The StreetLaw clinic is new for 2023/24, following a successful pilot, and provides interactive community legal education, to charities, schools and other organisations. The clinic is supervised by Jeanette Ashton, who convenes Equity and Trusts 2 and teaches contract law. Outside of her role at Sussex, Jeanette is a trustee of local domestic abuse charity RISE, giving her first-hand experience of the challenges charities face, particularly in such difficult economic times.
StreetLaw responds to the needs of the community, and aims to provide essential, accessible legal information, in a format tailored to the client. The central aim is to raise awareness of legal rights and issues, in a community focused way. Our sessions are interactive and an exciting way for you to get involved with the local community, research, design and deliver sessions, enhancing your employability skills along the way. Our pilot clients, who we hope to continue to work with, are Food and Friendship – Bringing people together through food since 2012, a Hove-based charity tackling social isolation for older people and people with learning disabilities through their weekly lunches and cookery classes, and The Crew Club, a youth and community charity supporting children, young people and families living in and around the Whitehawk estate in Brighton (Whitehawk: The Brighton community changing the narrative in city’s ‘most deprived’ neighbourhood - SussexLive). We are also planning to deliver sessions for a local secondary school on topics such as online safety (sex and tech), and young people’s employment rights.
What do students do in the Clinic?
As this is the first iteration, the numbers are limited to 6 to 8 students and students will be key in shaping the clinic. Anticipated activities include:
- Community outreach to local organisations, such as charities, to ascertain areas of interest, where StreetLaw can assist. You will be encouraged to draw on your own contacts and networks and those within the University too e.g., we may be able to run session for student societies within the Student Union;
- Research the law/policy, plan, design materials and deliver StreetLaw sessions in the community;
- Work on development of ‘StreetLaw packs’, on your areas of interest, which can be offered to organisations;
- Potential to explore follow up collaborative work using e.g. Instagram IGTV/YouTube channel, for regular updates on legal issues, again in a practical, audience-friendly way.
What is the time commitment?
Particularly as the clinic is new for this year, the time commitment, in addition to your module seminars and lectures, will vary, but you are expected to dedicate an afternoon/morning per week to working on the clinic’s activities. We will work as a team to take on and divide up projects, so this could be researching community groups and other organisations, working on sessions, including how to approach and design activities, trialing activities with each other, culminating in delivering the sessions and reflecting on those.
Further Information
Should you wish to find out more about this Clinic, please feel free to contact Jeanette Ashton jeanette.ashton@sussex.ac.uk
Student quote:
"The Sussex StreetLaw Project promises to provide support and advice where it truly matters - at the heart of the Brighton community…. The project will be crucial on my journey to becoming a lawyer who truly cares and listens, and this for me symbolises what a Sussex law education is all about: law for the greater good".
Nina Jedamzik
Streetlaw Clinic (pilot)