News from the Legal Advice Centre

It’s a busy time at the Legal Advice Centre. Here are a few things that have been taking place recently…

The Legal Advice Centre (LAC) is delighted to report that the Dementia Clinic recently won the award for the best pro bono/community initiative at the 2017 Manchester Legal Awards. The LAC was represented at the awards dinner and ceremony at the Midland Hotel, at which Neil Allen accepted the award.

Nominations have now closed for the LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards and the Legal Advice Centre is hoping to be shortlisted.

Student appointments at the LAC have now ended for the semester, and so the process of students completing their cases and getting advice letters to clients is still a priority until these are all signed off.

Manchester Free Legal Help (MFLH) ran drop in clinics throughout the Easter holidays, advising on family law, housing law and immigration law with students signed up to be active listeners and note takers until their exams. Students have also been taking advantage of opportunities to shadow solicitors in the housing courts and observing how a duty solicitor scheme works.

We are also pleased to announce that MFLH has secured another volunteer to run an additional family law drop in clinic, meaning that there will now be two family law sessions a week. Manchester Free Legal Help is also working in collaboration with the Personal Support Unit to develop family law ‘fact sheets’ to support litigants in person even further. As part of our focus on social responsibility, we are developing close links with community groups and other organisations, where our students can assist whilst also developing their own employability skills and knowledge.

Work is now beginning on planning for the Summer Vacation Scheme, run in conjunction with the University of Law. This year, the Vacation Scheme will be running from the 4 to 14 July. The first week will consist of client appointments and the second week is dedicated to employability activities. Information about the Vacation Scheme will be circulated to students in due course.

For more information take a look at the new Legal Advice Centre website where you can find the most up-to-date news about the centres and services.