Could you host a fellow?

To be eligible your organisation must:

1. Meet the requirements set out by the relevant regulatory authority to supervise a trainee solicitor:

• England and Wales – Solicitors Regulation Authority
• Scotland – Law Society of Scotland
• Northern Ireland – Law Society of Northern Ireland

If applying in partnership, the lead applicant would usually be the organisation which oversees and signs off the legal supervision and training for a fellow.

2. You must also be able to provide training in at least two or three areas of law or if you specialise in one area, demonstrate there is enough breadth within that area to train a fellow. 

We are very unlikely to fund universities and university law clinics. This is primarily as universities have access to sources of funding that other organisations do not have. 

Although not an exclusion, it is worth noting that if you have an existing grant from LEF, in competitive rounds we will weigh any existing grant award when deciding where our JFF funding should go. 

If you have a current fellow training in your organisation, we are unlikely to fund two fellows concurrently. 

When considering hosts for selection, we prioritise where our funding could have the most impact. This includes consideration of: 

• Working environment for fellows: is it supportive and inclusive?
• Training ethos of the organisation
• Expertise in an area of social justice law 
• Is the organisation able to provide exposure to legal aid work
• Does the organisation learn and reflect on their work with the communities they serve?
• Geography: does the organisation cover a geographic area or particular community otherwise underserved by advice provision?
• Sustainability: is the organisation financially sustainable? 
• Is the organisation able to offer a longer term role for the fellow once their fellowship ends? 

We will also consider the finances of an organisation, looking at for example whether an organisation needs our funding to offer a trainee role.