University of Suffolk Legal Advice Centre
LEGAL ADVICE CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT 2022/23
CONTENTS Foreword 2 Introduction 3 Our Student Volunteers
4
Non Practising Solicitor Volunteer and Clinical Legal Placement Student
4
Our Work
5
Facts and Figures
6
Projects and Partnerships
7
Future Projects and Partnerships
8
Training for our Student Volunteers
9
Feedback to and from Student Volunteers
9
Student Experience
10
Client Testimonials
11
Impact in the Community
12
Highly Commended at the LawWorks and Attorney General Awards in the Best New Pro Bono Activity Category
13
Invitation to speak at the launch of the Institute for Social Justice and Crime
14
LawWorks Pro Bono Conference
15
Work Experience Opportunities
16
Website and Social Media
18
Legal Advice Centre’s One Year Celebration
18
Internal Awards Ceremony
19
Future Work
19
Conclusion 19
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FOREWORD Looking back through our first year, we have achieved a great deal and have much to celebrate. We established our Legal Advice Centre with two objectives in mind; firstly to help those in our community who could not access legal advice either through the state or by their own means and secondly, to provide our students with an opportunity of putting what they learn into practice. Central to our concept was the creation of specialist law clinics, providing clients with detailed letters of advice within 7 days of interview. This required expertise from lawyers specialising in those areas of law and so strong partnerships have been formed within our legal community and we are hugely grateful for their support. Since establishing our Legal Advice Centre, we have received over 100 enquiries and delivered detailed legal advice to more than 80 clients in two areas of law; family law and advice to new businesses. This is an achievement to be proud of and demonstrates the outstanding level of commitment shown by our students in delivering that advice. We are delighted to have been recognised for this at the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards 2023 where we were Highly Commended as best new pro bono activity, an extremely competitive category.
I wish to congratulate all of our student volunteers in making our Legal Advice Centre such a success from the outset. Last but not least, I wish to thank our Legal Assistant Megan Bailey for her sterling efforts in supporting the Legal Advice Centre in achieving its aims. Eleanor Scarlett Director University of Suffolk Legal Advice Centre
Our students have undoubtedly benefitted from their time in the Legal Advice Centre. In addition to learning about the law in a practical setting, they have gained the soft skills necessary to begin their legal careers, acquiring an important understanding of professionalism in the work place and of course, growing in confidence.
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INTRODUCTION Since our launch in May 2022, we have specialised in providing legal advice in two areas of law: Family Law and Business Law, areas of law which we recognise as being hugely beneficial and relevant to the public and community in Suffolk. Our student volunteers are passionate about delivering advice in those fields and in fact selected family law as one of our specialist areas when we first established our Legal Advice Centre.
Over the last year, our students have grown in confidence, particularly in relation to their practical skills, such as interviewing clients, researching and writing client advice letters. These skills will help them enormously throughout their university journey and their legal careers. We are extremely grateful to our pro bono solicitors, who have been instrumental in ensuring the quality of our expert legal advice.
OUR STAFF Director of the Legal Advice Centre:
Legal Assistant: Megan Bailey
Eleanor Scarlett
OUR PRO BONO SOLICITOR VOLUNTEERS Richard Port MBE Partner Family Law George Green Solicitors
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Alexandra Nelson Partner Corporate Law Birketts Solicitors
Amanda Timcke Senior Associate Commercial Property Birketts Solicitors
OUR STUDENT VOLUNTEERS Our Legal Advice Centre is unique in that it is open to our entire cohort of law students should they wish to volunteer. Any law student may join,
whether as a first year or final year student, all are welcome; a willingness to learn and commitment to the role being the only requirements.
NON PRACTISING SOLICITOR VOLUNTEER AND CLINICAL LEGAL PLACEMENT STUDENT Anthony Wooding Anthony Wooding, a former solicitor and managing partner, also volunteers at our Legal Advice Centre. He trains our students in client care and helps to support them in their legal research.
Eunice Mendonca: Clinical Legal Placement Student This academic year, as one of the Level 5 Law Optional Modules, students could choose the Clinical Legal Practice Module. Our Placement Student this year is Eunice Mendonca, who previously volunteered at the Legal Advice Centre in her first year and wanted to continue volunteering during her second as part of the Clinical Legal Practice Module. Eunice has continued to advise in both Family Law and Business Law and has helped to supervise our students. In addition to this, Eunice is part of the new Immigration Project and will be supporting this by becoming an OISC Level 1 Advisor once we have sought our registration with the OISC (see future projects).
