{"id":78,"date":"2022-02-17T12:11:24","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T12:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/public-engagement-case-studies\/?p=78"},"modified":"2022-03-09T11:00:13","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T11:00:13","slug":"kent-community-law-clinic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/public-engagement-case-studies\/2022\/02\/17\/kent-community-law-clinic\/","title":{"rendered":"Kent community law clinic"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University Law Clinic provides free access to vital legal services for members of our community. Find out more here.<\/p>\n

The Clinic\u00a0specialises in social welfare\u00a0law,\u00a0which\u00a0means it focuses on\u00a0areas of law that\u00a0affect fundamental\u00a0aspects of\u00a0people\u2019s lives:\u00a0family, employment, housing, immigration\u00a0and asylum,\u00a0and\u00a0welfare benefits.<\/p>\n

We are proud of the fact that Kent Law Clinic was the first of\u00a0its\u00a0kind in the UK, opening its doors in 1973.\u00a0Although the Clinic has\u00a0evolved\u00a0over the years,\u00a0our approach\u00a0has always been\u00a0to work with students on real life cases. This\u00a0enables\u00a0us to help members of our community\u00a0who\u00a0are in need of\u00a0legal help and\u00a0at\u00a0the same time to enrich our students\u2019\u00a0education.<\/p>\n

Where\u00a0is the Kent Law Clinic\u00a0located?<\/b><\/p>\n

The Clinic is based in the\u00a0Wigoder\u00a0Law Building on the Canterbury campus.<\/p>\n

Who is involved with the\u00a0Clinic? How many staff and students do you have that are working for the\u00a0Clinic?<\/b><\/p>\n

The Clinic is part of Kent Law School. The Clinic supervisor team are all members of the academic staff in the Law School.\u00a0We\u00a0were appointed specifically to work in the Clinic because of\u00a0our\u00a0expertise as lawyers in practice.<\/p>\n

Our students are the heart of the Clinic. We have students that work in the Clinic\u00a0as part of an assessed module, and others who volunteer on a co-curricular basis. Students are invited to be part of the Clinic throughout their time at Kent, either as an undergraduate or post-graduate studying\u00a0Law.<\/p>\n

In addition, the Clinic is supported by local solicitors and barristers who volunteer their time for free to offer legal advice to members of the public at evening advice sessions.<\/p>\n

Tell us a bit more about how students are involved. What skills\/experiences do students build from their involvement?<\/b><\/p>\n

Students are involved in every aspect of the Clinic from taking details about a new enquiry\u00a0from a member of the public\u00a0through to\u00a0attending court\u00a0with one of the supervisors. Students learn to experience the law differently and to think about how the law operates in practice\u00a0in contrast\u00a0to how it appears in a textbook. They learn a lot about the reality of working on live cases, which among other things involves communicating with people. The students are strongly motivated to help.\u00a0They\u00a0develop problem solving skills, as well as other\u00a0valuable\u00a0skills such as\u00a0drafting\u00a0legal documents and how to carry out\u00a0careful\u00a0legal research.<\/p>\n

What\u00a0is the key\u00a0ethos\u00a0behind the Kent\u00a0Law\u00a0Clinic?<\/b><\/p>\n

The ethos of the Clinic is to help members of the public with legal problems when they cannot afford legal advice,\u00a0and at the same time to provide our students with a rich educational experience that enhances their understanding of the law.<\/p>\n

In the context of the Kent Law Clinic, what do public\u00a0and civic\u00a0engagement mean? Why is it important to you?<\/b><\/p>\n

As mentioned above, the Clinic focuses on social welfare law. There have been huge\u00a0funding\u00a0cuts to legal services which would historically assist members of the public in these areas of law. Whilst the Clinic\u00a0cannot\u00a0fill the gap created by these cuts, it has always recognised how much these issues\u00a0affect peoples\u2019 lives and seeks to do what it can to offer legal advice and representation to those who cannot find\u00a0help\u00a0elsewhere.<\/p>\n

How do you engage with the community and different organisations? What kind of organisations do you engage with?<\/b><\/p>\n

We\u00a0engage with many members of the public who contact us for advice. We also\u00a0work with local solicitors and barristers, many of whom volunteer their time to support the Clinic. We\u00a0have links with\u00a0Citizen\u2019s Advice Bureaus\u00a0(CAB)\u00a0and charities across Kent,\u00a0who refer cases to us.\u00a0Sometimes social workers or those in similar roles will refer people to us.<\/p>\n

What kind of cases are you supporting?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The Clinic specialises in social welfare law, focussing on\u00a0family, employment,\u00a0housing,\u00a0immigration and asylum,\u00a0and\u00a0welfare benefits.\u00a0We also provide\u00a0some advice in civil litigation,\u00a0and wills\u00a0and\u00a0probate.<\/p>\n

How do\u00a0you work and what kind of support do you offer?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

An example of one of our\u00a0services is\u00a0the Evening Advice Sessions. In these meetings, members of the public are offered an\u00a0individual\u00a0free appointment with a volunteer legal advisor\u00a0to discuss their legal\u00a0problem. These sessions cover a variety of areas of specialism including housing, employment, family, civil litigation,\u00a0and wills & probate. Law students sit in on these appointments\u00a0and learn from their involvement.<\/p>\n

The Clinic\u00a0may also\u00a0offer\u00a0a\u00a0written advice to individuals who have been referred to us by charities or the CAB.<\/p>\n

The Clinic takes on cases each term and may conduct advocacy in Court on behalf of clients. The student-focused nature of the\u00a0Clinic means that we are only\u00a0in a position\u00a0to take a small number of cases at a time to ensure the students can play a significant role in the conduct of the case.<\/p>\n

What do you consider to be the biggest success of the law\u00a0Clinic\u00a0to date?<\/b><\/p>\n

It is\u00a0really hard\u00a0to single out any one success.\u00a0Every client, student or member of staff who has contributed to the Clinic\u2019s story would probably answer this question differently!<\/p>\n

There have been some beautiful moments over the years which are memorable to each of us. Not all of these are \u2018big\u2019 successes, but very many cases have\u00a0had\u00a0a\u00a0significant\u00a0impact on people\u2019s lives, for example by:<\/p>\n