Partnerships
APPEAL punches way above our weight thanks not only to the commitment and tenacity of our small team but also because of the generosity and expertise of the people and organisations who donate their time to us.
Grant-giving organisations
Legal Aid makes up a paltry 4% of our income as a charity, and doesn’t come anywhere near paying for the amount of casework and investigation needed to overturn a conviction. We also can’t claim it for our campaigns, or the holistic support which is vital to those directly affected by miscarriages of justice. Our work is only possible thanks to the generous financial support of individual donors, and the following organisations:
· The AB Charitable Trust
· The Baring Foundation
· Big D’s BBQ
· Garden Court Special Fund
· Lankelly Chase Foundation
· Laura Kinsella Foundation
· The Legal Education Foundation
· Lloyds Bank Foundation
· The Meadowbrook Trust
· The Persula Foundation
· The Network for Social Change
· The Roddick Foundation
Law Firms
We couldn’t offer wrongfully-convicted people the depth and breadth of investigation and litigation that they deserve without the additional firepower provided by commercial law firms though our pro bono scheme. Qualified commercial solicitors help us to ensure that every prisoner who writes to us has their case properly assessed (often involving reviewing reams of documents obtained from various bodies) to see if their case has merit – and whether there is a chance we can get their conviction overturned.
The benefits of our pro bono scheme go beyond the additional capacity the solicitors provide to APPEAL. The positive impact also includes:
· As part of the programme, we provide specialist training in holistic defence and our case theory method. Commercial solicitors working with us are often shocked by all the hurdles facing wrongfully-convicted people going through the criminal appeals process. Because of our partnerships, there are more legal professionals out there who share our outrage at the broken nature of the justice system, and are developing the tools to fight for change.
· The solicitors themselves benefit from an opportunity to improve their skills in a different area of law, and at a different level to the remit of their day jobs.
· And of course, the solicitors and firms have the satisfaction of knowing they are fighting the good fight, putting their time to use to help victims of miscarriages of justice.
A huge thanks to all the firms participating in our pro bono scheme:
· Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
· Dechert LLP
· Gibson, Dunn & Crtcher LLP
· Latham & Watkins LLP
· Linklaters
· Mishcon de Reya LLP
· Ropes & Gray LLP
· WilmerHale
Universities
We want to inspire the next generation of social justice lawyers to join the fight for a fairer justice system. We work with the following university law departments to offer specialist training to aspiring solicitors and barristers:
