Bristol Law Centre
Bristol Law Centre is a charity providing free legal advice in specialist areas of social welfare law, and also represents clients in court. We help over 2,400 people a year access the justice system. Continue Reading Bristol Law Centre
Bristol Law Centre is a charity and a member of the Law Centres Network. We promote and provide access to justice for those most in need across Bristol and the South West.
Our team carry out specialist casework, training and consultancy support across the following areas of social welfare law:-
- Discrimination
- Employment
- Housing
- Immigration
- Mental Health
- Public Law
- Welfare Benefits
Our funding is diverse; in addition to legal aid we receive funding from local authorities, trusts and foundations, and donations. We work with volunteer lawyers to deliver additional capacity via pro bono clinics for employment advice, alongside family and civil litigation law. We work in many funded and other partnerships to best deliver services and achieve maximum impact.
We have delivered and continue to work on innovative projects, such as:
- ‘Ask Us’: advice services for young people in crisis aged 16-25, helping build resilience
- Specialist children’s immigration work on complex young-person asylum cases
- Legal Advice Support Project (LASP) – working with student volunteers to deliver exceptional casework and representation for benefits appeals
- Researching the impact of remote casework on appeal outcomes and client experience (also within LASP)
- Setting up Bristol Pro Bono Group
- Enhanced triage and assessment function to better support our communities.
- Promoting access to justice through raising awareness of Legal Expenses Insurance
We focus on providing free, high quality legal services to vulnerable and disadvantaged people where our support can make the greatest difference; whether through challenging unlawful discrimination, maintaining employment, preventing homelessness and securing safe accommodation, achieving safety for those feeling fleeing violence & torture, representing those detained under the Mental Health Act or enabling people to access the benefits to which they are entitled. Our work addresses inequality, prevents deepening poverty and enables people to be heard and have a say in their lives. “at last someone listened to me….I couldn’t have done it without you”.
We have experience of managing and supporting two Justice First Fellowship Trainees. Our previous trainees are both now members of the permanent staff team working across 3-4 areas of law.
For further information, visit our website.
