Exeter Law Projects
The Law School is committed to delivering a curriculum that blends doctrine with practice and to give its students opportunities to observe or participate in activities involving the application of the law. It is with this in mind that the Law School created Exeter Law Projects (ELP).
ELP has various streams of volunteer opportunities and opportunities are circulated to students throughout each academic year.
Please keep an eye on your emails.
No single opportunity is guaranteed in any given year and below is an indication of projects which may run in any particular academic year.
Want to join a nationwide pro bono initiative? Concerned about poverty and human rights? The JLAP movement is a sub-section of the new Oxfam Lawyers Against Poverty Group and is concerned with international development, poverty and human rights issues. Junior Lawyers network of students (both law and non-law) organise on-campus fundraising events, visiting speaker events, academic articles and on and off-campus training in issues related to international law and development. As part of the project, we are also have a twinning programme to match students in the UK with law students in developing countries.
Open to all years.
Commitment time expected: monthly meetings plus additional hours leading up to events, training, and writing articles.
Wonder what it is like to be a judge? Go behind the scenes with local judges at the Exeter combined courts. Students spend two days with a district court judge, looking at cases, spending time in court and discussing judicial decisions.
Open to 2nd and 3rd years.
Commitment time expected: 2 full days in term 2.
Did you know that the police department has their own lawyers and legal services? The police forces are faced with many legal issues on a daily basis. The legal department provides not only an essential advice service to the forces, but also provides crucial services to the public in the form of presentation of applications such as Sexual Harm Prevention orders in hearings.
There are three different opportunities with the police with various times of commitment:
A vacation scheme work experience for a one week period during the term breaks. (total of one week)
Solicitor shadowing during a case hearing. (multiple opportunities throughout the year to go to court)
On call research group to provide research back up for the solicitors. (on call as needed through term time)
Open to all years.
Commitment time expected: See descriptions above.
Do you know how to get a divorce? How to start a business? Many people that want to get a divorce or start a business, do not know how or where to start or what services are available to them. Students will be trained to provide public legal education sessions on these types of topics. These sessions will be given at various locations within our community.
Open to all years.
Commitment time expected: attend training (up to a few hours per week) and event sessions (potentially monthly).
Feeling lost with your legal problem? The University of Exeter Community Law Clinic can help.
The Community Law Clinic opened its doors in September 2017 in an effort to fill the gap left by legal aid cuts and provide important early legal advice provision.
How does one enforce their rights in an overly complicated and expensive system? With help from those that are trained in such system.
Third year law students as part of the Access to Justice module, under supervision from solicitors and barristers from the Clinic team and the wider the legal community, provide free legal advice to members of the public.
By collaborating with legal professionals, the students gain valuable skills, while at the same time, providing a quality service.
Students from all years are able to volunteer over the summer months and opportunities are advertised by email.
Together as a community, we can make a difference and provide access to justice.
Devon County Council is the largest local authority in the south west of England with an administrative area covering the county of Devon with the exception of Plymouth and Torbay.
The County Council is subject to hundreds of statutory duties and is responsible for a vast array of functions, including but not limited to:
social care (adult and children);
highways and the longest road network in England;
public health;
education and libraries;
waste disposal;
transport;
trading standards.
The local government landscape has been experiencing a sustained period of transformation, with changing legislative requirements and budgetary challenges, as well as new opportunities to innovate and adapt.
Our in-house legal team provides essential support to the County Council in fulfilling its duties to the public and there is certainly no shortage of interesting work and variety!
We are pleased to offer three opportunities:
1. On-call remote research pool – provide research support to solicitors on legal areas such as contracts, employment, childcare, litigation, land/property, and administrative law (open to approximately 10 students during term-time, multiple opportunities, ad hoc).
2. Vacation scheme – a one week work placement to be offered twice a year (open to 2 students – 1 student per placement, either term time or outside of term-time).
3. Ad hoc shadowing opportunities – attend court hearings or spend a day in with a solicitor at County Hall (open to 3 students, anticipated to be 1-2 opportunities per student throughout the year).
Open to all years
This new option is a research assistant to work with faculty members on their specific research projects. Your name will be entered into a spreadsheet based on your interests. When a faculty member needs help they will email you for further information and see if you are interested in their specific project. This is the general research bank. You will remain in the bank for your duration at Uni. You can take or reject work as it suits you.
Open to all years
Commitment time varies by project, not to exceed 10 hours per week.
Be a part of one of the largest advice providers in the UK. The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) provides support to some of the most disadvantaged individuals in our community. The CAB will be training students to be assessors. Initially you will work the reception desk, being the first point of contact, as you gain your training. The assessor role will involve dealing with the public via the Devon Adviceline, taking brief history of the client’s situation, looking at information resources available to them for self-help and if needs be organising an advice appointment in their local office. Most clients have debt and housing issues. Placements will be assigned to the Newton Abbot (CAB). Transportation costs may be provided.
Open to all years.
Commitment time expected: one half day per week plus training time.
An opportunity for students to undertake research and drafting assisting a busy law centre.