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OUR WORK Under expert supervision, our students have provided written legal advice to our clients on a wide range of issues. Our advice service begins by providing our clients with an initial one-hour consultation where we obtain information about their matter. To make sure we are accessible to all clients, we offer this appointment either in person or via an online appointment. Clients then receive written advice, within 7 days of the interview, drafted by our students and supervised by our expert solicitors who are specialists in those areas of law.
Family Law Advice:
Business Law Advice:
Child Arrangements Orders
Company Structure
Legal Aid Eligibility
Shareholder Agreements
Parental Responsibility
Terms and Conditions
Occupation Orders and Non-Molestation Orders
Intellectual Property
Business Plans
Divorce and Financial Orders
C100 Form Filling
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FACTS AND FIGURES We first held a pilot to test our practices and procedures. During this stage between February-April 2022, we received 22 enquiries: of those clients, we advised 3 business start-ups, 9 in family law, made 4 legal aid referrals and signposted 6 clients to various agencies. Since our full launch in May 2022, we have received 83 enquiries: 63 clients in family law, 7 new business start‑ups and 13 miscellaneous enquiries.
14%
Pilot Data
New Business/Start-ups
Family Law
Legal Aid Referrals
Clients who were Signposted
27%
18%
Advice areas since our pilot
Family Law
Business Law
Miscellaneous
41%
16% 8%
76%
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PROJECTS AND PARTNERSHIPS ANGLIA CARE TRUST We have formed a partnership with the Anglia Care Trust to provide legal advice to those suffering from domestic abuse. Since our pilot stage, the ACT have referred multiple clients to us, who are seeking legal advice in relation to family issues, and often involve individuals who have suffered domestic abuse.
domestic abuse. This level of review ensures our letters maintain a high standard of advice.
Our legal advice, which is delivered in writing by students to our family clients, is supervised and reviewed by the Director of our Legal Advice Centre and our specialist family solicitor, Richard Port of George Green Solicitors, who was awarded an MBE in 2023 for legal services to victims of
In addition to ACT, we also have partnerships with Oslers Solicitors for legal aid referrals and a partnership with Christchurch Solicitors for referrals in respect of advice and guidance for regulated activities where clients do not have the funds to pay privately.
PRISON PROJECT WITH HMP HOLLESLEY BAY Providing pro bono legal advice to prisoners is extremely valuable, as often prisoners do not have the means to pay for legal advice privately, are not eligible for legal aid and cannot access pro bono advice in the community. As many know, without a solicitor or legal advice, the law is very difficult to navigate.
Since then, we have assisted a number of prisoners in the completion of their applications for Child Arrangement Orders (C100 forms) and Divorce.
The Legal Advice Centre is supporting Ormiston Families by providing legal advice to individuals at HMP Hollesley Bay, regarding family law matters. As part of this, our student volunteers visited the prison in November 2022 and gave a presentation to prisoners, which included information on Divorce, Child Arrangements and Child Maintenance.
NEW BUSINESSES/START-UPS CLINIC Within our business law clinic, we have now developed a bespoke ‘start-ups’ service being supported by Birketts, where clients attend interviews at the LAC, with the Corporate Team at Birketts present, to receive specific advice on issues which directly relate to matters arising in starting a new business.
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Drawing on different departments within the firm, Birketts support is highly targeted to the diverse range of issues often encountered by new businesses.
FUTURE PROJECTS AND PARTNERSHIPS IMMIGRATION PROJECT With the increase of asylum seekers and refugees in Suffolk, the Legal Advice Centre recognises the need for support within this area. We have talked to Suffolk Refugee Support about how they are supporting refugees in Suffolk and what services are needed.
Our Legal Assistant, Megan, and our Placement Student, Eunice, completed a two-day course in March 2023, with the Immigration Advice Service (IAS) for OISC Level 1 Advisors.
OISC regulates immigration advisers across the UK, ensuring they are fit and competent and act in the best interest of advice seekers.
With this training, which included information on Immigration Law, Asylum Law and EU Law, they will then sit the OISC Level 1 Advisers exam, in order to support the Legal Advice Centre with this new project, once the LAC has sought registration with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC).
