Sussex Clinical Legal Education facilitates a variety of pro-bono (not for profit) projects.

These projects range from:

• giving direct legal advice and assistance to the public through the Law Clinics
• assistance in the County Courts
• projects assisting local charities with community issues such as homelessness and employment rights research for action groups and other non-governmental organisations in legal challenges 

Please note

The Law Clinics are dependent on the services of student advisers from the Law School and therefore run only during term time.

You may want to consider seeking specialist advice from a solicitor regarding your matter or alternatively contact your local Citizens Advice.

Disclaimer

The Sussex Law Clinics are not a law firm and are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We do, however, aim to provide the same high standard of service expected in the practice of law. In particular, ethical obligations, including the rules of confidentiality, apply to all work undertaken at any of our law clinics. All of our students and volunteers receive thorough training, guidance and supervision by solicitors, barristers and academics.

Clinical Legal Education Projects:

Citizens Advice Project

This project is run in collaboration with Citizens Advice in West Sussex. The Citizens Advice service offers generalist advice on a range of issues relevant to people in need in the local community. Students deliver advice to clients face to face and by telephone, email and webchat. There are also opportunities to take part in Citizens Advice policy, research and campaign work by gathering frontline data.

The project is led by Bonnie Holligan.

CLOCK (Litigants in Person)

The CLOCK - Time for Justice project is an effective initiative established in 2016 as joint collaboration between the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton. The project was first launched in 2012 by the School of Law at Keele University. CLOCK allows students to assist litigants in person who do not have access to legal aid.

Information for litigants

CLOCK legal companions are trained to help you at all stages of your court proceedings including:

• Finding your way around the court
• Accompanying in hearings to take notes and provide support
• Children and family matters
• Small claims
• Finding legal assistance and mediation services
• Seeking charitable support
• Finding affordable fixed fee services
• Assisting with court forms, arranging court papers

COVID 19: During the Covid-19 pandemic, we are able to offer support via telephone appointments and email, and are able to provide legal companions to support litigants in remote court hearings.

If you need assistance from our legal companions please contact CLOCKBrightonandSussex@sussex.ac.uk 

Telephone number: 01273 876797

The CLOCK project is led by Maria Moscati and Jeanette Ashton

Employment Law Clinic

The Employment Law Clinic provides free legal advice to members of the public in the following areas:

• bogus self-employment
• atypical work
• illegal deduction of pay
• employment discrimination
• unfair dismissals
• zero-hour contracts
• trade union freedoms

Meetings are conducted by final year law students and supervising practitioners (solicitors or barristers) and are held on campus, but can also be conducted online, if needed. For further information, visit our Employment Law Clinic webpage

Family Law Clinic

Free legal advice is provided to the local community through the Family Law Clinic, in partnership between in-house and external lawyers. Find out more on our Family Law Clinic page.

The Family Law Clinic is led by John Jupp. 

Housing and Welfare Law

The Housing project works with Brighton Housing Trust (BHT) and Justlife to help clients who are homeless or on the verge of homelessness.  

BHT Pro Bono is a collaborative clinical law project between Brighton Housing Trust Advice Centre and Sussex Law School, giving students the opportunity to take part in digital, legal and administrative assistance in the provision of advice within the centre, as well as offsite case management and research, visits to the County Court to assist in Duty Solicitor, and clerking. 

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. Students speak with users of the Justlife drop-in service to help ensure that they are accessing the services that they are legally entitled to – such as housing, welfare benefits and community care services – and to give assistance on any legal issues they may have

The Housing project is led by Will McCready.

Criminal Justice Law Clinic

The Criminal Justice Law Clinic (CJLC) accepts enquiries from members of the public in the areas of:

• criminal offences
• appeals against conviction and/or sentence
• prisoner rights

The CJLC also collaborates with charitable organisations. We currently collaborate with JENGbA, a campaign group which provides assistance to people seeking to appeal convictions under the doctrine of joint enterprise, and (in 2021/22) are establishing a new partnership with Black Protest Legal Support.
Additionally, we have contacts in the wider legal community, including with Old Bailey Solicitors, and Bishop and Light.

Find out more on our Criminal Justice Law Clinic page

The Criminal Justice Law Clinic is led by Lucy Welsh.

Migration Law Clinic

The Migration Law Clinic offer migration and asylum legal advice, which is facilitated and researched by students within the Law School, under the supervision of academics and legal practitioners supporting the Clinic. The Migration Law Clinic offers 30-minute initial interviews at Sussex Law School, based at the University of Sussex campus, aimed at gathering the relevant facts. After that, where appropriate, clients will receive a letter of advice. Free parking is available.

Mediation Clinic

This mediation clinic provides free mediation services to students studying at any Higher Education institution both in the UK and abroad. Trained student mediators are available to facilitate the resolution of disputes between students, either in person or online. 

In addition, the Mediation Clinic offers free online mediation sessions to everyone to resolve:

• Community Disputes
• Workplace Disputes
• Neighbour Disputes
• Tenancy Disputes

For more information about the Clinic visit the Mediation Clinic web page. 

Environmental Law Clinic

The Environmental Justice Law Clinic offers free legal advice to members of the community on a wide array of environmental law matters and undertakes environmental law research projects.

The Environmental Justice Law Clinic is supervised by two Sussex Law School lecturers – Dr Bonnie Holligan and Dr Joanna Smallwood – who teach and research environmental law, and Dr Joanna Smallwood practiced as a solicitor in civil litigation cases.

The Environmental Justice Law Clinic works in partnership with the Environmental law Foundation 

Areas we offer advice:
Protecting ecology and amenity in planned housing developments
Addressing environmental concerns in the planning system
Environmental noise cases
Access to environmental information
Air Quality cases

Leads: Jo Smallwoood and Bonnie Holligan

Performing Arts Law Clinic

Free legal advice is provided to charities in the entertainment/arts sector, including household names such as Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House. Our students, in conjunction with both academic staff and seasoned practitioners at a leading US law firm, advise on a range of business-related issues, from safeguarding, equal opportunities and privacy, to charities governance, employment law and commercial contracts.

Leads: Jo Wilson,  Paul Eden and Kamala Dawar