This week’s Tuesday meeting at Kent Law Clinic was led by the Student Committee Vice Chair Terrie Boinnet:
Student Committee updates:
- Christmas Dinner: Terrie encouraged students to sign up for the Law Clinic’s Christmas Dinner for staff, students and voluntary legal advisors. The dinner, which will be held at Cafe Rouge in Canterbury at 7pm on Thursday 6 December is also an opportunity to network informally with local lawyers. To book a place (and select your menu), drop into Clinic reception before Friday 30 November (two courses for £19.95 or three courses for £22.95)
- Brexit Debate: Clinic Director Graham Tegg encouraged students to add their voice to Friday’s Brexit debate in which he and Anthony Valcke (the Founder and Supervising Solicitor of the EU Rights Clinic in Brussels) will be speaking about ‘Citizens rights and Brexit: What now?’ The debate will be held in the Moot Room (Wigoder Law Building) from 6pm – 7.30pm
- Blogging opportunities: A reminder that 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
- Student Committee feedback: As the end of term approaches, the Law Clinic Student Committee welcomes any feedback from students – email klcsc@kent.ac.uk or drop a note into a marked box in the Clinic
- Immigration and Asylum Moot: Jennifer Earle (from the Immigration and Asylum Team) reported that the first Immigration and Asylum Moot of the year on Monday 26 November had gone well – Jasmyn Sergeant and Yoginni Gopal represented the appellant whilst Georgina Walton and Esther McNamara represented the Home Office. The appeal was refused on asylum grounds but an appeal was granted under 15(c) of the Qualification Directive. The Immigration Judge was impressed by the strength of argument presented on both sides. The second Immigration and Asylum Moot will be held on Monday (10 December) in the Moot Room. All welcome to attend.
Law Clinic case updates:
- 22 new enquiries have come into the Law Clinic this week
- Benefits case: Clinic Director Graham Tegg represented a client for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeal at the Ashford Tribunal Hearing Centre. The client has not been in receipt of any benefits since the benefits system changed, replacing Disability Living Allowance with PIP (approximately 18 months ago). The case was adjourned with the panel requesting time (at least two months) to seek medical evidence. Graham said an adjournment was not necessary and would cause further hardship for his client. He will be writing a letter of complaint.
- Housing case: Clinic Solicitor Vivien Gambling has now met with the client who discovered (during the course of applying for a loan) that their former landlord has obtained a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against them for £30,000. The CCJ relates to a rented property that the client left two years ago following the breakdown of the hot water and heating system. The landlord gave the address for service for the Judgment as the same address from which the client had been evicted. Vivien (and the Clinic student who also attended the meeting) conveyed the emotional impact of this case on the client before leading a discussion on the obligations pertaining to landlords within a tenancy agreement. Vivien said the Clinic is planning an event in January to help students who rent to become better informed about their housing rights (particularly with respect to deposits and repairs).
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.