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TRAINING FOR OUR STUDENT VOLUNTEERS Students must undergo a two-day training
This training was also designed to help support
programme prior to joining the Legal Advice
our students in providing advice in this area.
Centre as a Student Volunteer. Their training then continues throughout their time as student advisers. As an example, to support our students, and to
This is invaluable training and support, as some of the issues we deal with within the Legal Advice Centre can be upsetting.
help them recognise the signs of domestic abuse,
The images alongside show the resources which
we asked Katie Catling and Amanda Roberts of the
we were provided with, and an activity which we
Anglia Care Trust and Teri Cudby of Suffolk County
completed about the gains and losses of leaving a
Council to provide a day of Champion Training.
partner who is abusive.
FEEDBACK TO AND FROM STUDENT VOLUNTEERS In addition to training, we feel that it is important to give our students regular feedback to develop their knowledge and to acknowledge the work that
One of the sessions which we have delivered recently, was around research and the structuring of advice letters. Within this we gave tips on
they have completed for the Legal Advice Centre.
how to maximise research using our different databases. We also discussed how to identify what is useful to include, not only in their notes, but in client advice letters too.
As part of this, we also want to hear from our students on how we can improve and the areas in which they feel they require support or training. This reflective practice is an important skill to master as they will be required to do this throughout their professional careers.
“It has given me the chance to grow and experience law practically.”
“Thoroughly enjoyable and has assisted my degree studies.”
“I found the Advice Centre so amazing to volunteer at, so supporting and I have learnt so much.”
“Incredible, I have been enjoying learning at the Law Clinic alongside my studies.”
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STUDENT EXPERIENCE “I am excited to be doing something that will be “putting back” into my local community but also helping others far and wide. To me, putting back into the community is very close to my heart. I know how it feels to be faced with dilemmas that you believe you cannot rectify, feel as if you have nowhere else to turn, that no one else understands what it is happening or has gone through what you are going through.”
“The ability to gain valuable experience in family and commercial law is an amazing opportunity that will not only benefit us once we graduate but also help us to develop key skills that will assist us in completing our law degree.” Eleanor Chandler and Sophie Butler L1 Law Students. November 2022
Rozz Richardson L1 Law Student who helped to establish the LAC. December 2021
Legal Assistant, Megan Bailey, on her experience at the Legal Advice Centre:
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity as the Legal Assistant at the Legal Advice Centre, not only has it developed my confidence, but it has improved my legal skills and knowledge, which has made me even more passionate about pursuing a career in law. I am also completing my Solicitors Qualifying Exam alongside my position as Legal Assistant. Being able to study whilst experiencing the law in a practical setting, has helped me to apply my legal knowledge and skills such as interviewing clients, researching and writing advice letters. This has been invaluable in developing my skills. I have also developed my leadership skills whilst working at the Legal Advice Centre, when advising students on their advice letters or giving feedback, which in turn has also helped to strengthen my own knowledge. Working at the Legal Advice Centre has been very rewarding, as I can see the impact that we have on our clients and the community. I am very excited to be a part of the development of the Legal Advice Centre and to help it flourish in the future.”
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CLIENT TESTIMONIALS “Just to say, thank you so very much for the help you have given me. It’s way beyond what I expected and very useful. Also, it came just in time for a meeting I have today on the same topic. Thank you so very much, you do amazing work.” “Thank you so much for all the information. There are definitely some things I can explore and I hope it can get resolved. All the best with the rest of your course.” “Thank you so much for all the work the team has done, I’m so grateful.”
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“Just to say, thank you very much for your time and advice.” “Thank you so much for the letter of advice. It must represent a hugeamount of work and I’m very grateful to you all for offering such a service... Thank you again for your help and I wanted to pass on how I felt in the meeting everyone was very understanding and kind. I’m sure the human caring aspect of what you are training to do will serve you well alongside all the knowledge you are gaining in your training.”
IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY Our projects have had a real impact on our community and have been described by the Anglia Care Trust as:
Ormiston Families say:
“I sing the praises of the Legal Advice Centre, Eleanor Scarlett and the students daily to other professionals, prisoners and their families too. They are on hand to support me with any general questions and advice ... which has strengthened the service that Ormiston Families offer at HMP Hollesley Bay. I am so grateful for their continued time and support.”
