Manchester tie-up to bring on trainees in social welfare

Manchester Law Society has joined forces with the local Community Legal Services Partnership to launch a trainee solicitor project promoting social welfare law.The society successfully applied for funds from the Legal Services Partnership Innovation Budget and will support 15 trainees who are seconded for a year to not-for-profit agencies, following a year in private practice paid by a law firm.Fran Eccles, the society's administrator, said: 'The not-for-profit sector has reported having difficulty getting solicitors to work for them and local firms are taking on fewer trainees because of financial constraints.

We came up with this project to meet all these needs.'She said the project would give trainees a contract, and free firms from a year of training funds so they could afford more trainees, and provide more access to welfare advice.

Ms Eccles said letters were sent out to all local law firms with a social welfare franchise from the Legal Services Commission, not-for-profit agencies and the city's universities.'We have already received encouraging feedback from Manchester Citizens Advice Bureaux and those firms contacted,' she said.

'We are hoping the first trainees will start this September.' Andrew Towler