CILEX scholarship awardee urges volunteers to join her in offering pro bono legal advice

A CILEX scholarship awardee, who has helped thousands of families across Wales gain access to legal advice, says the asylum system is the “most obvious example of systemic injustice” in society today and has encouraged others to help the plight.

In celebration of the 23rd annual Pro Bono Week that took place during the first week of November, CILEX Journal spoke to Suzy McGarrity, who has been supporting asylum seekers in Wales since 2015, a year which saw the largest movement of people in a single year since World War II, as 1.3m people fled to Europe in the hope of seeking refuge from the Middle East.

After completing many years volunteering and working in the advice sector, Ms McGarrity felt compelled to enter the CILEX training route to become a qualified lawyer, studying alongside her demanding roles as engagement and training officer at LawWorks, a charity which connects volunteer lawyers with those seeking legal advice, and project coordinator on the Fresh Claims Project, a collaboration between Cardiff University and law charity Asylum Justice.

Ms McGarrity, who began studying her CILEX foundation in September, said: “Supporting asylum seekers through legal advice is very important to me as the system is so colossally unfair and that injustice is too difficult to ignore. It is high-stakes work and can have extreme highs and lows but you can make such a tangible difference to someone’s life.”

She said pro bono work was more accessible than many legal professionals have historically been led to believe.

“It’s a common misconception that pro bono work is unmanageable alongside a demanding day job. Through my role at LawWorks, we know that many qualified lawyers want to help but they are unsure where to start or believe it is very difficult and time-consuming, which doesn’t have to be the case.

“At LawWorks, we are constantly trying to remove the barriers that stop professionals from volunteering. In Wales, we spend a lot of time setting up pro bono clinics which may be in food banks, for example, or community hubs. It is my job to encourage more legal professionals to volunteer in projects such as these, in order to provide people with advice in a range of areas of law including family, housing, employment and many more.

“Typically, volunteers spend two hours a month or even two hours every quarter volunteering at clinics, either in person or remotely. We also offer other accessible volunteering opportunities, including online platforms which allow lawyers to sign up and answer questions sent in, in their own time.”

To learn more about how you can help support access to justice, please visit LawWorks for more information.