Why pro bono – the trainee solicitor’s experience

PRO BONO

Why pro bono – the trainee solicitor’s experience

I spent the last six month's of my training contract at the Free Representation Unit (FRU), on secondment from Linklaters. I was attracted to the FRU secondment as I had really enjoyed doing pro bono work in my other seats and I was keen to have exposure to employment law. The FRU secondment therefore suited me perfectly!

Working at the FRU has offered a unique perspective to my training contract: not only did I work on pro bono matters and deal directly with clients on a daily basis, but I have been able to get experience that is not often found in commercial law firms: most of my days are spent doing what the media portrays as the work of a stereotypical ‘lawyer’. I have my own client base that I am responsible for, and a lot of the work revolves around advocacy and hearing preparation, which has allowed me to put the skills I learnt during my training contract to use in a different context.

Going into the secondment, I was looking to take more ownership of the work I did, and this was certainly fulfilled at the FRU. I was given full responsibility for managing both my own caseload and supervising volunteers’ work very soon after I started. Whilst the learning curve was steep, the team were great at making sure I felt supported at every step of the way. Getting such direct hands-on experience was invaluable, and I feel that this in particular has put me on the front foot as I start my role as an associate.

Thanks to the help of its volunteer advocates the FRU manages to make a big difference despite its lean structure: last quarter, FRU staff and volunteers spent 16 days in the Employment Tribunal (including 2 days in Judicial Mediation and 2 days in the Employment Appeal Tribunal); received Employment Tribunal awards of £190,000 and negotiated settlements worth £89,000 on behalf of its clients.

Whilst 6 months didn’t at first appear like a lot of time to get stuck into an organisation such as the FRU (especially without any prior employment law experience!), I was pleasantly surprised by the amount I was able to do. Along with supporting the volunteers I supervised (a skill in itself of reviewing and providing meaningful feedback), I also learnt so much by taking on my own cases: from communicating legal issues to clients in a digestible way and improving my negotiation skills in settlement talks, to keeping multiple plates spinning and improving my oral advocacy representing clients in tribunal.

I have found that settlement negotiations hugely hinge on what each party wants from the process, as the scope for creative solutions is much broader than what a tribunal could award. For instance, one client cared less about the money they would get than the standard confidentiality clause contained in the settlement agreement: they lived and worked in a small community and were worried that they would be penalised if word got out in the town’s gossip mill. We were able to work through this at the last minute by drafting an agreed statement clause that set out the parameters of what both sides could say without breaching the agreement. This was a great opportunity to think slightly outside of the box to meet a client’s needs as well as providing great quality drafting experience.

Being responsible for cases directly has also honed my project management skills: whilst I worked on large multijurisdictional disputes during my training contract, my time at the FRU took this to a new level in terms of personal responsibility. The pinnacle of this has been co-representing a group of 15(!) claimants in a group litigation claim against three different respondents – as you may imagine, there are lots of logistical hurdles involved here on top of the legal ones! In cases as complicated as this, the tribunal is often minded to encourage alternative forms of resolution and, in this case, the judge arranged for a judicial mediation. Myself and my colleague therefore represented the claimants in front of a judge whose goal was to encourage settlement. Whilst I can’t say too much as the case is ongoing, this provided a great opportunity to see how the judicial process can work outside of the standard tribunal procedure and the ways in which a mediator facilitates negotiations.

On another occasion, I had to step in at the last minute to represent a client at a costs hearing as the volunteer became unavailable. Costs aren’t too often awarded in the employment tribunal, and so it was a good opportunity for me to see both how the judge approaches such a situation as well as to get some proper tribunal advocacy experience. Some additional evidence was required from my client at the hearing and so they had to take the oath, which I hadn’t experienced first-hand before.

As I look back on my time at the FRU, I am very grateful to have worked with so many talented individuals to support claimants in what is often one of the most difficult periods of their lives.

Scott was a trainee in his final seat at Linklaters and Qualified in September 2022.

Scott Miller

Scott Miller

Associate

Herbert Smith Freehills

FRU is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. If you would like to support the FRU’s work go to wwww.thefru.org.uk/donate.