UEL Legal Advice Centre

We provide a free service of legal advice to the community.

The service is provided by students of the University and supervised by experienced practising solicitors.

We aim to assist in relation to any legal problem.

Our Services

The UEL Legal Advice Centre is open for appointments.

Please email us: legaladvicecentre@uel.ac.uk

We aim to respond to you within 3 working days.

Booked appointments take place Monday to Friday 9:30am – 2:30pm with additional walk-ins on Wednesday between 12-2pm.

Please contact us via telephone on: 07871 734 380 and via email at: legaladvicecentre@uel.ac.uk.

Sessions run every day at the USS campus and every Monday 10am - 2pm at the RDCS Centre, Docklands campus.

Law Fellows

Caroline Jackson

Criminal defence solicitor and deputy district judge, Edward Fail, Bradshaw & Waterson

Caroline Jackson is a senior criminal defence solicitor and deputy district judge. She has over 25 years of experience in criminal defence and human rights and is a champion in her field.

Claire Gill

Partner at Chambers & Partners, Carter-Ruck Solicitors

Claire Gill is a partner at Chambers & Partners and is a recognised leader in the field of media litigation and works with clients whose rights have been infringed.

David Glass

Corporate Lawyer, Taylor-Stewart Associates

David Glass is a corporate lawyer who has been in private practice as a solicitor for more than 40 years. In addition, he
has held several pro bono roles in the fields of further and higher education, including serving as a governor of a
Further Education college for more than 15 years. David feels passionate about the importance of law and also of
education in advancing human rights and dignity.

Emine Mehmet

Director, Duncan Lewis

Emine Mehmet is the director of family and childcare at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, she is also the head of the Duncan Lewis pro bono committee and has been involved in setting up local pro bono advice clinics. She has strong links with the Legal Advice Centre at UEL where she has provided support to our students at advice sessions for many years.

Janet Hills

Deputy Chair of the London Drugs Commission

Janet Hills MBE has a tremendous passion for equality and the promotion of diversity. She is working tirelessly to bridge the gap between the police service and Black and Minority Ethnic communities sometimes under challenging circumstances. Janet joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1991. She became the leader of the Met BPA, later becoming the President of the National Black Police Association. She has recently been appointed as deputy chair of the London Drugs Commission by the Mayor of London.

Judge Sapnara

Circuit judge and deputy High Court judge

Her Honour Judge Sapnara KC is a circuit judge and deputy High Court judge. She sits in East London Family Court and Kingston Crown Court presiding over serious criminal and family law cases. She has strong ties to East London and is passionate in her commitment to supporting students and professionals from challenging, diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Ketan Sheth

Councillor for London Borough of Brent

Ketan is an experienced commercial solicitor and also a councillor in the London Borough of Brent. He is the Chair of Brent Council’s Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and Chair of the North West London Joint Health Scrutiny Committee. In addition to this, he is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation.

Noel Inge

CILEx, Former MD

One of the greatest barriers to career advancement is the cost of learning: Noel Inge's objective is to offer a fulfilling and genuinely affordable career in law through CILEx Law School, a not-for-profit organisation.

Sailesh Mehta

Barrister, 18 Red Lion Chambers

Sailesh Mehta is a barrister with 22 years of experience in advocacy at the highest levels. Sailesh has been instructed as leading counsel in some of the most serious and high-profile criminal cases. Recently lead counsel in the Bishops' Stortford triple-murder case; prosecuted in the first English trial involving European anti-smoking legislation; he has prosecuted in some of the most difficult and complex environmental and regulatory cases. Recognised by legal directories as a leader in his field.

Shah Qureshi

Solicitor, Irwin Mitchell

Shah is a partner at Irwin Mitchell and the head of employment and professional discipline. He is recognised as a leader in representing both executives and professionals in both contentious and non-contentious work. This year he received the 'Achievements in Law' Award at the British Muslim Awards.

Shahida Begum

Barrister, Garden Court Chambers

Shahida Begum is a specialist criminal defence practitioner. She has experience defending clients in a range of matters from serious violence and dishonesty to drug supply and sexual offences and has experience with cases involving a cross-over with other practice areas. She has recently been appointed a recorder of the Crown Court.

Sylwia Szymczyk

Immigration Advisor, Renewal Programme

Sylwia Szymczyk is an immigration advisor with the Renewal Programme, Immigration Project. Over the last 12 months
she has not only supported the community by providing them with much-needed immigration advice by holding regular immigration advice surgeries, but she has also supported our students at these sessions, fully including them in every step of the process.

Stephanie Boyce

Law Society

With over 20 years’ experience in practice as a solicitor working with a number of organisations in helping to set tangible goals, formulate strategic plans, and develop strategic objectives at home and abroad, Stephanie’s past roles and experience bring a distinct perspective and insight to the development and delivery of her work.

Our Partners

Stephen Timms MP

The LAC has referred clients from the local area and from our local politicians. We have a direct relationship with Stephen Timms MP's office, which includes our students taking part in internships provided by him, allowing them to assist at constituency surgeries.

Criminal Justice Project in partnership with APPEAL

The Criminal Justice Project (CJP) was launched in September 2023 as part of the LAC. Students have worked in partnership with Criminal Justice Charity 'APPEAL' which represents clients who have suffered a miscarriage of justice, helping them to seek redress for a wrongful conviction. This partnership has provided students within our Law, Justice and Policing department real insight into the legal system, learning what happens when things go wrong and the challenges faced in the appeal system.

