Pro Bono 2012 | One hundred days of free employment law advice
Now in its second year, Paul Daniels shares how the 100 Days Project matches members of the Employment Laywers Association with those in need
The Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) has long supported the work of the Bar Pro Bono Unit (BPBU) and the Free Representation Unit (FRU), charities which have years of expertise in providing and supporting pro bono work. In 2010, FRU, BPBU and ELA set up a joint, long-term project which would benefit claimants, the tribunal and employment lawyers alike. Providing advice and representation, enabling otherwise unrepresented parties to present their cases efficiently and effectively, helps the whole system to run more smoothly and brings public benefit.
the 100 Days Project matches ELA members who want to get advocacy and hands on Employment Tribunal experience with deserving cases for unrepresented parties, often struggling with a lack of knowledge and expertise
By the end of the project’s second year, ELA members had undertaken 151 days of pro bono work and won over £100,000 in compensation awards and much more in out of court settlements. The project’s largest recorded single compensation award of £38,236.85 came from an ELA volunteer who had no previous experience of advocacy but succeeded in upholding her client’s claim before the tribunal.
The agencies who refer claims to us are diverse, ranging from CABx around the country, to Public Concern at Work, as well as many cases from FRU and BPBU. The benefits to claimants and pro bono agencies is clear. Access to ELA’s membership of around 6,000 solicitors and barristers broadens considerably their access to specialist employment lawyers.
But the benefit to ELA members is also substantial. Such cases extend the range of a lawyer’s experience and give them more confidence in dealing with cases in practice. ELA members who take on these cases often feed back that the work, in addition to being personally rewarding, gave them valuable experience and further developed their skills and knowledge.
The pro bono work offered through the project ranges from preparing for and representation at the hearing, case management discussions, a day’s case work on a complex case, or even just a couple of hours of advice to the claimant on the strengths and weaknesses of their case.
The project will shortly be upgraded to give volunteers the added help of an experienced barrister “mentor” on their case, and rolled out to the top UK employment law firms who will be invited to agree to sign up for one case a year each (the “One case project”).
The scheme not only benefits from tapping into the existing structures of BPBU and FRU, who contribute substantially to the administration of the project, but also assists ELA’s mission of developing the skills of its members, whilst at the same time assisting in access to justice.