The Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court, Baroness Hale, and the Hon Charles Wigoder have opened the new Kent Law Clinic at the Canterbury campus.
Kent Law Clinic offers free legal advice to the local community and the Rt Honourable the Baroness Hale of Richmond has commended Kent for its work providing legal advice and representation to those who cannot otherwise afford it.
Under the direction of Clinic Director, Professor John Fitzpatrick, law students have helped clients gain millions of pounds in compensation in employment law cases and brought landmark cases in asylum law which have been of huge benefit to subsequent claimants.
Following the opening, Baroness Hale delivered a keynote speech, entitled Human Rights and Social Justice. The lecture, free and open to all, was enjoyed by a packed-out audience of more than 450 people in Woolf Lecture Theatre.
The Wigoder Law Building is sited between Eliot and Rutherford colleges and is the new home for the Kent Law Clinic and Kent Law School’s mooting programme.
Built in the style of a court room, the new Moot Room will enable students to practice their advocacy skills in a professional setting, complementing the realism already provided by the involvement of the local judiciary in mooting at Kent.
The ground floor will provide extended accommodation for the Kent Law Clinic, with new facilities including a lobby and seating area for clients, an expanded shared working space for staff and students, and a greater number of interview rooms and offices.
