College of Law Creates Training Contract in Memory of Legal Aid Pioneer Sir Henry Hodge
10 June 2010
The College of Law has created and is funding
a training contract in legal aid practice, to be known as the
‘Henry
Hodge Traineeship’.
The training contract is in memory of the
College’s former Deputy Chair of Governors, Sir Henry Hodge, a
leading pioneer in legal aid practice who sadly died of leukaemia
in June 2009.
The successful applicant will be employed
under a training contract by The College of Law and will spend the
first year in the College’s Legal Advice Centre at its London
Bloomsbury centre, commencing in September 2010.
For the second year they will be seconded to
Hodge Jones & Allen LLP, in North Gower Street, NW1, the
leading firm of legal aid lawyers of which Henry Hodge was a
founding partner in 1977.
The firm has various specialist practise areas
including criminal defence, civil liberties, family law, personal
injury, military claims, clinical negligence, serious fraud,
dispute resolution and housing law.
Applications
for the Henry Hodge Traineeship are open to those who have taken,
or are about to complete, their LPC at the College and who have
already demonstrated a strong commitment to legal aid practice,
either through taking the Legal Aid LPC Pathway or in other
ways.
Richard de Friend, Chair of the Academic Board
at The College of Law said: “I am delighted that the College is
honouring Henry Hodge’s life and work with the traineeship. The
trainee solicitor will work in the Legal Advice Centre on housing,
immigration and employment cases in their first twelve months,
assisting people who cannot afford legal services and even some who
are totally destitute.
“Henry Hodge’s dedication to legal aid will be
remembered in every activity the trainee undertakes and in their
second year the trainee will join the firm that Henry set up as a
champion of legal aid.”
Admitted as a solicitor in 1970, Henry Hodge
led a distinguished career. He pioneered legal aid practice and
helped right historic wrongs, including ground-breaking test cases
for black soldiers suffering discrimination in the Armed
Forces.
He went on to take a leading role in the
National Council for Civil Liberties, Child Poverty Action, the
Legal Aid Board and the Law Society. In 2004, he became only the
third solicitor ever to be made a High Court Judge, and was
appointed Chief Immigration Adjudicator.
Patrick Allen, Senior Partner of Hodge Jones & Allen LLP,
and co-founding partner of Hodge Jones & Allen with Henry
Hodge, said: “this traineeship will be a fitting tribute to Henry
and his immense commitment to social welfare and legal aid
work.
“Henry spent his life as a solicitor
championing the cause of legal representation and advice for
disadvantaged members of society. Central to that work is the
training of new generations of legal aid lawyers. The Henry Hodge
traineeship will help to launch the legal aid lawyers of the future
to provide this essential service.”
The closing date for applications is June 30, 2010.
Potential applicants wanting more information should contact
Professor Sara Chandler, Pro Bono Coordinator at The College of Law
in Bloomsbury, at sara.chandler@lawcol.co.uk.
The College of Law intends to establish the
Henry Hodge Traineeship as an ongoing commitment with the second
traineeship planned to begin in September 2012.
The College is the leading provider of
professional legal education and training in Europe with centres in
London, Birmingham, Chester, Guildford, Manchester, York and a new
centre opening in Bristol in September.
Further information from Lucy Wray,
Press Officer, The College of Law on 01483 216072 (lucy.wray@lawcol.co.uk)