Supporting Social Justice Solicitors

The Challenge

Our mission is to improve people’s lives by increasing the availability of quality legal advice and support. We can’t achieve this without dedicated solicitors helping people in some of our most deprived communities to tackle issues around domestic violence, housing, and employment every day. Their vital advice keeps families safe, with a roof over their heads and much more.

However social justice remains one of the least secure and poorly paid sectors within the legal profession and the frontline free legal advice organisations that rely on these professionals cannot match the salary, study support, and supervision afforded by many commercial firms or public sector.  

Talented and passionate lawyers are being forced to quit and move to better paid roles as they struggle to meet the triple challenge of:

  • Studying for their SQE1 & 2,
  • Maintaining their well-being, AND
  • Serving people, places and communities most in need.

We are losing solicitors to the CPS and the Government Legal Service – we can’t compete with the salaries and benefits they offer.

London based Law Centre

We are supporting 19 solicitors and their wider staff teams at 15 organisations offering free legal advice across the UK with our first round of funding. Find out more about our funded partners here.

With your help we can support more in 2025.

Securing the future of social welfare advice

The Social Welfare Solicitors Qualification Fund (SWSQF), is a partnership of the City of London Law Society, BARBRI and Young Legal Aid Lawyers which has successfully raised funds to pay for the Solicitors Qualification Exam’s preparatory course and assessment fees for 69 social welfare solicitors from 2022 to 2024. Their ambition is to continue to offer more in the years ahead. 

While the burden of the fees has been eased for those successful candidates, the pressures to work, study and prepare for exams remain intense.

Supporting Social Justice Solicitors will provide funding to the free legal advice employers of SWSQF solicitors to help them support their staff as a whole and specific support for the SWSQF solicitors.

We want to give the solicitors the flexibility and freedom to balance the demands of work and study – and ultimately achieve success without burn out.

The opportunity

The Access to Justice Foundation committed £100,000 to increasing the viability and sustainability of social welfare advice in 2024.

We are looking for funding partners to scale this up and make a bigger impact in 2025.

Your contribution to the Supporting Social Justice Solicitors (SSJS) Fund will support social justice lawyers and their advice charities across the country to ultimately improve the quality and consistency of essential advice to people in marginalised communities.

By supporting the SSJS Fund you can increase access to justice for the people, places, and communities most in need.

A rural Law Centre shared their experience of a staff member studying the SQE:

Maria* is a full-time caseworker at her local advice centre, and a carer for a family member, who bravely decided to take on the challenge of SQE study.

She received SWSQF funding for her tuition but could not afford to cut back her hours at the centre, so continued to work full time alongside her studies. Her employer did not have the financial or staffing resources to give her any study leave.

Maria struggled balancing her full-time role, the SQE exams, and her caring responsibilities, and ended up failing one paper in SQE1 and the whole of SQE2.

* Name has been changed

We want to ensure that this does not happen, and that students are given the opportunity to reach their full potential.

By providing grants to organisations hosting SQSWF recipients, they will have the resources to give trainees like Maria the flexibility and freedom to balance the demands of work and study.

With your help we want to offer funding to give:

  • Aspiring social welfare solicitors stability, flexibility and improved chances to qualify and stay in their chosen field, AND
  • Support their employers at the same time.

A grant to a legal advice charity employing one or more lawyers awarded SWSQF support will be spent on:

  • Directly supporting SWSQF funded employees as they study. This could include covering unpaid leave to study, or to pay for travel and accommodation to take the SQE.
  • Providing general support to the organisation. This could include staff costs to cover unpaid study leave, training across the team, increased supervision and support for students, and the administration of the grant.

Our funded partners

Access Social Care
Specialising in community care law, employees will be supported with a dedicated wellbeing programme, people policy, and counselling support thanks to this grant. In addition, it will offer more paid leave to their students, and compensate for childcare and travel costs incurred while taking the SQE evaluation
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Central England Law Centre
Funding will cover the costs of and time spent revising and preparing for exams as well as any costs directly incurred for the exam. This will also the support paralegals in the team, allowing them to continue to defend and enforce the rights of clients, and advocate for people in marginalised communities during study leave periods.
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Coram Children’s Legal Centre
Working in immigration and asylum law is demanding and emotional, often dealing with distressed and traumatised clients who have experienced human rights abuses. To ensure they can focus on their studies and increase their confidence in the work students will benefit from increased supervision, support and study leave.
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Greater Manchester Law Centre
This specialist advice agency will be able to support two students in their housing and human rights and welfare rights teams. These students started their careers as community volunteers, this grant will enable them to develop their skills and continue representing and advocating for the needs of their communities using the law.
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North East Law Centre
Thanks to this funding the team will receive training on vicarious trauma which is particularly relevant to those working to support people affected by trauma. The training will highlight how vicarious trauma may impact staff and support them to develop practical everyday coping mechanisms, a crucial step in preventing burnout.
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North Kensington Law Centre
Working in social welfare law is challenging and involves supporting highly vulnerable clients with complex needs. The funding will provide comprehensive training and support, ensuring the staff team have the resources and time needed to thrive in their professional development.
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Public Interest Law Centre
This funding will provide essential paid study leave for students ensuring they maximise their potential for exam success alongside continuing to deliver consistent, high-quality service delivery to marginalised users who depend on their support.
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Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex & London (RAMFEL)
Funding will cover exam leave costs for two student caseworkers completing their qualifications. The grant will also support essential case management during their absence, strengthening the organisation's capacity to maintain quality service delivery while supporting staff development.
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Shelter England
There is a long legacy of training legal and paralegal staff at Shelter. This funding will enable the current students to take paid study leave, pay for expenses related to the exam, and allow the organisation to continue supporting and training new people to work in the sector.
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South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice
This funding will be uses to support a staff member continue their personal development who previously worked as a paralegal and through practical training, support, and hard work, has obtained an OISC qualification. Now on a promising path to becoming a Legal Adviser, they will get increased hours and pay, so that half a day a week can be protected for study time.
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Southwark Law Centre
Once a paralegal in the immigration team, the student supported through this funding is now on a trajectory to become a Senior Caseworker. This grant will continue supporting this student with paid and unpaid study leave and reflective practice sessions to better support beneficiaries with their legal issues.
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Canolfan Gyfraith Speakeasy Law Centre
Study leave is essential to ensuring the success and continuity of a future social welfare legal workforce, but when staff go on leave, their existing caseload is often put on standby putting potentially vulnerable users in jeopardy. This funding will provide cover ensuring study leave does not impact the beneficiaries who need help the most.
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Suffolk Law Centre
Social welfare law is demanding, and requires intense work with very vulnerable clients who often need additional support. This funding will ensure staff get increased support and training to further their career, and time away form the coal face to excel in exams.
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Vauxhall Community Law & Information Centre
Students gaining qualifying work experience at frontline organisations are often directly delivering services, as in this organisation where their student is delivering outreach work to aid migrants and asylum seekers. This funding will maximise the support available to students and offer them the best chance to qualify.
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Wiltshire Law Centre
To help with staff retention and training, this funding will allow this free and low-cost specialist legal advice agency to raise the salary of their student and support wider organisational needs.
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Get in touch

If you would like to make a donation or have any further questions, please contact: Charlotte Duthie, Development Officer

charlotteduthie@atjf.org.uk