The University of Southampton Law School’s Clinical Legal Education initiative offers students the opportunity to engage in experiential learning through its Legal Clinic.
To make a new client enquiry, please use our contact form.
Pro bono is the provision of legal assistance undertaken voluntarily and without payment. It is derived from the Latin phrase pro bono publico , meaning ‘for the public good’. In other words, legal knowledge ought to help not just individuals and groups, but also to improve society. While pro bono is not a substitute for legal aid services, demand for it remains high.
The Legal Clinic offers free confidential advice to the public as well as University staff and students. Since the introduction of funding cuts to legal aid, few individuals have access to legal advice and assistance. Consequently, the Clinic aims to promote access to justice to the community by providing students with the opportunity to deliver pro bono advice and assistance to those who need it the most.
Clinic students can apply to become members of Junior Lawyers Against Poverty (JLAP) and take part in delivering Legal Confidence sessions aimed at informing and empowering communities by helping them navigate the complexities of law and procedure.
Clinic students will be given the opportunity to work on commercial contracts.
The Clinic has proudly partnered with A-Law, a UK-based charity that promotes the interests of animals. The Clinic is also a member of the Environmental Law Foundation, a UK-based environmental charity. Clinic students will have opportunities to work closely with both charities.
The Legal Clinic is open to members of the public as well as University staff and students.
The Clinic has a duty of confidentiality towards its clients. This duty continues even after the Clinic is no longer acting for the client. The term ‘client’, therefore, includes current and former clients.
All client information is kept confidential unless disclosure is required or permitted by law, or the client consents to the disclosure. For further details, please see the Solicitors Regulation Authorities rules on confidentiality and disclosure.
Assistance is usually in the form of a written letter of advice. Where appropriate, the Clinic may provide other forms of assistance with your case, such as form filling, letter writing, or attending court with you as a McKenzie Friend.
The Clinic operates using the following model:
The Clinic aims to assist in the following areas:
Due to regulatory requirements, the Clinic is unable to assist in the following areas:
Please complete the online form in the first instance, this will provide us with the information we need to assess whether the Clinic can take on your case.
Once we receive and accept your case, two of our Student Advisors will contact you via email to arrange a meeting. They will advise what documentation you need and, for in person meetings, provide details of how to find our offices on Highfield Campus. At the meeting, the Student Advisors will provide further information on the next steps.
Unfortunately, the Legal Clinic is appointment-only. We cannot accept any walk-in enquiries. Please use the form to contact us in the first instance. We will then arrange a mutually convenient time to meet.
We can accommodate both. Meetings will all be by appointment only. The Legal Clinic has a secure and private Meeting Room on Highfield Campus that we can be book for your meeting.
The Legal Clinic is student-led and unregulated. Students volunteering in the Clinic are, therefore, ‘non-authorised persons’. Clinic students offer legal support under the supervision of academic members of staff. The University cannot guarantee the accuracy of the advice given, and we strongly recommend that you also seek advice from a qualified lawyer.