Christmas reflections

by Francine Ryan, Open Justice Centre Director

Christmas can often be a time for reflection, an opportunity to look back over the events of the past year to consider the highs and lows. We started 2022 still in the grip of the COVID 19 pandemic, but over the year there have been glimpses of hope. Perhaps soon we will start to feel that mask wearing, and lockdowns are things of the past.

But with the war in Ukraine and widespread economic uncertainty, it seems that one crisis has been quickly replaced by another. There is no doubt that we are all facing difficult times and with a risk that we are entering an economic recession it is likely that many more people will need legal advice and support, and this is where the free legal advice sector can assist.

The free advice sector comprises of a wide range of organisations from Citizens Advice, and Law Centres to charities like Rights of Women who work in different ways to support women through the law. It also includes the work of law students engaging in pro bono activities through their law school or volunteering outside of their studies. LawWorks reported that in 2020 there were 72 law schools with 153 clinics included as part of the LawWorks clinic network with over 3000 students engaging in pro bono activities. (1) Included in that report was the contribution made by Open University students through their participation in Open Justice activities.

The Open Justice Centre was created in 2016 as a bridge between the law school and its communities across all four nations: England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. As a four-nation university we are committed to delivering projects on an international, national, and local level. This can be challenging, but we are leveraging the power of technology to allow us to reach out to communities across the nations. We are incredibly proud of the work our law students do across a range of Open Justice projects including the advice we offer in our civil and criminal law clinics, and the public legal education projects that we run. But the key to all this is the partnerships we have with law firms and free legal advice organisations.

We are incredibly fortunate in 2022 to be partnering with organisations including the Environmental Law Foundation, the Scottish Sentencing Council, Royal National Institute for the Blind, St Giles Trust, Dyslexia London, Josef, and international NGOs, but since 2016 we have had the privilege of working with schools, prisons and other groups and organisations across the four nations. Our students are involved in influencing governmental decisions and contributing to law reform, providing legal advice to empower individuals to resolve their legal problems and increasing the public understanding of law.

So now that it is coming to the end of 2022 and I can reflect on what has been another challenging but rewarding year, I feel very lucky to co-ordinate the work of the Open Justice Centre and to see the commitment our students give to their pro bono work. It is not easy being an OU student, many students are juggling study around their work and caring responsibilities so taking on pro bono work and engaging with it so diligently is a testament to their hard work and professionalism.

I want to say a huge thank you to our students, the clients we have worked with, and the organisations we have partnered with- you are integral to the Open Justice Centre. We know that 2023 will bring new challenges, but hopefully also new opportunities for us to continue to be the bridge that empowers our law students, our law school, and our university to deliver pro bono work that support communities across our four nations and beyond.