SLG and Citizenship Foundation launch local lawyers in schools scheme

Solicitors in Local Government (SLG) and the Citizenship Foundation have this month launched a local government version of the Local Lawyers in Schools initiative.

The group has two sites – in Yorkshire and Leicestershire – already signed up for the initiative, which will see local government lawyers go into schools and hold workshops with pupils about the law. Each site has a number of local authorities involved.

The sessions with KS4 pupils will cover a range of topics including employment law, human rights, consumer law, intellectual property and music downloading, and family law.

The scheme has received financial backing from the Local Government Legal Society Trust Fund, which will allow the sites to operate for three years at least.

Writing in this week’s Local Government Lawyer, Guy Goodman, immediate past chair of SLG, called on local authority lawyers to get involved.

He said: “During my year as Chair of SLG I had my eyes opened to the importance of pro bono and corporate responsibility work and the fact that we in local government don’t do enough of it.”

He added: “There has been much interest in establishing the third site but no firm proposal as yet – and there is still plenty of time to get a site up and running this school year.”

The link-up with the Citizenship Foundation is one of two partnerships the SLG has put in place – the other is with pro bono organisation LawWorks and seeks to promote and publicise pro bono opportunities to local government practitioners.