Strategic Legal Fund (SLF) for migrant groups

Overview

The SLF aims to tackle injustices and inconsistencies in law and practice that disadvantage or discriminate against asylum seekers, refugees and migrants as a result of their migration status.

Beneficiaries

The SLF supports strategic legal work in the UK which benefits asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. They define this as those:

• Who are living in poverty, and
• Who face significant disadvantage or discrimination in connection with their immigration status.

Area of Law

The SLF funds strategic legal work in any area of law where migrant groups experience disadvantage or discrimination as a result of migration status. This includes (but is not restricted to) potential cases in the areas of:

• Immigration
• Asylum and asylum support
• Human rights
• Education
• Housing
• Welfare benefits
• Discrimination
• Access to justice
• Community care

The SLF may from time to time issue calls for applications in certain areas of law, or on particular points of law, which will then be given priority. Information about calls will be publicised on the SLF website.

Types of Activity

The SLF only supports strategic legal work carried out in the UK. They define this as work where the impact is likely to go beyond an individual case, and to result in changes to law, policy and practice that will benefit a wider group of people. 

Applications must be to fund one of two kinds of strategic legal work:

• the research and development of cases pre-litigation including: gathering evidence to test a hypothesis or research to establish authorities' policy and practice, identifying potential plaintiffs/applicants/appellants; researching whether to proceed; translating relevant material; and evaluating a litigation strategy.
• third party "interventions" in existing cases, which allow a non-party intervener to assist the court in arriving in its decision in a case, acting as an amicus curiae, a friend of the court.

Please note that the SLF ONLY funds research that is tied to the possible future taking of legal cases. It does not fund general research, advice provision or campaigning work. See page 8 of Guidance for application criteria and exclusions.

The SLF was established as a pilot by The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund in October 2011, delivered in partnership with Trust for London and MigrationWork CIC. Since November 2012, the SLF has been a project of Trust for London. From April 2017 the SLF is being managed by the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA). The SLF is funded by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Unbound Philanthropy, Trust for London and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Who they will fund

Those eligible to apply to the SLF are organisations based in the UK which are:

• Not-for-profit (NFP) organisations that provide specialist level legal advice to people discriminated or disadvantaged by their migration status. If you work for a NFP organisation regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) and are applying to undertake work in the asylum or immigration field, you must confirm that staff leading on the proposed work are accredited at Level 3, Advocacy and Representation, in the relevant category of law.
• Firms of solicitors that provide specialist level legal advice to people discriminated or disadvantaged by their migration status. Solicitors’ firms need to demonstrate that the funded work does not include any element of profit and that there is a pro bono element included.

All applicants must demonstrate that staff has appropriate skills, experience and expertise to undertake the strategic legal work proposed. All applicants are asked to provide supporting documents with their application, for example annual accounts, governing documents, or other financial information.

The SLF welcomes applications from specialist legal representatives working in partnership with voluntary and community groups, who may be able to assist with research, gathering evidence and identifying clients. This type of application should be made by the legal representative with the other organisation(s) being sub-contracted to do the work at an appropriate rate.

Please note that organisations may be in receipt of multiple grants simultaneously. This is because the SLF does not want to deter organisations from applying that would be best suited to carry out the work.

Pro bono

The SLF does not require a pro bono element from not for profit organisation. It is however expected that any solicitor’s firms and counsel involved in the proposed work will provide a pro bono element. Please describe and cost any pro bono input to the application, estimating how much pro bono time will be spent on the project and by whom. Please note that work at legal aid rates or above is not considered to constitute a pro bono element, given that this is deemed a ‘reasonable fee’ in the professional codes.

Legal aid rates

The SLF funds at legal aid rates for Solicitors, Junior counsel, Senior counsel and QC. The SLF is not able to accommodate enhanced legal aid rates

Funding available

Size of grants

Maximum funding for any one application will be £30,000 but, in view of the limited funding available, lower applications are encouraged. The average grant size is around £12,000. You need to demonstrate that your application represents value for money. Grants may be approved for a lesser amount than requested.

Length of grants

The SLF aims to complement longer-term funding with short-term grants to respond to legal opportunities. The maximum grant length is 12 months, and most grants are for six months or less.

Eligible costs

The SLF will cover any reasonable revenue costs that you will incur to undertake the proposed pre-litigation research or to prepare a third party intervention. This includes temporary staffing, freeing up or extending existing staff hours, volunteer expenses, travel and subcontracting with other voluntary and community organisations.

The SLF is intended to generate new resources for strategic legal work. They therefore fund new or additional costs and capacity, rather than contributing to an organisation’s existing expenditure. However, a contribution to overheads may be included.

Staffing costs should reflect their real costs to your organisation and be no higher than appropriate legal aid rates. If work is costed above legal aid rates, then please explain why. For more information about what legal aid rates the SLF accepts, please contact the project manager.

Application criteria

In making recommendations about funding, the Expert Panel will take into account:

• That the legal issue has the potential to significantly impact people disadvantaged or discriminated by their migration status,
• The potential to advance the general principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
• Whether alternative funding may be available for the proposed work; and whether the applicant has applied for such funding.
• Whether the applicant has had previous funding from the SLF.
• Whether they consider there to be a real prospect of success if and when a claim is brought before a Court.
• Any priority areas of law or points of law which they have decided, in agreement with the funders, to prioritise and which have been publicised as such.
• Where applications that raise the same or similar legal issues are considered at the same Panel meeting, and the Panel decide the criteria for funding are met, then funding will be awarded considering the following:
  • where the work outlined is most likely to have the desired outcome.
  • the staff who would work on the project are deemed to have the most relevant experience and skill.
  • where the application is for an intervention, which case is strongest on the facts and which case is or is likely to be listed in court first.