Volunteering if you are a qualified lawyer
This page provides information if you wish to volunteer at Richmond Legal Advice Service (RLAS) and you are a qualified lawyer, see What is meant by a lawyer volunteer.
The information on this page answers questions that potential volunteers commonly ask of RLAS. RLAS receives several enquiries from people wanting to gain practical legal experience and encourages them.
I am a solicitor or barrister. To give advice, do I need a practising certificate?
You do not need a current practising certificate to see and advise clients.
Some of our advisers do not practice as solicitors or barristers. For example, some advisers might have childcare responsibilities or are lecturing or pursuing other activities.
When is RLAS open?
In Richmond, on Tuesday evenings between 8 pm and 9.30 pm.
How long do I need to spend at a session?
Although the stated time when RLAS is open is between 8 pm and 9.30 pm in practice, the following apply:
- a volunteer should typically arrive 10 to 15 minutes before 8 pm as clients often arrive before that time. The rooms we use need setting up (putting chairs in the right place, etc.) and our contact sheets, leaflets and pens need to be given out to clients
- a session may run after 9.30pm (approximately). If there are a lot of clients or some clients have complex matters or cannot be dealt with quickly, it may not be possible to stop at 9.30 pm
- you will need to make a note of the advice you have given to a client. If the session runs until 9.30pm, you may not have time to do so at that session. You will need to put aside time after the session to do this (either at the end of the session or on another day). This will mean that, on average, you should expect to spend between 1 hour 15 minutes to 2 hours at each session (plus any travel time to and from the RLAS advice session location plus additional time to make a note of the advice you provide (if you are not able to do this at the session itself).
How often will I have to provide advice?
Volunteers are put on a rota and are generally required to attend one week in 4 or 5 on average.
A rota is usually compiled for a 3-month period. If you cannot make a session, you can usually arrange a swap with another adviser.
How specialist or extensive should my legal knowledge as a volunteer be?
Most volunteers have found that clients typically require basic, common-sense advice or very detailed, but specific advice on a particular legal issue or step.
For example, suppose a client is involved in a consumer dispute or has a neighbour problem. In that case, they may wish to receive advice on starting or defending court action (the steps in taking litigation, letters before action, procedure, costs, and so on).
For example, a client may have received general advice from a CAB and then require more specialist help on a particular point that the CAB could not answer.
Practically, suppose you find you cannot help the client you are seeing. In that case, you should refer them to another volunteer, another advice agency, or other specialist legal help, or if you wish to carry out your own work. See the next point.
What should I do if I cannot help a client?
If a client requires
- detailed, specialist advice (which is outside of the expertise of the adviser); or
- ongoing advice and assistance (like if the client had instructed a firm of solicitors); or
- urgent action to be taken on their behalf
Then there are better organisations than RLAS for them. The client should be offered the choice of coming back to another session and seeing another adviser who knows more about the subject matter the client has asked for help or referring the client to a firm of solicitors or another advice agency.
RLAS maintains
- for each volunteer the areas of law in which they specialise in;
- other sources of advice and assistance.
What kind of advice or assistance do clients require?
RLAS has no restrictions on what types of law it can deal with. However, in practice, some areas rarely occur at our advice sessions. These are immigration law, social housing law, criminal law and debt advice and assistance. (In any case, where immigration law is involved, advisers (of whatever type) need additional qualifications. Besides giving the most general advice, an adviser should not deal with a client requiring immigration law advice.)
Is follow-up work necessary or required?
There is usually no follow-up work necessary. Occasionally, a volunteer lawyer may need to research a particular issue or legal area or simply does not have available information during a session. This will need to be done after an advice session and provided to the client outside the session. The amount of follow-up work that a volunteer wishes to do is up to them as long as four important principles are kept in mind:
- RLAS aims to provide initial and basic legal advice; and
- RLAS is not seen as taking on or acting on behalf of a client (such as a firm of solicitors or a law centre); and
- Lawyer volunteers should not, generally, be writing or drafting documents for clients; and
- Lawyer volunteers should not, generally, be communicating with or dealing with third parties on behalf of clients If a volunteer wishes to do follow-up work, all of its (and all documents/correspondence sent or received) must be noted and provided to RLAS.
How many clients can I expect to see at a session?
RLAS has an “open door” for clients, so it is impossible to indicate how many clients will come on any evening. However, in practice, a volunteer should expect to see 3 to 6 clients per session (based on a volunteer spending no more than 10–15 minutes with each client on average).
How many lawyers are present at an advice session
At every session, 2 to 4 lawyers are normally present (plus any non-lawyer volunteers).
What is meant by a lawyer volunteer
The following are considered “lawyer volunteers”:
- a solicitor (who has completed their training contract and has been admitted as a solicitor in England)
- a trainee solicitor (undertaking a training contract in England)1
- a barrister (who has been called to the bar and has completed their pupillage, in England)
- a barrister who has been called to the bar (and is undertaking a pupillage) in England
Last updated: 26 July 2024
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This category will include a person who has completed their training contract but their application to become a solicitor is under consideration by the SRA. ↩