“a constant, reliable resource which has been invaluable to the people we support. It is a fast effective cost-free solution that we can offer to service users with low incomes and in situations where legal advice is paramount to improving safety for victims and their families”.
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HIGHLY COMMENDED AT THE LAWWORKS AND ATTORNEY GENERAL AWARDS IN THE BEST NEW PRO BONO ACTIVITY CATEGORY We are incredibly proud that the Legal Advice Centre was highly commended at the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro‑Bono Awards. It is amazing to see the progress that we have made within a year and how our hard work has been recognised!
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Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported us and continues to do so. Below is the link to the booklet which contains all of the categories and those who were shortlisted: LawWorks Student Pro Bono Awards 2023 PDF
INVITATION TO SPEAK AT THE LAUNCH OF THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CRIME The Institute for Social Justice and Crime addresses social issues, understanding the causes and consequences of crime through research, which seeks to help expand academic policy and practical knowledge.
Our Clinical Legal Placement student, Eunice Mendonca, also spoke at the launch, explaining about her placement with the LAC, and what opportunities she had experienced so far.
At the invitation of Miranda Horvarth, our Director Eleanor Scarlett, was asked to present at their launch to introduce the Legal Advice Centre (LAC) and outline the services which we provide.
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LAWWORKS PRO BONO CONFERENCE The University of Suffolk Legal Advice Centre was invited to attend the LawWorks Pro Bono Conference at London law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, on the 30 June 2023. Our Legal Assistant, Megan Bailey, attended on our behalf.
new route to qualify as a solicitor, the Solicitors
This was an extremely interesting event, which included panel discussions on the Impact of the Cost-of-Living Crisis and the Power of Technology within the legal industry.
setting. It also provided a session which spoke
It also included breakout sessions, discussing Qualifying Work Experience, in relation to the
impact not only for our students but within the
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Qualifying Exam. This was very informative and provided more clarity on what our students, who would like to sit the SQE in the future, may need to consider, and how firms view QWE in a pro bono about housing advice during the cost-of-living crisis. It was great to have discussions, which have an community too.
WORK EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITIES IPSWICH CROWN COURT JUDGE SHADOWING The Law department has collaborated with Ipswich Crown Court Judge Martin Levett, to offer work experience to students interested in Criminal Law or to further their knowledge for their studies, which some of our student volunteers have been lucky enough to undertake.
Ipswich Crown Court Judge Shadowing: Eunice Mendonca’s Experience
“In December 2022 I had the pleasure of spending one day of work experience shadowing Judge Levett at Ipswich Crown Court. As a Law student with no experience in Criminal Law, the experience was a revelation. It allowed me to see ‘behind the scenes’ of the Criminal Justice System and the workings of the court, including advocacy in action.
Something I really valued from this experience was the chance to discuss with His Honour what he thought it meant to be a good advocate. It is clearly crucial that a barrister understands how to be engaging and persuasive in an effective manner in court. Judges see examples of both excellent and poor advocacy on a regular basis. Not only are the judges busy when they are hearing cases, they are also very busy when preparing for them, and have lots of support staff who assist them outside of the courtroom, all of whom are very friendly. I read 4 cases, heard 1 sentence, listened to a jury verdict, and watched the beginning of a new case!
I sat beside Judge Levett as he presided over the trial of a defendant accused of murder! The view of the court was amazing, and I could hear so much sitting on the bench. It was interesting to see the contrast in styles between opposing barristers too. After an hour, the sentence was read out and the defendant was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.
I am so thankful for this opportunity; I truly enjoyed it and have learned so much. This experience will stay with me forever. The whole experience reaffirmed my interest in becoming a lawyer.
A new trial started in the afternoon where I was able to see how the jury are selected, and the responsibility which they have throughout the trial.
I would urge anyone interested in pursuing a career in the law to make use of the shadowing scheme. Being a law student, it is easy to lose yourself in theory, but bringing the academic study to life and discussing the cases with the judge was a fantastic opportunity and one I will never forget.”
I knew straight away that I would enjoy sitting in crime, and the experience gave me confidence in my decision to pursue a legal career. Watching the trial was really interesting, and the knowledge that Judge Levett and the barristers showed during the case made me very enthusiastic to listen and learn more in a court room setting. Judge Levett was extremely kind to me and answered all my questions.
