Volunteer Scheme

At Duncan Lewis we are proud of the volunteer opportunities that we provide as we know it is extremely difficult to gain exposure and experience within a law firm.

We know the importance of volunteer schemes and the positive effect these can have in gaining future paid employment.  We are always looking for volunteers who are passionate about law and want an opportunity to gain valuable work experience, learn and develop skills, build up confidence, gain an insight in a fast paced legal firm, make new friends and start building a professional network.

Volunteers must have a strong academic background, have completed their Legal Practice Course or Bar Professional Training Course, read or be in the process of reading law at degree or higher level and be looking to expand their practical knowledge of the law.  We are also looking for volunteers interested in only admin work.

During the course of the volunteer placement you will:

• be put through an Induction process which will give you an introduction to the firm, office health and safety and shown how to use some of our IT equipment.
• you will be allocated a supervisor who will provide support, close supervision and give training on your placement dependent on the tasks carried out.

The majority of your time with the firm will be likely to be allocated to provision of paralegal/admin support to an allocated solicitor/team of fee-earners.

Tasks may vary but may include the following (this list is not exhaustive): -

• Legal research
• Preparing bundles
• Pagination
• Proof reading
• Exposure to drafting
• Photocopying/ Faxing / Scanning/Archiving and Filling
• Answering the telephone, taking messages
• Assisting with reception duties
• Dealing with post
• Assisting with e-communication on behalf of fee-earners (emails)
• At the time of your placement, depending upon the nature of the work, you may have exposure to attend interviews and shadow relevant fee-earners.

We anticipate to contribute to your volunteer placement by providing opportunities(*) to shadow solicitors, sit in interviews, assisting in the preparation work on files, drafting routine letters, attending interviews within London and on occasions be allowed to sit behind counsel at court.

(*) when possible according to the team’s schedule

The volunteer placement is to help assist you in developing your understanding of daily routine of a legal firm.

All volunteers are covered under the organisations employer liability insurance.

Most of our candidates are able to make use of the skills gained during the Volunteer Programme, in order to successfully apply for temporary/permanent positions on completion of their legal studies.

Applications will be accepted at the discretion of the firm according to the Firm’s business requirements at that time.

Please note: These positions are not remunerated and candidates must be at least 16 years of age and eligible to work in the UK.

We take high pride in our commitment to Equal Opportunities and Diversity (the diversity of the communities we represent to reflect at all levels within our workforce). In order to comply with our Equal Opportunity Policy we need to be aware of any special arrangements that you require in connection with your current state of health or any disability you might have. Please disclose in cover letter if this applies.