All students will be expected to complete at least 60 hours of qualifying work experience hours. More hours may be available depending on the needs of the client, in which case these will be agreed in advance. Please remember that this is not intend as a long-term placement, but will give you the vital skills and experience to secure future placements in criminal law.

No, the clinic has extensive experience of running programmes online using the latest digital tools. You can participate from anywhere in the world.

All of the clinic’s clients have been convicted of serious criminal offences such as murder, or the supply or importation of drugs. The majority of our work consists of supporting active applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

That depends on your exact circumstances. There is a total of four hours ‘teaching’ or contact time per week (or per fortnight if you are on the part time programme) and these will eternally be scheduled during the day and you will need to attend, potentially remotely via Zoom. You are then free to undertake your actual working hours around your other commitments. Students will need to dedicate at least 10 hours per week to client work.

No, you can start whenever you like and ‘bank’ your experience. We provide comprehensive learning materials so even if you have not yet studied criminal law, you will be able to access the knowledge you need to start the programme.

On completion of the programme we will discuss future opportunities, both inside and outside the clinic, with individual students.

We have students starting throughout the year. When you sign up you can state a preference. We will contact you with a suggested start date and you will be allocated to a team of students who you will work alongside.

Yes. All students will be expected to maintain a case file which will be assessed by their supervising solicitor at the end of the programme. There will also be a short exam style assessment, containing multiple choice questions, similar to the way the SQE1 exam operates. Topics will range from issues arising from the client’s case to substantive law and criminal procedure.

Casework varies depending on the needs of the client, so you could be drafting correspondence with the client to request additional papers or information, be assessing the merits of the clients case, researching and instructing an expert, or setting out basic grounds of appeal. There is no exhaustive list…we encourage all students to take initiative and ensure that their client’s needs are met.

Yes, absolutely. However, although the experience will still help you to gain further placements or a training contract, it will not count towards the training contract requirement. This is where the SQE and LPC routes differ.

Yes. The programme will still provide you with useful knowledge and experience that could support future pupillage applications or inform a decision to change direction to the solicitor route.