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WORK EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITIES ELLISONS SOLICITORS FAMILY LAW WORK EXPERIENCE Our student volunteers were extremely fortunate
Our Legal Assistant, Megan, also attended Ellisons
to be offered the opportunity to have a day of work
for a day, as she wishes to become a Family Law
experience at Ellisons Solicitors, which took place
solicitor upon qualification. She found it to be a
during the summer vacation period.
very insightful and interesting day, which allowed
Our student volunteers were able to experience
initial client meeting and advice letter. She really
her to see how cases would progress after the
what Family Law is like in a law firm and gain some
enjoyed discussing the different aspects of Family
more insight into this area of law.
Law and how they operate in practice.
Ellisons Solicitors Family Law Work Experience Eunice’s Experience:
Carol’s Experience:
“On arrival, the team was very welcoming with Hannah showing me the office, and Francesca explaining what a typical day looked like. I helped with two cases and with Francesca’s support, I was able to understand what the next steps would be when replying to the other side’s letter. I felt so comfortable, and not judged about my knowledge.
“Having received a warm welcome from all the Ellisons staff within the office, my day was spent primarily within the family law team at Ellisons, reviewing and discussing an array of family law cases but I also had the opportunity to have valuable conversations with solicitors from both the medical negligence team and the corporate teams too. The experience gained will not only benefit me as I commence my clinical legal placement with Citizens Advice this coming semester, and when I return to volunteering in the University law clinic in my third year, but it will also aid my theoretical studies immensely. Being able to see in practice how the areas of my study that I have already undertaken and will be undertaking this coming year work in a solicitor’s office was very interesting. I am grateful to Ellisons for kindly offering this day’s work experience.”
I also learnt more about attendance notes and how important they are, as well as the different fees for the different team members. Additionally, they showed me how they archived files and the system which they use at Ellisons. It was great to have more of an insight from Francesca about the challenges in Family Law cases, and also to understand what a solicitor’s day is really like.”
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WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA Students helped to develop our website, including its layout and the content which should be included within it. Our website contains the details of the areas of law in which we provide advice and how to make an enquiry to us. It also includes our opening and closing dates which are aligned to the University timetable. The University of Suffolk Legal Advice Centre also has multiple social media accounts to reach different audiences. Listed below are the platforms which we use:
X (formerly Twitter)
LEGAL ADVICE CENTRE’S ONE YEAR CELEBRATION The Legal Advice Centre celebrated its One Year Anniversary with an event for our students and staff, both past and present who have helped
to develop the clinic. We are very grateful to everyone who has helped us throughout our first year and who came along to celebrate!
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INTERNAL AWARDS CEREMONY In the final week of the academic term before the summer break, we wanted to say a massive thank you to our student volunteers for all their hard work this year. To recognise their contributions, we had a celebratory drink and an internal awards ceremony, in which all the students received an award. Our first award for Student Volunteer of the Year, went to First Year Law Student Tasveer Kaur-Singh. Congratulations Tas!
FUTURE WORK
In the future, we are keen to have guest
network.
speakers come in to talk to our students about the current key legal issues of the day.
We will continue to build our professional
We will continue to grow our cohort of student
To this end, we will be launching our Annual
volunteers with our annual student volunteer
Law Lecture on 8 November 2023 with our
recruitment.
first guest speaker former President of the
continue to develop.
Supreme Court Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE.
Family Law and Business Law clinics to
Launch of our immigration project.
CONCLUSION This year’s report has showcased the hard work of our staff, students and pro bono volunteers. We have demonstrated the range of skills which our students have gained through their experiences, including interviewing and advising clients, in addition to developing their confidence and professionalism through participation in our multiple projects. We would like to extend our thanks to our volunteer solicitors who continue to support us; Richard Port MBE of George Green Solicitors, Alexandra Nelson and Amanda Timcke of Birketts Solicitors, Mary Cleaver of Oslers Solicitors and Claire Barlow of Christchurch Solicitors.
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If you have any ideas or suggestions for the Legal Advice Centre in the future, then please do not hesitate to contact the University of Suffolk Legal Advice Centre. Waterfront Building 19 Neptune Quay Ipswich IP4 1QJ Tel:
01473 338000
Email: legaladvicecentre@uos.ac.uk