Volunteering
Oxford Pro Bono Publico welcomes as volunteers post-graduate law students, post-graduate students from other relevant disciplines and law staff. All volunteers must be currently affiliated with the University of Oxford. Volunteering with OPBP offers you the opportunity to work directly on some of the most important and exciting legal issues of the day.
Volunteering for OPBP provides you with the opportunity to interact with university members from all jurisdictions and legal specialities. Our strength is in our diversity - providing comparative law briefs drawing upon the private and public law of a wide variety of domestic jurisdictions as well as international law.
We often work closely with NGOs such as Liberty, Justice, Interrights and Amnesty. We provide research for cases, draft policy submissions, and submit amicus briefs. Matters typically involve novel or challenging international and comparative legal issues.
Expressions of interest to serve on the Executive Committee (which has eight members comprising four Law Faculty post holders and four law post-graduate students) should be directed to the current Chair.
The time and work commitment expected varies according to the nature of the project accepted and may range from one day's work to regular work over a period of months. Volunteer work is conducted in teams with a Faculty supervisor and student project co-ordinator.
Potential volunteers should ensure that they have their supervisor's approval for taking on such work, and are encouraged to read the OPBP Constitution in order to be clear about the expectations and parameters of our work.
Calls for volunteers are circulated on the postgraduate law email list. Students interested in being involved in current or forthcoming projects should contact the OPBP Communications Officer. Non-law graduate students interested in receiving calls for project volunteers should also contact the OPBP Communications Officer to ask that they be included on the email circulation list for project announcements.
