This year’s The Lawyer Awards was dedicated to the Free Representation Unit (FRU), a charity that provides free representation to those are not covered by legal aid in social security and employment tribunals. The charity is able to do what is does largely thanks to its broad volunteer base, as well as its secondees which supplement a small permanent staff team.

Linklaters has been a long-standing partner of FRU, providing financial support and secondees to FRU for over 10 years. “They’ve been a partner since before my time here!” David Abbott, CEO of FRU laughs.

“We have been so grateful for Linklaters support and partnership. Every six months we get a secondee from Linklaters who works on FRU cases on a full time basis. They get to manage a caseload, and volunteers, and get a different kind of experience to what they might have got in a corporate setting. We are also lucky with the financial support that Linklaters provide; they even paid our moving costs when we relocated to our current office in Gray’s Inn during the pandemic. Without the financial support from them and the secondees, we couldn’t do what we do.”

The partnership isn’t just a lifeline for FRU – it’s an invaluable experience for all the secondees who take part. The Lawyer caught up with three secondees to find out about what being a FRU secondee was like.

“I was FRU’s first COVID secondee,” Madeline Chan, now an associate at Linklaters, says. “So we were all learning the ropes a bit, as everything suddenly had to be moved to being virtual. But I felt lucky – while other trainees were having their overseas secondments cancelled, my one got to go ahead.”

Talking about her time at FRU, Chan highlights how “you get a real sense of autonomy, a chance to do actual advocacy and front line work.  You’re managing your own caseload in a way you might not do until you are much more senior at a corporate law firm. It also fostered an interest in the pro bono sector for me that has continued even upon qualifying, so I still advise in legal advice clinics. FRU was also special because you get to see a case through from beginning to end, so you saw that real tangible output at the end and all the things that went on to get there.”

Scott Miller, a previous secondee, had the chance to be on one of FRU’s biggest cases, of a size that FRU doesn’t normally take on. “The most impressive case I worked on was a group litigation case with 15 claimants. I got to represent my clients with a colleague and the assistant legal officer at a judicial mediation, which was real hands on experience. Handling 15 claimants is a big task; if you’re representing 15 individuals at a law firm, there are a lot of different systems in places and resources to streamline it. At FRU, there are a lot less resources so you have to logistically manage liaising with 15 clients to get instructions from! It was really good to have that high level of responsibility thought, and it set me up well for NQ and associate life.”

“It’s a real opportunity to take ownership of the work you do, which can be a challenge, but because you know how meaningful the work is for the person involved, the difference you make sees you through.”

Alongside FRU’s permanent team, the volunteer system means that it can reach many more people. “It really is one of the most amazing things that the majority of those involved are volunteers – generally law students, or bar students, who are also getting experience in the first stages of things like advocacy.” Rohesia Vince, previous secondee and now an associate at Linklaters explains.

Each of the secondees acknowledged that they did far more than they ever expected, and felt real pride for the work they did. “You’re able to do things in six months that you would never do in a corporate environment yourself until you were much more senior. This was an invaluable experience. I managed my own caseload as well as supervised volunteers, and even got to do a couple of hearings myself! I did one hearing at an employment tribunal in person which was an amazing experience. Being a fourth seat trainee against an actual barrister was an incredible and nerve-wracking experience. I was successful in the appeal which ended up being the highlight of my career so far.” Vince adds.

CEO David Abbott praises the secondments for how invaluable they have been, and is open to partnerships with other law firms who might also wish to get involved in the future. “Without the generous support from Linklaters and its secondees, we wouldn’t be able to offer as many people free representation. Having more partnerships would enable us to make what we do go further, and help more people at a time when they really need it.”

So, if you’ve got the FRU bug after reading this, donations to FRU would be highly welcomed – whether that’s from doing a small fundraiser at your firm’s end of year Christmas party, or getting in touch with FRU to strike up a partnership for the New Year.

“What I want people to see if that it’s not just good for us – it is a great business opportunity for them. It is a chance to do something that makes a tangible difference to people’s lives, and gives secondees skills they might not otherwise get in a law firm.”