Duncan Lewis Solicitors

The Family Law department of Duncan Lewis Solicitors assists us in helping clients every other week on Monday from 10:00am-12:00pm at our USS campus. Their Employment Law department assists us in providing help to clients with employment matters.

Hodge Jones and Allen Solicitors

Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors assist us in helping clients with personal injury and clinical negligence matters. Daniel Denton, Partner at Hodge Jones & Allen and a specialist in personal injury law works with law students who volunteer to deal with inquiries like accidents at work, roadside accidents, clinical negligence etc.

The Renewal Programme (Immigration Project)

Our law students provide regular support and assistance at the Newham Renewal Programme, under the supervision of immigration expert Sylwia Szymczyk. They take instructions, do legal research, translate where able and assist in any way needed during meetings with clients.

Students at the Newham Renewal Programme

LAC members and students Podcasting on 14 March 2024
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LAC members in the UEL Court Room
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Drama in the Court Room Law, Policing and Criminology Competition
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President of Law Society in courtroom Stephanie Boyce
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Students visiting the European Court of Justice
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New York Law School student intern
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New York Law School student intern
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President of Law Society Lubna Shaja in courtroom
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Law students at a Legal Advice Centre event
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Students visiting the Supreme Court
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Law students at Canary Wharf
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LAC members and students Podcasting on 14 March 2024
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LAC members in the UEL Court Room
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Drama in the Court Room Law, Policing and Criminology Competition
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President of Law Society in courtroom Stephanie Boyce
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Students visiting the European Court of Justice
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New York Law School student intern
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New York Law School student intern
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President of Law Society Lubna Shaja in courtroom
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Law students at a Legal Advice Centre event
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Students visiting the Supreme Court
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Law students at Canary Wharf
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Public Legal Education Project

Information leaflets

As part of our commitment to providing free legal information to the local community, our student volunteers at the Legal Advice Centre draft information leaflets on hot topics for the benefit of our clients. The aim of these leaflets is to provide an overview of the law in a simple way. They are not intended to represent legal advice.

Volunteering

How students can volunteer
Benefits of volunteering
External voluntary opportunities

Staff

Director and supervisors

The Director and supervisors are responsible for matters such as training, development and administration. The Legal Advice Centre also has an Advisory Group consisting of members of the Royal Docks School of Business & Law and partner organisations. The Law Clinic is also supported by local solicitors who provide their services on a pro bono basis.

Saadiya Ahmad: Director
Nurun Choudhury and Lorna Macfarlane: Supervising solicitors
Nurun Choudhury: Lead for the Legal Advice Centre
Mehwish Farhan: Legal Assistant and trainee solicitor

Partners and sponsors

We would like to thank The Renewal Programme (Newham) Immigration Project for agreeing to have students shadow their services. We look forward to working in partnership.

We are happy to consider requests from individual lawyers, law firms, chambers or legal advice organisations to become partners of the University of East London Legal Advice Centre.

We are pleased to have the following partner organisations:

What does the Legal Advice Centre do?

We aim to advise clients on their legal position and the options available to them to resolve their legal problems. As an advice service, we do not undertake any representation of clients' cases in courts or tribunals, or conduct any litigation. We do, however, act as a referral agency to other organisations that may take on clients' cases without charge.

The Legal Advice Centre can provide clients with written legal advice, and where resources permit, we can liaise with third parties on behalf of our clients.

Our services are free. We give priority to those cases which do not qualify for legal aid or where clients cannot afford a solicitor. We may also take on cases if we feel that there is no other assistance available from other agencies.

The Legal Advice Centre operates a weekly drop-in session during term time only. All enquiries are considered individually to ensure that they meet the criteria of the Legal Advice Centre.

Interview stage and after

What happens at the interview?
The first stage is an interview. Clients will not receive any legal advice at this time. Clients will be interviewed by two Student Advisors, who will also set out our policies and client care information.
All communications will be in the strictest confidence, and client files will be securely stored in line with data protection requirements.

What happens after the interview?
After the interview, our Student Advisors and a supervisor will review the case and in the event that we can advise on the matter, our Student Advisors will research the case and draft an advice letter setting out the possible options available. Each letter is checked for accuracy by the director and supervising solicitor.

Once the matter has been closed, our Student Advisors will send a final letter with details about the closure and storage of the client's file.

All Student Advisors undertake extensive training provided by the Legal Advice Centre staff and partner organisations.

Our limitations

The Legal Advice Centre reserves the right not to advise in any particular case. In the event of the Legal Advice Centre being unable to help, we will offer to refer your enquiries to other agencies or organisations which may be able to assist.

As an advice service, we are only able to offer written advice to our clients. We do not undertake any representation of clients' cases in courts or tribunals.

The Legal Advice Centre will not be able to assist you in any way where your dispute is with the Royal Docks School of Business and Law, the University of East London, and/ or its members of staff. This is to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

If your matter is urgent and you require immediate legal advice, you should contact a solicitor or other agencies that may be able to provide emergency advice and/or assistance.

Our achievements

Coming soon.

Testimonial

I am very grateful for your quick and efficient service I received. It was very helpful and impressive. I must say thank you to all who gave an opportunity to explain my problem without any hesitation. I found your service very professional. The support you provided was above and beyond my expectation. I would highly recommend your service. Thanks again for all your advice and help with regard to my problem.”

F.Z

Legal Advice Centre user

Contact us

1 Salway Pl, London E15 1NF
Please call us on +44 (0) 7871 734 380 or email legaladvicecentre@uel.ac.uk
We are open during term time only.

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UEL Legal Advice Centre

UEL Legal Advice Centre

Our Services