Volunteer
Please note we are not processing any new student applications to volunteer at the Centre.
You do not need to be a qualified solicitor to volunteer with the Centre. The Centre offers two types of volunteering opportunities: volunteer placements for a fixed period of time and weekly volunteering. Volunteer placements are full-time placements lasting for a minimum of four weeks up to a number of months (depending on the volunteer’s availability). They are open to all including both local and foreign law students. Weekly volunteers attend the Centre’s office on a set day (morning or afternoon) each week.
Whether you are a full-time or weekly volunteer your main responsibility would be to answer the phone and log queries received to our telephone advice line. You may also be asked to carry out legal research and other general administrative tasks. An opportunity may also arise for you to shadow one of our solicitors or attend one of our local training events.
Comprehensive training is provided before the commencement of volunteer placements. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please fill in the application form.
Volunteer as a solicitor
If you are fully qualified Scots Law solicitor and would like to support us, why not consider volunteering for the Centre. As a volunteer solicitor you can help by responding to e-mail enquiries received from the public to our advice line. We would normally ask you to respond to one or two e-mail enquiries each week depending on how busy we are. Most of the enquires we receive come from parents, other family members and professionals. The types of queries we receive include issues relating to PRRs, contact and residence, holiday disputes, name change, education law, additional support needs, child protection, children’s hearings and many others.
Our volunteer solicitors have experience in child and family law or experience in other areas of law which impact on children (e.g. immigration, mental health or disability/equality law). You are welcome to try out volunteering with us with no obligation to continue. If you become too busy to continue volunteering at any point you can always stop or have a volunteering break.
Membership
Why become a member?
Membership with the SCLC helps the Centre to continue its vital work in offering free legal advice and promoting the knowledge and use of child and family law in Scotland. By becoming a member of the Centre you will be supporting the Centre’s work and in addition will receive the following benefits:
FREE recruitment advertising on our website
10% discount when you order any of our publications
10% discount on event bookings, child law training, masterclasses and group training
Bi-annual e-newsletter and advance notice of events and training
Priority bookings at our annual Roundtable Discussion at the Scottish Parliament
We will acknowledge your valuable support on our website and social media platforms
How to become a member
To become a member of the SCLC please complete the form below and submit with payment applicable to your category.
Make a donation
Donate via PayPal
If you would like to support the work of the Centre, you can make a financial donation. Your support will enable us to continue to give free legal advice and information to children, young people and their families across Scotland.
Donations in kind
If you represent an organisation which is not in a position to make a financial donation, please consider donating in kind. For example, you may be able to offer us free space at your organisation’s premises to host a training event.
If you would like to donate a room or training space free of charge or would like to discuss other ‘donation in kind’ ideas please e-mail us at enquiries@sclc.org.uk
Fundraise for SCLC
Bake sale
Why not host a bake sale? You could ask your colleagues, friends or family to bake their favorite cakes/treats, bring them to the office and ask for donations. To make it more fun, you could also have a baking competition. Simply ask your colleagues to mark each cake out of 10. The cake with the highest number of points wins (perhaps throw in a free cake for the winner!)
Sponsored run
If you are really into your fitness you may be more interested in doing a sponsored run such as a 5K, 10K, half marathon or a full-length marathon. One of our solicitors and volunteers took part in the 2019 Edinburgh Marathon Festival and raised over £870 between them.
For each sponsored run the Scottish Child Law Centre will pay the registration fee.
Legal walk
If walking is more your thing, why not form a team to take part in one of Legal Walks organised annually by Access to Justice Foundation.
