View from the other side: On secondment at Save the Children

What does pro bono look like in action? Hear from Dominica Cole, Associate and Pro Bono Secondee at Save the Children.

“I felt it was a fantastic opportunity aligned to my experience and values, so I chucked my hat in the ring when the opportunity came about. One high profile project we’re involved in is an on-going inquiry looking into the decision-making of the UK Government during the pandemic, and reviewing the extent to which it considered children in those decisions. It’s a very important piece of work in terms of long-term impact, lessons learned and wider considerations of children and young people who can often be neglected because they don’t necessarily have representation that other groups have in the room.

Sometimes we can forget, as lawyers, the technical nature of the skill that we have and our exposure and familiarity with the legal system. When people are engaging with the law or feel like their rights are not being supported or protected, or where they need to use the law to protect themselves or address a wrong that was done to them, you often forget for a layperson just how complex and inaccessible the law sometimes is. As lawyers, there is a moral commitment to ensure that, to the extent that we have knowledge to, we provide support to people who would not be able to access that level of experience.”