LawWorks Clinics FAQ

What is a LawWorks Clinic?
How can a LawWorks Clinic help me?
Where can I find a LawWorks Clinic?
What advice can I expect to get?
What should I do in advance of booking an appointment or dropping in to the clinic?
Can I go back to the Clinic for further advice?
How do I contact an adviser after an appointment?
Feedback?

What is a LawWorks Clinic?

‘LawWorks Clinic’ is the name given to a free legal advice service that LawWorks has either helped to establish or has otherwise supported in some way. The clinic then forms part of this network of clinics but remains independent.

Whilst each clinic differs in terms of the service offered, hours of operation, advice setting, etc., all clinics share the common characteristic of being staffed by volunteer legal advisers who are either solicitors, barristers, legal executives or law students (under supervision), and provide free, independent and confidential legal advice to those who have found it difficult to obtain publicly funded legal assistance (through ‘legal aid’) and who cannot afford to pay for a solicitor privately.

If you are unsure as to whether you can obtain public funding under the Government’s ‘legal aid’ scheme, please contact Community Legal Advice.

How can a LawWorks Clinic help me?

Generally speaking, volunteer advisers in LawWorks Clinics have daytime jobs at solicitors offices elsewhere, which is why clinics usually operate outside normal working hours, or at lunchtime.

Some clinics offer a general advice service and will provide brief advice on a wide range of issues and help you decide what to do next.  Other clinics offer specialist advice in particular areas of law, such as housing or employment, for example.

Due to the constraints of the volunteers' time-commitment, clinics tend to be more appropriate for “one-off” pieces of legal advice and assistance which can normally be concluded in a single interview. This includes a volunteer lawyer advising you about your legal problem and/or assessing the merits of your case and suggesting suitable next steps for you to take.

Some clinics will assist you completing simple forms, or drafting a letter for you to send or making a telephone call on your behalf. Very occasionally and only after receiving your express permission, a clinic may agree to undertake a limited amount of additional work on your behalf.

The clinics that we support cannot usually take on your case on an ongoing basis or provide you with representation in courts or tribunals. If at the end of your interview, it is clear that you need further help or representation, the clinic will usually give details of other services where you may be able to obtain assistance (such as the other LawWorks projects - see below).

Please remember that whilst all LawWorks Clinics offer free legal advice, if you seek further help from another firm of solicitors you may have to pay for it.

Each LawWorks Clinic should have details of our free Individual Casework and Mediation projects; the former being appropriate if you require ongoing help with your case and the latter if you are keen to resolve your dispute out of court.  You can of course apply to both projects.  For representation at a court or tribunal hearing, consider contacting the Bar Pro Bono Unit or the Free Representation Unit.

Where can I find a LawWorks Clinic?

To see an alphabetical list of clinics (divided up by region) click here.

LawWorks Clinics most commonly take the form of after hours sessions at a Citizens Advice Bureau, Law Centre or independent advice agency. Other examples of advice settings include libraries and community centres.

An increasing number of clinics are also being established by Universities and postgraduate law schools, some of these clinics are purely for staff and students of the institution whereas others are open to the general public.

Each clinic operates differently in terms of the areas of law covered, hours of operation, method of advice delivery, and area served. Some clinics only offer advice to people within a specific catchment area – e.g. people who live or work in a specific geographical area or who are members of a specific target group (such as the homeless), but most clinics have no such restrictions.

What advice can I expect to get?

This will depend very much on how complicated your problem is, as well as the policy of the individual clinic. Sometimes the volunteer adviser may need to undertake further research before he/she can fully advise you. Below are a few of the more common methods of advice delivery:

• Sometimes only verbal advice is provided e.g. telephone advice services - this may be followed up in writing.

• Sometimes advice is delivered during the course of the interview itself.  At the end of the interview you may get a written summary of the advice you have been given.

• Sometimes the lawyer will meet with you but not give you any advice on the day, preferring to write to you afterwards confirming the legal advice and guidance on what you need to do next.  This is more common where advice is delivered by law students under the supervision of qualifed lawyers or an institution’s academic staff.

What should I do in advance of booking an appointment or dropping in to the clinic?

Please remember that the volunteer adviser may only have 30 minutes or less to hear your story and advise you so there are a few things you can do to help the adviser.  This should ensure the interview is more focused and more useful for you:

• If you have relevant documents relating to your problem then you should bring them with you (photocopies if possible) preferably organised in date order. Sometimes it is necessary for an adviser to see such documents before she/he can fully advise you so if you fail to bring these with you on your first visit, you may need to come back.

• Please tell the receptionist and the adviser if you have been to the clinic before and whether you have received advice on this matter from anywhere else.

Can I go back to the clinic for further advice?

Each clinic will have a different policy on this and so it will depend on whether you are returning to the Clinic for advice on the same matter or whether you are seeking advice on a new matter.

Some clinics may have policies in place which give priority to new clients or those with the most urgent need, so you should check with the receptionist whether you can return for further advice if you need to.

Please remember that LawWorks Clinics are staffed by volunteer lawyers on a rota basis so if you do return to the clinic for further advice it is highly likely that you will see a different adviser.

How do I contact an adviser after an appointment?

Again, the possibility of this will vary for each clinic but usually the means of communicating with volunteer advisers after a session is limited because they are not there during the day.

It will usually not be possible to contact volunteers directly by telephone, email or fax and it is unlikely, therefore, that an advisor will pass you their contact details. The adviser is a volunteer at the clinic, and his/her legal volunteering work is separate from his/her normal day job. Please respect this. If in doubt, discuss this with the adviser before you leave.

Feedback?

Each clinic aims to provide an effective service and any comments you can pass on are welcome to help us and the clinic manager know whether or not this is being achieved.

Clinics may have a user feedback form available at the clinic or you may be sent one in the post following an advice session.

If you feel you have reason to complain about a clinic please feel free to speak to the Supervisor for the session or any of the advisers.  The clinic should have a complaints procedure that you can request.