Students offer free legal advice to the public

FREE legal advice will be available to the public at a series of clinics staffed by law students from the University of Leeds.

The student volunteers, whose clinics will be supervised by solicitors from three well-known local firms, will give members of the public free legal advice on a range of issues from human rights to debt. The students will interview clients, research their legal problems and then provide them with a written statement of their legal position.

Clinic Director, Lydia Bleasdale-Hill said: “The clinics will give students a valuable opportunity to develop and enhance the legal skills which they will need in their future careers. At the same time they will be providing a valuable service to people who cannot afford to pay for legal advice.

“They can discuss issues of employment law, housing law, human rights, debt and civil litigation – all under the supervision of qualified lawyers. We are delighted to have the support of solicitors from Ford and Warren, Henry Hyams and McKay Law in this exciting and innovative project.”

The clinic has been funded by the White Rose Centre for Excellence in the Teaching and Learning of Enterprise and builds upon the School of Law's track record for “pro bono' (legal volunteering) work, including the Innocence Project and Streetlaw.