“While most undergraduate degree courses are predominantly theoretical in content, Northumbria University is running an innovative, practice-based undergraduate law degree. This course provides its graduates with a proven track record in practice that more traditional law degrees do not provide. It is something we would like to see emulated by many other law schools.”
Fair Access to Professional Careers: A progress report by the Independent Reviewer on Social Mobility and Child Poverty, 2012
Combining workplace learning with theory and skills is at the heart of the student experience at the Northumbria University Law School. Between 2008 and 2013 Law School students’ helped to secure more than £840,000 of compensation on behalf of more than 1,000 clients who would otherwise not have access to professional legal services.
Based on pedagogic research conducted and developed at Northumbria during the 1990s, the Law School has pioneered legal clinics as part of its curriculum. Students are given the opportunity to handle real legal cases supervised by their tutors and professors. Today Northumbria’s Student Law Office (SLO) provides a unique learning experience and is a major contributor to voluntary legal services in the region.
The SLO is a catalyst in the North East to encourage more law firms to become involved in pro bono work. In partnership with the national pro bono charity, LawWorks, it set up the Pro Bono Hub. It now works in collaboration with 10 regional law firms on Law School inspired pro bono projects, delivering benefits to the community as well as encouraging a culture of free legal advice in these firms.
The SLO also has close links with charities and community organisations. Through a partnership with Shelter, the homeless charity, students provide a national advice service to homeless and at risk clients, researching and advising on complex problems that Shelter’s advisors are unable to resolve. Working with the Newcastle Citizens Advice Bureau has resulted in a new form of training and accreditation for law students enabling them to become Gateway advisors.
Northumbria University’s Law School is internationally recognised as a centre of excellence for clinical legal education. It regularly hosts fact-finding visits from MPs, government ministers and professional regulators as well as educators across the world that wish to set up similar facilities for their students. To date, student law offices based on our model have been established in countries across Europe, in Japan, in Bangladesh, in the USA and most recently in Uganda.
Click here to watch The Queen and Prince Phillip presenting the Vice-Chancellor and Kevin Kerrigan with the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for the outstanding community work of Northumbria's Student Law Office.
Case studies
- Data mining technique developed at Northumbria helps call centre improve efficiency
- Record-keeping strategies for the digital age
- Northumbria University researchers help people with Parkinson’s to walk
- Making it work: involving older people in their own care
- Conserving modern art
- Northumbria researchers help large corporates improve their products
- Digitising the construction industry
- Virtual city provides an interactive platform for architects, planners, heritage and the arts
- Institutional capacity building for cultural built heritage in south east Europe
- Innovation method creates commercial value for business
- 20th Century Design from Shipley to New York
- Creating immersive audio-visual experiences
- KTP improves efficiency and reduces waste at iNPIPE Products
- Books and pop music: challenging conventions that define high and low culture
- Before Depression - a literary perspective on mental health
- Re-assessing own language use in English language teaching
- Improving survival and wellbeing in times of disaster
- Social justice for migrant workers
- Understanding the Scottish Diaspora
- Critical thinking in the digital era
- Northumbria University researcher inspires physics students
- Northumbria researchers advise government on breakfast clubs
- Paving the way for peer-to-peer health advice
- Brief chat with GP helps heavy drinkers cut down
- North East maintains its ‘voice’ in Central Government
- Reducing homelessness among young adults
- Athletes benefit from the therapeutic qualities of cherry juice
- Recognising the needs and interests of women and children in disasters
- Student Law Office Benefits Students and the Community
- Bringing 18th century literature to a modern audience
- Northumbria researchers help tool manufacturer cut costs and increase product lifetime
- Supporting the Solar Energy Market
- Northumbria researchers help give Gibraltar its first official address register
- A warm welcome for female comic book fans
- A KTP with North Tyneside Council transforms sheltered housing
More events
Upcoming events
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Viruses of Microbes-UK (VoM-UK) Conference 2026
Northumbria University
Commercialising SHAPE Innovations and Impact
Northumbria University
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Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse Conference 2026
CCE1 - City Campus East 1
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Broken Bonds: New Perspectives on Marital Breakdown
The Great Hall
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