UEL Legal Advice Centre
Advice Areas
- Contract and consumer
- Family
- Landlords and tenants
- Welfare benefits
Our Services
The Legal Advice centre is now closed and will reopen in September 2021.
Legal Advice Centre Online session COVID-19
From 21 April 2020, we brought our Legal Advice Centre advice sessions online focusing on three specific areas which we identified as being a high priority for a large number of people:
Landlord and Tenant Advice During COVID-19
- Rights of tenants if they are unable to pay their rent
- How do tenant repairs work during this time
- Rights of owners if they are unable to pay their mortgages
Welfare Benefits Advice During COVID-19
- How to claim statutory sick pay
- How to claim benefits if self-employed
- How to claim universal credit
Family Law Advice During COVID-19
- Child Arrangements Orders
- Domestic Abuse
Romford Autism Hub Legal Advice Clinic
Our Legal Advice Centre works in partnership with the Sycamore Trust U.K. to provide free legal advice to those affected with autism at our Romford Autism Hub Legal Advice Clinic.
The Sycamore Trust U.K. is a charity that provides services to support clients and their families that are affected by Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ADS) and /or learning difficulties. One of the adult services that the Sycamore Trust U.K. offers is the Romford Autism Hub. The Autism Hub provides the accessibility of services to adults with autism in order to foster a supportive environment and assist with effective coping strategies.
We provide free legal advice to the Sycamore Trust U.K. clients on matters such as housing, family, employment, contract/consumer, welfare benefits (in particular DLA under 16 and PIP), and legal information on SEN matters.
We hold appointment only sessions every fortnight on Wednesdays from 11am - 2pm at the Romford Autism Hub during academic term time. This partnership between UEL and the Sycamore Trust U.K. provides an additional layer of support to those affected with autism.
Our partner solicitors, Duncan Lewis also assist with our services at the Romford Autism Hub by providing free legal advice.
Student Projects
Mooting and debating
The Legal Advice Centre offers students the opportunity to take part in mooting and debating. The Royal Docks School of Business and Law has its own Mooting Room, and in addition our students are able to make use of available court rooms at Stratford Magistrates' Court and the Old Bailey. Our moots and debates are judged by internal and external volunteers who are legal professionals, so that students can continually improve their skills.
Mooting
A moot is a hypothetical case study appearing before one of the appellate courts. Our students are provided with the opportunity to research a legal problem in teams of two and practise their advocacy skills by delivering their legal submissions before a mock court. Our students also have the opportunity to take part in external mooting competitions against other universities.
Have a Debate?
Debating provides our students with the opportunity to discuss topical issues (legal and non-legal) by enabling them to argue and put their views across in live debates. Like mooting, it is the art of persuasion that they learn to master.
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 simplistic way.
They are not intended to represent legal advice.
External Voluntary Opportunities
The Legal Advice Centre has links with external law firms and organisations (such as Duncan Lewis Solicitors, the legal department at the NSPCC) to provide voluntary work opportunities to our students.
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
Lorna Macfarlane & Lisa Spirakes: Supervising Solicitors
Nurun Choudhury: Legal Assistant
TBC: Mooting and Debating Co-ordinator
Partners and Sponsors
We would like to thank the following law firms for agreeing to volunteer their services in partnership with our Legal Advice Centre:
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:
Our Policies
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 Advisers, who will also set out our policies and client care information.
All communications will be in the strictest confidence, and client files are securely stored in line with Data Protection requirements.
What happens after the interview?
After the interview, our Student Advisers and a Supervisor will review the case and in the event that we can advise on the matter, our Student Advisers 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 Advisers will send a final letter with details about the closure and storage of the client's file.
All Student Advisers undertake extensive training provided by the Legal Advice Centre staff and partner organisations.
Our limitations
The Legal Advice Centre reserves the right not to give advice 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 interests.
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.
Contact us
1 Salway Pl, London E15 1NF
Please call us on +44 (0) 20 8223 4048 or email lawcentre@uel.ac.uk
We are open during term time only.