"Atrocious conditions'' Pro bono barrister Isabella Reynard on why she represents BID's clients

To mark this year's pro bono week, we're celebrating the incredible force of barristers that donate their time to represent our clients in court for free. Together they donated 800 hours last year. We sat down with Isabella Reynard, to reflect on her experience.

Why is BID Important?

Many of BID’s clients have made arduous journeys to get to the UK and now have to navigate the UK’s legal systems with very limited assistance from the state. In the absence of legal aid funding for many immigration law matters, BID is one of several charities who step in to fill a pivotal gap and ensure access to justice for some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Often clients will have ongoing legal proceedings and BID can ease the burden with regard to one aspect of their circumstances - namely applying for and successfully obtaining immigration bail. I understand that BID are then able to then direct clients to further practical and/or legal support with other aspects of their immigration matters and practical problems.
 
Obtaining immigration bail often means clients can be reunited with loved ones during their legal proceedings and they can navigate this process together. I have seen that this is especially important in instances where deportation is a prospect, making any time with family and friends particularly valuable.
 
What Have I Learned From Volunteering With BID?

As I continue to take on Pro Bono work for BID, I learn new things regularly about the sheer variety of challenges people in immigration detention face. The conditions in immigration detention centres can be atrocious. I have found this particularly in terms of access to medical treatment and mental health support whilst in detention.
 
There is also an alarming lack of efficiency in sourcing accommodation for those granted bail ‘in principle’, often meaning upon the successful attainment of suitable accommodation. I have seen cases where repeated ‘Review’ hearings take place frustratingly frequently with essentially no updates to be provided since the last Review hearing. 
 
What Are the Practical Challenges in These Hearings?

BID’s clients will often have sight of the Bail Summary in advance of the bail hearing. This is the Home Office’s often drawn-out list of reasons as to why immigration bail is opposed. Commonly, these list factors and findings about the individual which are irrelevant and do not have due regard for the legal tests to be applied. If it is evident that the removal of an individual applying for bail is not imminent, bail should be granted and other factors are secondary to this finding. The Bail Summaries produced often lose sight of this and this results in added and unnecessary stress for clients.

One of the practical difficulties that occurs in the Immigration Tribunals is a language barrier. The Tribunal-appointed interpreter is not permitted to be used for meeting with clients prior to the hearing. Often this means it is very difficult to get instructions and communicate effectively with BID’s clients prior to the hearing and to answer their questions and explain procedures. This is a consistent issue and fundamentally, everyone should be able understand the legal proceedings which are taking place concerning their civil liberties.

Why Do I Volunteer With BID?

Having begun taking on Pro Bono cases for BID during my pupillage, it helped to develop my advocacy skills in an immigration-specific context. For this reason, I would thoroughly recommend anyone undertaking pupillage to reap the benefits of being involved with BID at an early stage in your career.

To be a barrister is to be in an incredibly privileged position. It is therefore important, I think, to ensure that a proportion of my time is dedicated to assisting BID in cases where clients would benefit from legal representation.

It is also reassuring to know that when BID sends over a hearing bundle, I have no doubt that it will be meticulously prepared, notwithstanding the fact that the work has been completed often under time pressure. This is a testament to BID’s dedicated staff and the tireless efforts of the sizable team of volunteers.