Cardiff Pro bono scheme off to a flying start
Early June saw the launch of National Pro bono week kick off with a seminar to promote Cardiff Law School’s Innocence Project, organised and promoted by the Wales office of the Law Society. Pro bono week promotes free legal advice given by the legal profession and aims to put lawyers not yet involved in pro bono work in touch with voluntary organisations and members of the public in need of assistance.
The seminar, which took place at Cardiff’s Hilton Hotel, saw students from Cardiff Law School talk about the unpaid work they are currently undertaking in conjunction with the local legal profession. Project manager, solicitor and lecturer Julie Price, outlined how the Innocence Project works at Cardiff, and founder of ‘Innocence Network UK’, Dr Michael Naughton of Bristol University, outlined the distinction between miscarriages of justice and the wrongful conviction of the innocent, the latter problem being at the core of the emerging innocence network within UK universities.
The Cardiff Law School Innocence Project, launched in February this year, is one of only three nationwide. It enables students to develop their legal skills and knowledge through pro bono work while learning about social justice issues key to their community. The phrase pro bono comes from the Latin ‘Pro bono publico’ or ‘for the public good.’
Inspired by a visit to see a play at Cardiff Prison, written and performed by prison inmates, a group of law students are now dealing with the case of a young man currently serving life for murder, but who has proclaimed his innocence for the six years he has so far been serving. Project co-ordinator Julie Price says, "Working on real cases gives students a hands-on experience of the law. The students are extremely dedicated to this case and are sacrificing some of their summer holidays to work on it."
It is hoped that other students will soon be working on 'NHS continuing
care cases', where elderly people requiring long-term care are being
forced to sell their houses to fund their care costs. This will
be under the supervision of Luke Clements, Reader at Cardiff Law
School. This is a unique and exciting opportunity for students to
get involved in this growing specialist area of law.
