innovative ideas to raise money for the charities, who seek to help those who cannot afford legal representation and advice.

AllAboutLaw.co.uk attended the awards and managed to catch up with the winning team from Kings College London, quizzing them on why they entered the challenge and what advice they have for future students wishing to do the challenge.

Although you’re language students, why did you choose to enter the Law School Challenge, and has this experience encouraged you to pursue a career in law?

All four of us have an interest in law and are all interested in moving into a legal career when we graduate, so when we were presented with the opportunity to take part in the challenge, we were all very willing to compete! The fact that we would be helping people obtain free legal representation was a determining factor. We did also take into consideration that the competition was what we made of it, and we embraced this element of flexibility; we wouldn’t have to worry about the competition interfering with our studies.

Can you tell us about the charities that will benefit from your fundraising, and why your team was inspired to support them?

The two charities that benefited from our fundraising were the organisers of the competition; The Bar Pro Bono Unit and LawWorks. The Bar Pro Bono Unit matches barristers prepared to undertake pro bono work with those who need their help. LawWorks matches solicitors with those in need of their help. This is, of course, fundamental in a society which puts a great value on the rule of the law and the rights of its citizens. We hope that our fundraising will benefit many people in need.

What advice would you have for students interested in entering next year’s challenge?

Definitely make sure that there are regular meetings, even if it’s for a short period. It’s much easier to plan, organise and delegate in person than trying to do so online. We also found that ideas we didn’t previously think of before were spontaneously generated when we were together. Have a big event where people will be able to raise money for you- a sponsored skydive won us the competition!

Pro Bono work is a fantastic way for budding lawyers to get experience during their undergraduate studies. Raising funds for organisations that provide legal advice and education not only carries a feel good factor and ensures legal services are available to all, but also allows you to do something you may have wanted to do for a long time – such as a skydive like the team from Kings.

Pro Bono