Lawyers volunteer over 6,000 hours to support qLegal’s 1:1 advice clinic
Providing start-ups with 1:1 preliminary legal advice has been a core part of qLegal’s offering since inception in 2013. Since then, qLegal students have prepared over 560 advice letters under the supervision of lawyers from qLegal’s external law firm partners.
640 students participating in the Legal Advisory Programme (across the Centre for Commercial Law Studies’ London and Paris campuses), and Entrepreneurship Law Clinic Module, have prepared advice letters covering corporate, IP, commercial and data protection law.
Students are allocated a client file and are responsible for managing the matter lifecycle. They interview the client, research their legal issues and provide client-friendly, practical advice letters with actionable next steps for the founders to implement, all under the supervision of external lawyers.
In the 2024-25 academic year, lawyers from 20 law firms and in-house legal teams supervised production of the advice letters. On a conservative estimate, lawyers volunteering with qLegal have donated over 6,000 hours of supervision to our students in the preparation of advice letters.
To date, qLegal has received over 1,460 enquiries for legal advice. Each enquiry is triaged by qLegal staff who have held more than 570 preliminary calls with potential clients to assess their legal needs and ensure they meet qLegal’s eligibility criteria.
To meet the changing needs of cash-strapped, time-poor founders, and to equip students with the skills and experience needed for future legal practice, the Legal Advisory Programme has evolved in recent years:
- Around half of all client appointments are now hosted in person at law firm offices, where students enjoy the opportunity to work alongside their supervising solicitor in an inspiring environment.
- Technology plays an increasing role in the programme. Students are trained how to use generative AI, specifically large language models like ChatGPT, in professionally ethical ways to help them prepare for their client appointment and research the relevant legal issues.
- Clients are increasingly asking for advice on the accuracy, or otherwise, of AI-created contracts, providing students with the opportunity to critically analyse the output and ensure their clients’ legal and commercial interests are protected.
The 1:1 advice clinic is an opportunity for students to gain real-world experience advising clients and working alongside practising lawyers.
Recent qLegal student Lukas Cizikas said “qLegal... gives you the opportunity to advise real clients, interact with actual firms and solicitors, and gain a true sense of what it’s like to work as a lawyer. It offers insight into the day-to day experience of legal practice and is a great way to start preparing for your future career”.
qLegal is grateful for the support of the law firm partners. qLegal’s application for new client enquiries will open in August. Founders in need of preliminary legal advice can find out more about qLegal’s services.