Certainty is the keystone of the rule of law, but a society does not satisfy this test merely because a well-educated lawyer can understand the nuances of Parliament’s enactments. Instead, the true test is whether the law is accessible to the individual. For law to be effective it must be capable of being understood by everyone. To ask Parliament to promulgate ‘simple’ laws is absurd, and to request the courts to refrain from perverse interpretations is fanciful. As such, we must accept that often the law must be left to the professional, and focus instead on providing a means for the individual to understand his rights vicariously. The government has failed to fully achieve this through inadequate provision of legal aid. That does not, however, mean that injustice must be rife amongst those who are in need of the law’s protection; instead it merely means that individuals must step up to the mark and play their part. It was for this reason that I applied to become a student volunteer on the OLA program.

Oxford provides one of the greatest legal educations in the world, but there is one area in which it consistently fails – namely the provision of the practical legal experience which is so vital to establishing any career as a lawyer. It is this which OLA seeks to rectify. It places wide-eyed students, well versed in theory, into a situation which is so often alien – an actual legal environment. And, unlike the common criticism of magic circle training contracts, we were sent straight to the deep end. After a few hours of training we were told to do that which every trainee lawyer dreams of, to interview a client of our own. The first few sessions are a strange sensation as you sit in front of clients with a facade of absolute cool, but, in fact, are nervously racking your brains for the next question to ask, whilst frantically trying to scribble down what has just been said. What is, perhaps, slightly stranger, is the realisation after a few weeks that your nerves have vanished and that the problems that once troubled you immeasurably are now trivial. There was, of course, always a safety net; we could (and did) frequently excuse ourselves from the interview room with a vague mention of some sudden, pressing need to photocopy a document, in order to retreat to the relative safety of the staff room, where someone was always on hand to solve our minor disasters.

Over the year I interviewed roughly 15 clients. That, in itself, must be seen as a success of the program, for every hour I spent helping them was an extra hour that they otherwise would not have received under the legal aid system. During my time on the program I learnt a myriad of lessons that otherwise escape the Oxford syllabus, and that undoubtedly must be a good thing. Asking the right question and analysing the answer so as to obtain a useful response is a vital skill throughout the law, and I doubt there is a better way to practise it than by sitting before a client who either wants to divulge his entire life story or else is determined to stay silent for an hour.

So, to conclude, why volunteer for OLA? First, if you get that warm, fuzzy feeling from helping others, then the question is a no-brainer; OLA has to be one of the best ways of utilising your legal skills to aid others that exists. Second, the lawyers that you will work with at Turpin & Miller are a paradigm of friendliness. Finally, it does not matter what career you see yourself as taking when you leave Oxford, OLA will undoubtedly help you. It is not just a matter of ‘CV points’; OLA will help you because of the skills that it teaches and the experiences that it gives.

Alex Eagle.

As a Student Assistant most of the work that I did involved taking statements from clients who were currently seeking asylum. One of the main things that I think you learn very quickly when taking statements is how to recognise what is relevant information out of the torrent of information some people will give you and also how to ask the right questions to get the information that you need. As a practical skill I think that is one which will be particularly useful in the future and one which you do not get much chance to develop otherwise.

What I enjoyed most about being a Student Assistant was the feeling that you really were helping others. By working with Turpin & Miller you were able to see how the information that you gathered could then be used by them to help the client’s case develop further. The two hours we spent with each client meant that the firm could then start work on the much more substantive aspects of the case straight away and could use their time more effectively. Further, the people you talk to often feel as though their voice just isn’t being heard, so it is really encouraging to feel as though you may be helping them towards achieving some resolution.

I would definitely recommend applying for Oxford Legal Assistance. It is often a very humbling experience but, at the same time, it is an excellent and rewarding chance to really help those who are less fortunate than us.

Emily Hancox