Promoting legal information and education
Empowering communities and stakeholders to understand the law and the legal system
A fundamental in expanding access to justice is empowering communities of rightsholders and the organisations that support them to understand the law and the legal system. In situations where individual advice for every person in need is impossible, lawyers must design ways to address issues arising through the promotion and delivery of legal information and education.
We recognise the essential role of accurate and accessible legal education. Through sustained partnerships we have sought to increase legal literacy amongst hard-to-reach groups and upskill colleagues working in the social justice sector, with the aim of increasing knowledge of the legal system and how it impacts on their day to day lives.
Our work supports communities to better understand and assert their rights, as well as appreciate the relevant areas of the law and the responsibilities it imposes. Moreover, by providing in-depth training on subject matter areas central to our pro bono work, we can multiple our impact by upskilling those essential frontline professionals to assist their clients to prevent legal problems from arising.
Enhancing knowledge of the international protection process
The United Nations High Commissioner Refugees (UNHCR) is the UN office mandated to protect people forced to flee their homes and find safety in other countries. The national office of UNHCR Ireland has an advisory role to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless people in Ireland. They achieve this through the provision of guidance, training and support to the authorities, promoting international best standards in legislation, policy and procedures.
For anyone forced to flee, access to information is crucial to navigating an increasingly complex protection system when new to a country. For several years ALG has partnered with the UNHCR to deliver a legal education program to recently arrived protection applicants in direct provisions centres. Together we provide information on the international protection procedure and the law that underpins it, their rights and obligations while in Ireland and within the process and related supports.
Early information empowers asylum seekers and enables them to assert their rights and access relevant services and supports. ALG has assisted UNHCR in the design, delivery development of this programme, updating content in line with changes in the protection system and adapting content for different audiences in line with their needs.
Legal literacy programs for pre-release prisoners
Following discussions with the teaching units and focus groups with students at Mountjoy and Dochas prisons, ALG have designed and developed a legal literacy program which piloted in 2024. This was delivered in conjunction with colleagues from the In-House Pro Bono Network.
At its core, the ambition of this project is to utilise the experience and legal expertise of ALG lawyers and our in-house colleagues to provide practical and real-world legal skills to the students in Mountjoy. In the lessons we focus on core legal concepts, such as criminal law, housing rights, and immigration & equality and leverage the experience within our teaching cohort to hold workshops to build lawyerly skills such as self-advocacy, disclosing and discussing sensitive issues, and navigating administrative and legal systems.
Colleagues underwent the ‘Street Law’ public legal education model of training the focus of which was to develop lessons and a teaching style, that focused on having students’ debate, discuss and engage issues, and to tease out and make tangible legal concepts and their application.
This project aims at empowering individuals to understand the law and deploy legal skills to address arising legal issues in day-to-day life.
