Editorial
Writing an editorial for the November edition of our newsletter always means looking forward to National Pro Bono Week.  This year, the focus of the first two days of the week are the Joint National Pro Bono Conference, taking place in London and Manchester, and the pro bono train which links the two.  It’s not too late to register if you have left it till the last minute!

Before then we will have held our Membership Review Meeting on November 3rd – a first for LawWorks, but something I hope will become an annual event: a chance to look back at what our partnership has achieved in the past 12 months and to hear your views on how we can do even better in the coming year.

Between all these events, I hope to see most if not all of you in the next couple of weeks, so thank you in advance for your support…

Rebecca Hilsenrath

Joint National Pro Bono Conference 2009

Registration is now open for…
9 November - Friends House, Euston, London
10 November - Civil Justice Centre, Manchester

5 CPD accredited hours.

12 workshops, including:

• The Economic Downturn – Impact on Pro Bono
• Laying the Foundations/Taking the first steps: Starting your own pro bono scheme
• Credit Crunch Victims: Redundancy and Repossession
• Difficult Conversations: Pro Bono Challenges in Immigration and Asylum

Speakers to include Lord Bach and Lord Phillips of Sudbury.

For more information, including how to register please visit www.probonouk.net

Book soon as places are limited!

National Pro Bono Week 2009 – 9 to 13 November 2009
The big week is almost upon us and we are very happy to see that so many of you have added your pro bono activities to the calendar of events on www.probonouk.net. There are now over 80 events published, many of which you may be able to attend.

Take a look at the calendar here and plan your own week of activities.

The events actually started off last night at the MPs Reception, held at the House of Lords, where the Attorney General announced her list of pro bono heroes for 2009. LawWorks was proud to see so many people at the event who have volunteered on projects with us. We fully support the Attorney’s decision to give recognition to those individuals who give up their time week in week out without expecting reward or such recognition.

The LawWorks team will be out in force during the week, attending events in various parts of the country, starting off with the Joint National Pro Bono Conference in London on Monday, 9th and in Manchester on Tuesday, 10th. We all look forward to seeing many of you in the course of the week and hope you each sell the idea of doing a bit of pro bono to at least one other lawyer or student during the course of the week!

LawWorks Peer Mediation for Schools
LawWorks is delivering a new course to teach mediation in schools. The course is currently aimed at sixth form level students and provides an introduction to the psychology of conflict resolution and training in mediation skills. The training can be used as the first step for schools establishing their own peer mediation scheme, whereby students mediate disputes arising between students.

The particular features of the LawWorks Student Mediation Training are:

• Students role-play as mediators after just 3 hours of training, and receive individual feedback from professional mediators
• Case studies for role-play introduce simple legal issues and so prepare students to use their skills beyond school and in the work place
• The course is free to state schools but public/private schools may also apply for further information
• The course has been assessed and approved by Dr. Leonardo Raznovich, Head of Law and Dispute Resolution and Canterbury Christ Church University

A pilot of the course was run at John Beddoes School, Presteigne, and received positive feedback. Schools considering the LawWorks Student Mediation Training may receive a copy of the letter from the Chair of Governors of John Beddoes School recommending the course and a summary of the student evaluation.

Sixth-formers at John Beddoes School with their LawWorks certificates and trainers John Kendall, Janine Edge, Leonardo Raznovich, Jackie Miller and Eve Wilson.

Pro Bono Coordinators Forum
The last Coordinators forum of the year will be held on Tuesday 17th November at Jones Day. It will commence with breakfast networking at 9.00am and the forum itself will begin at 9.30am and last one hour.

If you are able to attend, please email Anne Monk

LawWorks applicant in important tribunal decision
T was a female soldier, recruited from a small Commonwealth country, and was also a single mother. She experienced childcare difficulties which in turn affected her ability to carry out some of her duties. She was disciplined and told that she was unsuitable for an Army career.

To resolve her difficulties she suggested that she move one of her sisters over to the UK to help with childcare, so that she could devote her full attention to her duty as a soldier. However, her idea was rejected and she was told that she couldn’t obtain the appropriate visa. T felt she was being led along a path to dismissal and eventually put in her notice.

T came to LawWorks for assistance as she felt that she had been discriminated against. We found a firm to help with part of her claim and she went on to win. The tribunal found that the Army’s policy that a soldier must be available 24/7 amounted to indirect sex discrimination and that, its policy that Commonwealth soldiers could not bring relatives over as childminders amounted to indirect race discrimination

The Army recently appealed the tribunal’s decision but lost. Not only is this a great success for T and a rewarding result for all those involved, it is an important development in employment law.

Camden CAB seeks new Trustees
Camden CAB is the largest Citizen's Advice Bureaux service in the country. Its advice services range from advice and information delivered through high-street bureaux to specialist HIV advice services. CCAB is currently changing its advice delivery model to make greater use of volunteers with the aim of expanding service.

We need dynamic active volunteers to serve as trustees. The Board of Trustees are the directors of the service, set its overall strategy and oversee its operations. This is a challenging and demanding role and requires a flexible time commitment of at least 1.5 days per month. We are particularly interested in people with expertise in the following areas: Human Resources, Employment, Housing or Welfare Law; Public Relations and Communications; Fundraising.

Closing date 15 November October interviews Friday 27th November

To download the recruitment poster, please click here.
To download a full job description, please click here.

For further details and an information pack please contact June Chapman on 020 7421 4097 or send an email to volunteerproject@camdencabservice.org.uk

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates.

Quiz Night
On 10th November 2009 at Tiger Tiger, The Printworks, Manchester, the Greater Manchester Branch of ILEX are holding The BIG Quiz. Not only will you get the chance to compete against the best quizzers in town, but for just £10 for branch members (£12 for guests), there will also be hot food and fantastic prizes!!! All you have to do is download the form, then complete and return it with your payment.

General Enquiries		t: 020-7929-5601	send email
Chief Executive	Rebecca Hilsenrath	t: 020-7929-5601	send email
Administration & Finance	Alero Arueyingho	t: 020-7090-7351	send email
Membership	Anne Monk	t: 020-7929-5601	send email
Business Development	Kathie Clark	t: 020-7090-7365	send email
LawWorks Choices & ALLIES	Lorna Heselton	t: 020-7090-7368	send email
LawWorks Clinics	Richard Harrison	t: 020-7090-7356	send email
LawWorks Clinics	Sarah Cox	t: 020-7090-7361	send email
LawWorks for Community Groups	Alison Ingram	t: 020-7090-7352	send email
LawWorks for Community Groups	Liz Adebajo	t: 020-7090-7359	send email
LawWorks for Community Groups/Initial Electronic Advice	Ruth Thompson	t: 020-7090-7357	send email
Individual Casework	Tim Atwood	t: 020-7090-7355	send email
LawWorks Mediation	Lavinia Shaw Brown	t: 020-7090-7354	send email
LawWorks Mediation	Kristina Velcikova	t: 020-7090-7362	send email
LawWorks North	Janet Hart	t: 0161-275-0348	send email
LawWorks Students/Law Schools	Martin Curtis	t: 020-7090-7358	send email
LawWorks Training	Megan Pearson	t: 020-7090-7362	send email