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Law students have been working with prison learners to record a series of radio programmes tackling legal issues, for broadcast on prison radio.

The pioneering project by the Open Justice Centre has just finished its second iteration at HMP Altcourse – a Category B men's private prison in Merseyside – and is expected to roll out to other prisons soon.

The Open Justice Centre’s Law Clinic, which offers free online legal advice led by the OU students supervised by qualified solicitors, won the Best Legal Tech Contribution in the Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards.

First-class Law graduate CJ Burge was in prison when she earned her degree from The Open University. She now works for the St Giles Trust which collaborates with the Law School’s Open Justice Centre on prison education, as well as being a trustee of the Criminal Justice Alliance.

The Open Justice Centre’s Law Clinic has been shortlisted in the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Awards 2019. This is in the ‘Best LegalTech Contribution’ for the awards which recognise and celebrate the outstanding pro bono work undertaken by law schools and law students across the UK.

The Law School, which has fewer academics than any other school, has won two of the eight OU Teaching Awards (OUTAs) 2019. Both winners, the Open Justice Centre and Stephanie Pywell, have also been nominated by the OU for awards from the recently-formed Advance HE.

Pamela Grealy: Legal Advice Assistant- Immigration and Asylum Support with Lambeth Law Centre from 04.7.17 to 12.12.18

I am a retired schoolteacher and studied law with the Open University after my retirement. I graduated in 2017. I have worked with immigrant families and asylum seekers in the past.

It was a proud moment for me to contribute the very first guest blog on this forum – “Pro bono saved me”. For me it was a sobering reflection on a very stressful, indeed depressing, time of my life when my health did not permit me clarity of thought and the ability to help myself. The fact that a newly-minted lawyer was kind enough – even if it was her job – to go the length she did to help me, and make my life significantly improved, made a very strong impression on me.

Amid the current Brexit debate and a century on from the infamous Battle of George Square in Glasgow, the rights of workers is definitely still a hot topic.

Free advice on employment law is available from the OU Law School’s Open Justice Centre from the start of February as its pro bono law clinic continues to expand.

Moving into the final year of my law degree at the Open University Law School, I was given the option choose my final module. W360 Justice in Action is a new, practical module offered by the Open University which started in October 2018. I jumped at the opportunity to put the legal skills that I have obtained to practical use, through supervised pro bono work. The Open Justice Project began its development in 2016 and is managed by the Open Justice Team. It provides access to legal support through an online law clinic and provides Public Legal Education sessions.

The Open Justice Centre features in the 2017/2018 Open University Annual Report