Citizens Advice help millions of people every year with free, independent and expert advice across the broadest range of areas – from money and debt to benefits, housing, energy, work and so much more. For a number of years, Kent Law School has worked with our local Citizens Advice to enable students to obtain real, hands on experience of providing practical advice to the local community. This year, students were selected after undertaking a 3 week first year lawyering skills school, during which they were introduced to the skills of client interviewing and advocacy.
Read the reflections of 3 students below as they start their journey with Citizens Advice.
‘My name is Kirushi, I’m 19 years old, a first year LLB Law student at the University of Kent studying International Legal Studies with a Year abroad. I am of Sri Lankan descent, born in Croydon, South London, and grew up in Folkestone, Kent. I am a scholarship holder for the Kent Ambition to Succeed scholarship and a student representative for my course.
I first got involved with Citizens Advice through the First Year Lawyering Skills programme hosted by Darren Weir in November 2025. This was a series of sessions which developed valuable skills such as legal research, analysis, and interviewing — all the way to making bail mock applications in front of a mock jury. Upon completion of this programme, I became eligible to apply to become a volunteer advisor at the service.
I was successful in my application, and I was invited to a video interview in January 2026. To my surprise, I was successful once again! As of now, I am still in my training phase, yet I am learning more and more things every week. Being there in-person in the office has actually amazed me at how much Citizens Advice helps people and the amount of people who reach out for advice: from small queries to emergencies like immigration, homelessness, and domestic issues.
As a result, I strongly believe more people should be aware of Citizens Advice as they help so many people with legal advice and even guidance during challenging times. The most beneficial factor being that it is free of charge to everyone and it should be the first point of contact for people before involving lawyers. My colleagues at Citizens Advice are a collective of friendly and supportive people who are trained to help people in need, no matter age, race, or gender.
My reason for joining as a volunteer advisor was simply due to the vital skills you develop as a legal advisor and gaining legal work experience alongside my studies, which most students do not have the opportunity to do until graduation. Hence, my role at can be leveraged into applications for internships as I aspire to become a commercial solicitor. As a result, my advice for other students and future students would be to look for legal work experience as early as possible. Lastly, the biggest takeaway is that they do not look for strong academics or your previous work experience, but rather your eagerness and willingness to learn and to help people in need.’
‘I’m Daniel and I’m currently studying LLB Law, stage one. I grew up on the Isle of Wight. I’ve returned to education as a mature student with the aim of entering a purposeful career where I can make a genuine difference. I enrolled on the Lawyering Skills course provided by Kent, where I received specialist training in negotiation, mediation and advocacy. A few of us were subsequently invited to interview for advisory roles with Citizens Advice. So far, I’ve provided general advice to people who are struggling with issues (majorly legal) and have nowhere else to turn.
The opportunity to help and represent people at often their lowest point, and knowing the hurdles one can face during such times, is what inspired me to enter law in the first place. The chance to undertake that kind of work so early on in my degree has been something I’ve truly embraced, and I’m thankful for it.
I’ve really been able to put what I’ve learnt from my degree into practice. For example, an individual came to us recently for advice concerning a housing issue, and after reading through the contract between himself and his private landlord, I noticed numerous issues concerning ignored implied terms. It was rewarding to apply my legal knowledge in a real world setting and make a genuine difference to someone’s situation.
Looking to the future, at this moment, I’m drawn to the Criminal and Administrative Bar, although I think it’s wise to keep my options open. I have a busy summer ahead — I’m lucky enough to be experiencing different areas of law through mini pupillages I’ve arranged, and I’m also set to teach English in Nepal as a TEFL tutor. Perhaps by the end of it all I’ll know a little more about where I want to take my career.
I’ve gained these opportunities by throwing myself out there and leaving my comfort zone. Because of the workload and weekly reading lists, and the fact that we essentially take four papers a term, it can be difficult to take these extracurriculars. But it’s absolutely worth it.’
‘My name is Joyce. I grew up and was raised in Milton Keynes. I’m now in my first year of the Law LLB at Kent.
My time so far at Citizens Advice has been wonderful! It has been a pleasure to be involved in advocacy on a community level. The training we benefitted from, before getting any ‘hands-on’ experience, was intensive. It included lots of reading, online quizzes, reviews with the training manager and mock client cases. The staff and volunteers have been nothing but helpful and welcoming. They’ve been so supportive in helping me adjust to this type of work environment and dealing with difficult situations.
I have started to work on the phones – talking to the public to set up a record of their case. This has exposed me to the more “hands-on” side of the service, dealing with real people and their real issues. It’s been an eye-opening experience. When you listen to people recount their situation and how they got there, it’s easy to imagine how that could’ve happened to any of us. Furthermore, as a first-year law student I can appreciate even more how confusing certain situations can be for those with little to no legal knowledge or experience. I am currently working with Citizens Advice to start interviewing clients and hopefully progress to handling appointments after Easter. My volunteering at the Kent Law Clinic and the first-year lawyering school have both been so helpful too, as I am more comfortable with speaking to the public, asking questions and general etiquette in more formal settings.’
Darren Weir, Director of Lawyering Skills and Employability at Kent Law School, congratulates the students and notes that ‘these opportunities not only benefit the student but also the local community. They align with the University of Kent’s broader civic mission. I hope this new cohort of students are just as successful as those who have undertaken these important roles before them.’