School of Law Northumbria University Student Law Office Legal Advice and Representation Service Real Life Learning

Transcription

1 School of Law Northumbria University Student Law Office Legal Advice and Representation Service Real Life Learning

2 Would highly recommend this service Service received was outstanding Their support gave me the strength to carry on in the face of adversity The service I received was brilliant. I cannot thank the students enough

3 Student Law Office The Student Law Office (SLO) is a free legal service run by law students. We take cases for members of the public providing advice, assistance and representation at courts and tribunals. We have been helping people with legal problems since During that time we have taken on many thousands of cases, covering everything from small claims to criminal appeals, from employment law to human rights work, from family law work to judicial review. It is the largest and most comprehensive student run service in the UK. All the students on our unique Exempting Degree work in the Student Law Office and it is an option for students on the freestanding postgraduate courses (the Legal Practice Course and Bar Vocational Course). Each year, we handle in excess of 500 cases. How does it work? We run the Student Law Office just like an ordinary solicitor s practice. Although almost all the work we do is free, we have Specialist Quality Marks from the Legal Services Commission. All the students carry their own caseload, under supervision, from initial advice to representation in tribunals or small claims. They deal with a huge range of different cases and their work is a fully assessed part of their course. The students working here advise or represent hundreds of clients every academic year (between October and May). We can t imagine a better way of learning Law and what it means to be a lawyer. Student Law Office structure Northumbria University is a leader in the field of clinical legal education. The Student Law Office is run by an Associate Dean and a full-time Director. Three solicitors work solely in the SLO, while another ten members of teaching staff in the Law School teach and supervise students in the SLO. Students are therefore able to work with practitioner staff with particular expertise in different areas of work. All the staff devote at least one third of their teaching time to law office work. To help us run the office and run the cases we also employ an office administrator, as well as a benefits caseworker, a trainee solicitor and a bursary student. Philip Plowden Associate Dean, Clinical Legal Education Cath Sylvester Director of the Student Law Office Want to know more? For further details, visit our website at or contact the Student Law Office on Case profile Mr W s Accident (student advisers: Alex and Susan) Mr W came to us after he was scarred by broken glass when working as a barman. Alex and Susan: Interviewed Mr W Researched liability and advised him that he had a good claim Researched quantum (the value of the claim) Prepared Particulars of Claim and the Claim Form Negotiated a settlement with the Defendant insurers.

4 What do the students do? Everything that a solicitor does: interviewing and advising the client analysing the case and researching the law managing their own time, procedures in the office and the progress of the case communicating and negotiating with opponents drafting documents How are the students supported? Students work in firms of six students. They conduct a limited number of cases at any one time, giving them time to learn from their cases and develop their skills. Each firm is dedicated to a particular area of law and all work is supervised by a qualified solicitor or barrister experienced in that area. The supervisors have responsibility for the conduct of each case. The supervisor ensures that the client s best interests are served, but also helps the student to: ensure that they run the case effectively reflect on their performance and improve their skills act ethically and reflect on wider issues. where possible, presenting the case at tribunal or court. Case profile The Charity s Employment Problem (student adviser: Gemma) A small charity had an unfair dismissal claim brought against them, but couldn t afford to go to solicitors for advice. Gemma: Advised them on liability and quantum Drafted witness statements Represented them successfully at tribunal Advised them how to deal with similar problems in the future

5 What type of service do the students provide? We provide a full legal service and wherever possible student advisers conduct a case from start to finish. Our students learn first hand how to ensure that their clients best interests are served. We take on all sorts of cases provided that we are happy that the cases are suitable for the students. The work that we do includes: Employment law Including unfair and wrongful dismissal, unlawful deductions of wages, sex discrimination, race discrimination, disability discrimination, working time, contracts of employment, TUPE and advice on appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. We have been awarded a Specialist Quality Mark in employment law by the Legal Services Commission. In recent years we have been involved in numerous complex employment cases, and have achieved high value settlements for our clients. Housing law Including claims for disrepair, disputes over tenancy agreements, advice on possession proceedings, harassment and eviction. We have been awarded a Specialist Quality Mark in housing by the Legal Services Commission. Our students often attend at local possession days at court in order to help tenants. Welfare benefits We have a specialist welfare benefits caseworker who supervises the students working on social security cases. We help clients to prepare for hearings, and with other forms of appeal. We have a specialist Quality Mark for this work. Human Rights Human rights work arises in all sorts of different areas, but some supervisors in the SLO specialise in human rights work, and the SLO is involved in a number of applications to the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg. Civil, consumer and general contractual disputes Including disputes over purchases of furniture, motor vehicles and contracts for services, disputes over double glazing installation, holiday cases and small personal injury cases. Although much of the work we do is in the small claims court, we do also take on larger contractual cases, and sometimes work alongside local commercial firms on such cases. Claims for criminal injury compensation We undertake a number of claims for criminal injuries compensation for clients, and have recently been involved in an appeal against the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authorities rejection of an application for compensation worth more than 100,000. Family work We are normally able to take on a limited amount of family law work; students will advise clients on their rights when relationships break up, and help clients to prepare documents, and to arrive at agreements. Criminal appeals work Every year we take on a number of possible criminal appeals, often for people who are trying to make applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in order to obtain a retrial. Students will take instructions from clients, whether in prison or in the community, and will then help to review the evidence and the trial process. Where appropriate the students will advise on appeals and applications to the CCRC, and we will help clients with the appeal process. Commercial cases Our students have also been involved in cases in diverse areas such as: copyright, construction, consumer law, international timeshare disputes. Case profile Multi-Party Litigation One of our employment firms helped nine builders and ten students obtain settlements in their employment cases, which involved five different respondents. The students: Drafted applications to the Employment Tribunal Corresponded with the applicants, their opponents and the tribunal Agreed and compiled core and individual bundles Negotiated settlements with the solicitors representing the respondents.

