When considering whether to undertake pro bono work, there are a variety of factors to consider. Below you will find advice on some of the main issues!

You may have a clear interest in a specific type of work e.g. children’s rights, or legal research on any topic. If you don’t, it’s probably best to find out all that you can about the work involved in individual placements to determine which would best meet your interests. If you’re really unsure, you may want to try a shorter placement initially so that if you find it’s not for you, you will be leaving within a couple of months and don’t have 5 months before you are due to finish!

Placements are usually available full-time or part-time, so it’s worth considering which is best for you.

Full time: you might not be earning for a while unless you get an evening or weekend job. As such, you need to plan your finances carefully.

Part time: you can undertake a placement during your studies or during the vacation alongside a part time job, making the cost easier to bear.

You should carefully consider how many days a week you can devote. Whilst you might think you can offer your help for say two days per week, finances, exams, coursework and your personal life may affect this. If your funds run low because you’ve spent more time than you can afford on unpaid work, you may end up leaving the placement early, so it’s better not to over-commit and potentially let other people down. If you know that you have exams or assessments due in on particular dates, ensure that you tell the organisation you arrange a placement with of these dates well in advance, to help them plan their workload around this.

(i) during my degree, during the BVC/LPX or afterwards?
Some placements are suitable for all levels, others require a BVC/LPC qualification and still others have different requirements again. Ensure you only apply for placements that meet your level - minimum requirements are set by organisation for a reason! If you see a dream placement that’s above your level, find something else that you can get involved with for now and apply for that opportunity once you meet the minimum requirements. That way you can still be of help to others and gain more skills that you can then use on the dream placement!

(ii) what time of year?
Check with individual organisations but you will find that the majority are inundated with applications for summer placements. If you are flexible, it’s worth applying for autumn or spring, so that you have more chance of being accepted and organisations can spread their work more efficiently across the year.

If you can only apply for a summer role, the following advice may be useful. Check application deadlines as they are often well in advance for summer placements. Ensure you apply well in advance of deadlines and bear in mind the increased competition for places. You may even wish to defer your application for a year and complete a further qualification in the meantime, to increase your chance of being selected by having additional skills to offer.

There are lots of opportunities outside the UK for those with enough time on their hands. Generally for an overseas placement you’ll need to save up money beforehand overseas especially if the placement is full-time. You may even need to provide evidence of sufficient funds, so check into the visa requirements for any country that you’re thinking of going to and ensure you can meet the requirements.