Public Interest Law Centre Student Assistant
About the project:
The Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) works in conjunction with Lambeth Law Centre and specialises in public law, actions against public authorities and public inquiries. PILC acts for individuals and campaign groups who’ve been treated unlawfully by public bodies. They are based in south London, with clients from the South East and nationally.
PILU are at the early stages of beginning a major piece of strategic litigation, and are looking to recruit 2 - 4 students to assist with compiling the witness statements required to support the complaint. It is estimated that the total number of witness statements that will be compiled will number around 30 - 40 statements. The witness statements would form part of a major complaint PILU plan to file with a local authority concerning poor living conditions at a large homelessness hostel, which is currently being used to provide temporary accommodation to individuals waiting for housing to become available.
In addition to assisting with compiling the witness statements in the first instance there may also be opportunities for students to get involved in the broader campaigning activities currently being undertaken by PILC, as well as further opportunities to get more involved with assisting the litigation as it develops. As such it is an excellent opportunity for students to gain a critical insight into how lawyers can use the law and campaigning to achieve change on both a micro and macro level.
For this role we are therefore looking for volunteers who can demonstrate:
- a commitment to or an awareness of social justice issues;
- an interest in strategic litigation and campaigning;
- willingness and ability to be flexible, open minded, and non-judgemental regarding clients and their problems;
- Awareness of the potential needs of, and demands placed on, vulnerable clients;
- reliability and commitment, good interpersonal and communication skills, including written and oral;
- ability and willingness to work as part of a team; and
- strong administrative skills.
Time commitment and schedule:
Successful students would be required to attend a mandatory training session with PILC at UCL, which would introduce students to strategic litigation and advice on producing effective witness statements. The training will take place on 13 February.
The sessions at which the Witness Statements will be taken will be: 16 February, 23 February, 2 March, 9 March.
To apply:
Please complete the application form to accesstojustice@ucl.ac.uk.
As per above, please also include what days you would be able to volunteer.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Adam Riley (adam.riley@ucl.ac.uk).
Key dates and information
Who can apply? Open to second and third year LLB students; and all LLM students.
Application deadline: 11 FebruaryTraining date: 13 February
Sessions: 16 February, 23 February, 2 March, 9 March (There may be further opportunities for involvement as the litigation develops)