6 What do people think of the Student Law Office? The Clients Extremely impressed by the professionalism in the way my case was handled The service I received was brilliant. Cannot thank the students enough. Your students are excellent The whole case was handled very professionally Service was 100% - can only praise the service I received Confident and very happy Excellent mediation service, it took a lot of grief out of the whole separation process Students couldn t have been more helpful Service received was outstanding Would highly recommend this service Very impressed with students ability to empathise and sympathise with client s situation. Impressed and appreciated help Their support gave me the strength to carry on in the face of adversity The Profession I pay tribute to the Office, which was entirely well placed. His Honour Judge McMullen QC [The students ] efforts were quite brilliant and utterly outstanding. All I did was present the facts - they did all the work. Ed Fitzgerald QC, Daily Mail 12 July 2001 I was particularly impressed to learn of the programme that operates at Northumbria where students run a total of 300 cases all the way from initialinterview to conclusion, providing a full service for clients free of charge. A clinical legal education programme of this kind offers a unique method for enabling students to develop the habits of reflective practice, one who has been recognised by many of the top US and Australian law schools as an important and integral part of legal education. I was also impressed to learn of the input from many local firms. Lord Goldsmith, Pro Bono visit to Northumbria University, 11 June 2004 The advantage to the student in their career development is immense and the development of such programmes should be encouraged wherever possible. Gary Brankin at Berrymans Lace Mawer The Students I have found the student Law Office very useful and now feel more confident dealing with clients. It was a great experience and has made me feel better prepared for professional practice. I study the BVC and I consider the Student Law Office vital for gaining experience. I found it enjoyable and useful - a break from more academic elements of the degree. Case profile Mr A s Housing Problem (Student advisers: Jason and Mary) Mr A entered into a tenancy agreement but when he tried to move in builders were still working in the property and it had no kitchen or bathroom. He found another flat but the landlord sued him. Jason and Mary: Interviewed Mr A Researched liability and advised him that he had a defence and could claim compensation Drafted the statements of case Represented at the County Court hearing where the court ordered that the landlord pay to Mr A his rent, deposit, expenses and compensation for the disruption.

7 Links with the Profession We are proud of our links with Eversheds, Ben Hoare Bell and Irwin Mitchell. The Irwin Mitchell International Clinical Scholarship Every year Irwin Mitchell awards a 1,000 scholarship to a Student Law Office student. The money is used to support an exchange visit to Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, where the student works in the Monash equivalent to the SLO, getting experience of both the UK and Australian clinical movements. It is vital that we establish strong links with local Universities as well as promoting local pro bono initiatives. Irwin Mitchell is about to celebrate its first year in Newcastle and we thought launching a scholarship of this nature was the most valuable way to do this. We want to attract the best law students in the North East and maintain them. We think Northumbria University Student Law Office is an excellent facility and we re very keen to encourage the students. Angela Curran, Irwin Mitchell I was fortunate to have the unique opportunity to spend 4 weeks working in Springfield Monash Legal Service in Melbourne, Australia. This experience has proved to be an invaluable insight into the operation of another student run law office in another jurisdiction, and has prepared me for my year ahead in Northumbria's Law Office. The scholarship was an exceptionally fun and educational opportunity and one that I would recommend every student to participate in. Martin Wilson, Northumbria student Referral System with Eversheds In September 2003 we established a formal referral system with Eversheds, in particular to deal with cases in which it is not commercially viable for the client to be represented by Eversheds. As a result, the students have been able to get experience of running commercial cases. Solicitors from Eversheds sit in on the firm meetings and are able to provide some support to students in the cases that they are running. This system gives the students the opportunity to work on a wider variety of cases and provides them with an insight into practice in a large commercial firm. We are delighted to be involved in this scheme which allows us to reinforce our ties with Northumbria University which we regard as producing some of the most outstanding talent in the region. Susan Howe, Eversheds Our work with Ben Hoare Bell Students from the Student Law Office work on cases at Ben Hoare Bell under the supervision of Richard Hardy, a partner, and Jonny Hall from the Student Law Office. Amongst other cases, a student assisted with an appeal to the High Court on a difficult and complex legal point. His research was commended by the barrister instructed in the appeal. Our work with Ben Hoare Bell gives students the opportunity to work with one of the North East s leading Legal Aid firms, often in cases involving people s fundamental rights. From my experience of the dedication and professionalism of these students I can confirm that the Student Law Office is an excellent educational provision which prepares students very well for practice and enhances their employability in the profession. Richard Hardy, Ben Hoare Bell Solicitors Wider Activities Clinical Legal Education The Associate Dean of the Student Law Office is the editor of the International Journal of Clinical Legal Education, which holds an annual conference for clinical law teachers from across the world. Every year the conference draws speakers from places as diverse as America, the South Pacific, Australia, South Africa, Serbia, Latvia, India, Canada and across the UK. In keeping with the student focus of the SLO, conferences aren t just for the clinical teachers. In 2004 students from the Student Law Office organised a one-day conference: Students as Legal Activists Real Problems, Real Solutions, Real Life The Way Forward for all Legal Education?

8 Copies of this publication are available in alternative formats such as braille, large print, tape or disk. In the first instance please contact Karen Newton (Disabilities Adviser) for details. Tel: Designed and produced by External Relations ER Z/06/05 Northumbria University is the trading name of the University of Northumbria at Newcastle