Pro Bono Plus: Learning, Reflection, and Accreditation

Volunteering with the UCL Centre for Access to Justice is a brilliant way to enhance your skills, gain accreditation, and learn more about access to justice.  

Below are some ways that the Centre supports students in enhancing and reflecting on their experiences doing pro bono.  

Pro Bono Skills Development Framework 

The Pro Bono Skills Development Framework is an opportunity for students to reflect on and demonstrate the skills they develop while completing extracurricular volunteering on a CAJ pro bono placement.  

The framework is based on the Aurora Competence Framework. During the programme, volunteers will complete three reflective writing pieces on three different skills from the Aurora Competence Framework.  

Students who successfully complete the PBSDF alongside their CAJ pro bono placement will be awarded a Certificate of Commitment to Pro Bono. To successfully complete the PBSDF, students will need to complete the Pro Bono Skills Development Record outlining how their placement has helped them develop the relevant skills.  

Your participation will help you document and showcase the valuable competencies you've developed, however, please note that participation in the PBSDF scheme is entirely voluntary and will not affect your placement in any way. 

For more information on the scheme and how to get involved, please visit our PBSDF page. 

Clinical Legal Education Recognition List  

The Clinical Legal Educational Organisation is a UK Based charitable organisation aimed at fostering, promoting, and developing clinical legal education in all its forms. 

CLEO have launched a Student Clinical Legal Education Recognition List This list acknowledges the achievement of students who have devoted 25 hours or more of their legal learning to provision of legal advice and/or assistance during their 2025-2026 academic year. The advice and assistance delivery needs to begin after 1st September 2025, and the deadline for submitting timesheets to the Centre for Access to Justice is 20th June 2026. Please submit your timesheets to accesstojustice@ucl.ac.uk. 

All information can be found on the Handbooks section of the CAJ SharePoint. You will need to keep a record of your pro bono work, via this document. After the document has been checked by CAJ and confirmed with partner organisations, we will submit your name to CLEO. 

Please note that not all pro bono work can be recognised through CLERL. For guidance and more information on the scheme, please visit the Clinical Legal Education Recognition List Guidance Document. 

Teaching and Learning 

UCL Laws has been a leader in access to justice and the incorporation of casework and social justice awareness into the law degree programmes we offer. Through undergraduate and graduate modules, the Centre provides legal assistance to members of the local community while giving students an opportunity to gain hands on experience in meeting legal needs. 

For more information on the Centre’s modules, please visit this page.