In order to ensure that the Clinic can run at full capacity during the university holiday period, we hire a number of part time ‘Summer Students’ to staff the Clinic. These students are typically funded through one of our partnerships or by one of the law firms that support the Clinic. This year we have been able to hire ten summer students, thanks in part to the support of the Refugee Survival Trust, David Stirling and the Scottish Women’s Right Centre.
In the fifth of a series of articles written by our Summer Students, Ben Brown describes a typical day.
Being a summer case worker and project manager of the Online Project at the same time, it can be challenging trying to balance all of your commitments, but it is immensely satisfying at the same time.
As Online Project coordinator it is my responsibility to ensure that all online case enquiries are distributed among the summer advisors and are dealt with as efficiently as possible. The response timescale for these enquiries is quite tight as we aim to respond within ten days. We carry out the research and then ask a supervisor to check it. I am really proud to be responsible for the Online Project, it lets us help people who might not be able to come to the Clinic by giving them the legal help and information they need.
Alongside responding to online enquiries, I have spent the summer dealing with a wide range of issues, including employment rights and consumer issues. For me, the opportunity to work independently but at the same time be part of a larger team has been an excellent learning curve.
Continuing the Clinic’s work over summer is an honour and a pleasure. I would recommend it to any Clinic member.
Ben Brown