Background
KIND (Kids in Need of Defense) works in the UK to strengthen the rights and protection of children and young people in need of immigration support. KIND works with law firms and corporate legal partners to provide free, independent legal advice and representation to those who need it most. KIND works to ensure that children and young people’s rights are protected so they can move, settle securely and thrive in the UK.
JustRight Scotland is one of five expert not-for-profit organisations working to protect children across the UK, alongside Central England Law Centre, Coram Children’s Legal Centre, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, and the Migrant and Refugee Children’s Legal Unit at Islington Law Centre.
This collaboration focuses on providing immigration and nationality legal advice and representation to vulnerable children and young people, often unaccompanied or separated from their families, living in the UK.
The value of pro bono collaboration
KIND’s partnership with organisations like JustRight Scotland focuses on providing specialised immigration and nationality legal assistance. The collaboration brings together lawyers from various law firms and businesses to offer pro bono legal services, ensuring that migrant children receive the critical advice and representation they need.
One standout aspect of KIND’s approach is its emphasis on building sustainable partnerships with the private sector. Law firms provide their lawyers’ expertise and time, helping to fill the gap in legal representation for young people. This model of pro bono work amplifies the impact of non-profits, empowering them to reach more children than they could alone.
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP has been part of the KIND UK collaboration since 2022. Within this time, the firm has taken over 20 cases and secured citizenship for over a dozen children. Under the supervision of Francesca Sella, associate solicitor at JustRight, over 50 lawyers from Norton Rose Fulbright LLP have worked on citizenship cases for undocumented children and their families.
Francesca Sella, Associate Solicitor at JustRight, explains: “We have worked very closely with Norton Rose Fullbright for over 3 years now. During this time, their lawyers have invested a huge amount of time, resources and energy into developing our pro bono partnership. The lawyers I have worked with have been incredibly passionate, dedicated and have worked tirelessly for the young people we have supported. The quality of the work continues to be outstanding. Through this partnership, we have been able to help many more young people than we would have been able to assist otherwise and I do think ultimately this is the power of pro bono. To me, investing in pro bono is crucial just now, particularly in light of the legal aid crisis in Scotland and the obstacles young people face into accessing legal representation.”
Sam Colman, Pro Bono Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, highlights: “Our collaboration with JustRight is a key initiative of the pro bono practice at Norton Rose Fulbright. The expert guidance of Francesca Sella has facilitated a deep commitment at the firm to the rights of children and enables our lawyers to give KIND clients high quality legal support to make their applications for citizenship. Our lawyers frequently cite these cases as some of the most impactful and meaningful work that they have completed in their career. KIND is the gold standard for pro bono collaboration between non-profits and the private sector. We look forward to much more collaboration between JustRight and NRF in the years to come.”
Case study
Khalima* is a 16-year-old child who lives in Scotland. She arrived in the UK at 3 years old with her mother and has spent her entire education in the UK.
Through KIND UK, JustRight supervised an NRF team to prepare Khalima’s citizenship application. Despite living in the UK almost her whole life, the initial application was rejected. The NRF team requested a formal review of the decision but the Home Office maintained its decision to reject the application.
After consulting Khalima’s mother and assessing options, the NRF team prepared a further written response to the Home Office under JustRight’s supervision. This challenged the reasoning provided for the application’s refusal on the basis that the Home Office had not applied the nationality guidelines correctly or with due consideration for Khalima’s individual circumstances, her life in the UK and her future prospects and education here. Following this, the Home Office reconsidered its refusal and, after 18 months of the team’s work on the application, Khalima was granted British citizenship.
“Working on Khalima’s case was an incredibly rewarding experience, and it is difficult to describe how much joy I felt to hear the news that her citizenship certificate had arrived in the post. Khalima and her mother were resilient throughout the set-backs we experienced, and their hope throughout, paired with the expertise of the JustRight team regarding the routes for review, helped us as a team persist with challenging the negative decisions we received”.
– Sophie Lawrence, Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.
“Your persistence, expertise, and encouragement gave me confidence and reassurance every step of the way. It is clear how much effort you put into ensuring the best possible outcome, and I will always be thankful for the way you went above and beyond for me.
This achievement is not just a personal milestone but also a reflection of your commitment and hard work. Please know that your efforts will never go to waste and that I will always carry a deep sense of appreciation for everything you have done”.
– Khalima’s mother.
