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Abby Conroy from Lisburn, Hannah Kunnath from West Sussex, and Maleeha Silveira from Bradford, are all graduating today with a degree in Law after undertaking challenging and vital social justice work during their final year of studies as legal research volunteers with the Centre for Adults’ Social Care, England (CASCAIDr).  

CASCAIDr – a specialist social care service specialising in the law - helps some of the most vulnerable members of society, such as carers and disabled persons, with many clients unable to access legal aid and living in poverty - with many of their social care needs going unmet.  

Â鶹ÒùÔº students Abby Conroy, Hannah Kunnath and Maleeha Silveira carried out essential, complex tasks working as volunteer legal researchers to support the lawyers and legal advisors at CASCAIDr by writing case reports, analysing judgements, and deciphering Ombudsman decisions.  

Speaking about her volunteering role, Abby commented: “CASCAIDr’s ethos and aims interested me as an inspiring family lawyer hoping to work with vulnerable members of the public. My work with CASCAIDr and also opportunities to work with the Law Centre NI has shown me just how important clinic and pro bono work is. Not only ensuring fair and equal access to legal remedies but spreading awareness and demystifying complex legal processes.” 

Reflecting on her experience, Hannah said: “Balancing volunteering with my final year studies required careful time management and clear prioritisation. I found that the two commitments complemented each other; what I learned during my degree at Queen’s fed into my work with CASCAIDr, and vice versa. Working on real-world legal challenges involving vulnerable people was both eye-opening and humbling.” 

Maleeha shared how her experience deepened her personal understanding: “I’ve realised that law is a people-centered profession and no matter what area you work in you’ll need to have an understanding of people and their motivations whether that's in business or in their personal lives. Social justice work isn’t for everyone but giving it a try can teach you a lot about our society and the struggles people go through every day that you would never know about.” 

During her time at Queen’s, Abby was also President of Queen’s Netball Club in final year.

Abby added: “Queen’s Netball shaped my experience at Queen’s, I met some of my closest friends in the first week of training and have had the opportunity to travel the country competing, winning many golds along the way too! To have been elected as President of the club that was so welcoming to me in my first year was an incredible honour.” 

Looking ahead to the future, Abby, Hannah and Maleeha are applying for or have secured jobs within the legal profession and hope to take a well-earned break before they start their next chapter.  

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