Host a Justice First Fellow

We recognise that communities need experienced and committed social welfare lawyers to ensure that the law works for all. We do not believe that standard legal training meets this need and so in 2014 we formed the Justice First Fellowship.

Our goal was simple: to match talented trainees who were committed to tackling injustice with social justice legal teams who could provide them with the practical skills and knowledge they needed to become a successful social justice lawyer. 

What makes this training different is that our fellows get the chance to create and run their own project aimed at increasing access to justice. You will get to support the design and implementation of this project to make sure that it meets your organisation’s needs and priorities.

• Funding is available to nonprofit providers of legal advice or private law firms with a significant commitment to social justice. 
• You must have experienced in-house lawyers who are qualified to train and supervise a trainee and will need to meet the requirements set out by the relevant regulatory body to supervise a trainee solicitor. 
• Your organisation should already have a strong training ethos and offer an inclusive and supportive working environment for fellows. 

In addition, we are looking for host organisations that are: 

• Working closely with the communities they serve and are dedicated to ensuring greater access to justice. 
• Experts in their area of social justice law. 
• Open to supporting fellows beyond training, including through the development of a social justice project. 

While we expect to mainly partner with legal organisations, we will consider joint applications from community and legal organisations. These are usually where organisations with legal expertise partner with those which have specialist knowledge perhaps in campaigning or policy. 

We would usually expect the lead applicant to be the organisation which oversees and signs off the legal supervision and training for a fellow. 

Experiences of hosting Justice First Fellows and application advice from two host organisations.

Our grant award will cover:

• all costs of employing a fellow over two years, including salary, national insurance, pension contribution and associated supervision and, for not-for-profit organisation, associated supervision and support costs (private firms are expected to cover their own supervision costs)
• the costs of the fellow’s mandatory professional training
• a contribution to any additional training and IT set-up.

Hosts go on to become part of a wider cohort of social justice organisations who have trained fellows, creating a valuable network. 

We also offer hosts training and peer support sessions on topics including fundraising, project management and supervision best practice. 

We are now accepting applications from organisations interested in hosting a fellow from 2027. Applications are via our online portal. The deadline for submission is 3 March 2026. 

If you have any queries or would like to speak to one of the grants team before applying, feel free to contact us. 

If you have a current or recent grant from LEF, either through JFF or another of our grant programmes, please contact your grant manager before making a further grant application.