Student Committee updates:
- Christmas Dinner: The Law Clinic’s informal Christmas Dinner for staff, students and voluntary legal advisors will be held at Cafe Rouge in Canterbury at 7pm on Thursday 6 December – reserve your spot (and select your menu) by visiting Clinic reception before Friday 30 November (two courses for £19.95 or three courses for £22.95)
- Brexit Debate: a debate led by Anthony Valcke (Founder and Supervising Solicitor of the EU Rights Clinic in Brussels) and Graham Tegg (Director of Kent Law Clinic) on ‘Citizens rights and Brexit: What now?’ will be held in the Moot Room (Wigoder Law Building) from 6pm – 7.30pm on Friday 30 November. Students studying European Union Law may find it particularly beneficial but ALL students are warmly welcome – a feisty debate is promised with (metaphorical) fireworks!
- Clinic Case Discussions: The first of a series of Clinic Case Discussion meetings will be held next term at 3pm on Wednesday 17 January in the Moot Room. This offers an opportunity for students to learn much more about the nature of enquiries and cases being handled each week by the Clinic team – students will share details of cases they encounter at the Monday evening advice sessions (held in the local community) and Clinic Solicitors will help lead a discussion of the law that applies in each case. The day and time of these meeting will vary so keep an eye on the noticeboard/emails/social media for details
- Blogging opportunities: Law students are encouraged to share their experiences (and/or photographs) of volunteering/working in the Clinic on the Kent Law Clinic blog – articles of at least 200 words (and/or photos) can be sent via email to: klcsc@kent.ac.uk
- Immigration and Asylum Moot: All students are warmly invited to the first Immigration and Asylum Moot of the year from 6.30pm – 8.30pm on Monday 26 November in the Moot Room. Four students will be mooting in front of a guest local solicitor. This offers an excellent opportunity to learn how immigration moots differ to normal moots and is the first of two moots that will be held this term – the second will be held on Monday 10 December
Law Clinic case updates:
- Family law: A high volume of family law enquiries are being handled in the Clinic and dealt with at the Monday evening advice sessions in the local community. One of the cases dealt with at one of this week’s advice sessions involved a woman whose estranged partner wishes to take their young daughter abroad to a non-Hague Convention country for a holiday to visit family. First year law student Rebecca, one of the students who sat in on the advice session to observe the volunteer lawyer at work, explained the details of the case. After establishing the statutory framework which applies in this case (The Children Act 1989), Solicitor Philippa Bruce led a detailed discussion exploring: issues of parental responsibility; what might constitute the child’s best interest (the Paramountcy Principle); the wishes and feelings of the child; how orders made in one jurisdiction can be enforced in another jurisdiction; and the types of court orders that can be applied for (Specific Issue and Prohibited Steps Orders). She suggested interested students read a previous blog article she had written on the topic called: ‘No more worries for a week or two? Summer holidays and legal permission to take children abroad‘
To keep up-to-date with all the latest news and events from the Law Clinic, keep an eye on the Clinic noticeboard (in the main office of the Clinic) and/or subscribe to the Clinic mailing list: kls-clinic@kent.ac.uk
All are welcome to attend the Law Clinic’s weekly meetings held at 2pm on Tuesdays in term time.
