Every week, final-year law students at the University of Sussex provide free legal advice to members of the local community.

Sussex Law School has launched a series of pilot projects that will see Sussex students supporting the local community by offering free legal advice on family law issues, helping litigants in person through the court process and working with organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau and Justlife.

Sussex Clinical Legal Education is an umbrella organisation within Sussex Law School providing links to a variety of pro-bono (not for profit) legal projects. The aim of these projects is to provide much needed assistance within the community, as well as providing students with vital experience of law in practice.

Director of Clinical Legal Education, Amir Paz-Fuchs said:

“After years of planning and preparation, we are extremely excited to set Clinical Legal Education in motion, beginning with this pilot phase. All the pilot projects will allow students to gain invaluable experience, seeing how law operates in the real world, while providing crucial assistance to those in need. It is thus an integral part of the University’s commitment to engage with the community and to promote human rights and access to justice.”

Live projects include:

Family Law Clinic

The Family Law Clinic offers free legal advice to the public on issues such as family disputes, divorce and children's issues. The Clinic will offer 30 minute interviews at Sussex Law School every Wednesday between 3pm and 7pm. Legal advice is facilitated and researched by students in the Law School in partnership with an in-house lawyer.

CLOCK

The CLOCK project offers students the opportunity to assist litigants, who don't have access to legal aid. Students will be based at a desk at Brighton Family Court and Brighton County Court, where they will be able to assist people in finding their way around, completing forms and note-taking.

Employment Law

In the first collaboration of its kind between the Law School and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, students on the Employment Law project will offer free advice on employment law issues such as bogus self-employment, unfair dismissal and discrimination. Supervised by members of staff with expertise in Employment Law, students will hold drop in sessions on Friday afternoons at the CAB offices, currently based at the Brighton Town Hall. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to engage with members of the public, to be exposed to the complexities and realities of modern employment relations, and to offer preliminary assistance and guidance to members of the community.

Housing and Welfare Law

The Housing and Social Welfare Project currently operates two schemes, working with local charities to help clients who are homeless, threatened with homelessness, or have other housing-related problems. Working with Brighton Housing Trust, Sussex students provide administrative, digital and legal assistance to BHT’s team of specialist housing law advisors.

The Justlife Project gives students the opportunity to help vulnerable adults who are living in temporary accommodation, by raising their awareness of their legal rights.

Click here for more information about these projects, or if you work in the legal profession and want to get involved, contact John Jupp at:-  J.Jupp@sussex.ac.uk