Suffolk Law Centre
Fellow: Pippa Banham
Suffolk Law Centre is the UK’s newest Law Centre; having launched on 23rd March 2018.
Suffolk Law Centre was set up by Ipswich & Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE). The two organisations share staff and office space at 46A St. Matthew’s Street, Ipswich, IP1 3EP. Last year, ISCRE celebrated its 40th anniversary and has a history of working towards the elimination of unlawful discrimination, promotion of equality of opportunity and access to justice.
Suffolk Law Centre became a full member of the Law Centres Network in November 2017 and was awarded charitable status (as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation) on 12 December 2017 (Charity No. 1176229).
Building on the legal advice services previously provided by ISCRE, Suffolk Law Centre aims to become a significant source of legal advice and assistance both within Suffolk and, where appropriate, right across East Anglia.
Our Vision is empowering the people of Suffolk to understand and assert their legal rights. Our Mission is to provide legal services to help the diverse communities of Suffolk to gain equal access to justice, to challenge disadvantage and inequality, and to understand their legal rights, obligations and protections.
Our current work
- "Tackling Discrimination in the East" project – our National Lottery funded project offering legal casework and Employment Tribunal advocacy for anyone affected by unlawful discrimination (with monthly outreach to Norwich, Lowestoft, Haverhill and Diss and Thetford); together with public legal education workshops to community groups and schools and information leaflets
- Legal Advice Clinics – initial legal advice offered by volunteer legal professionals in housing, employment, family, personal injury, immigration and general. We are OISC accredited
- Suffolk Family Law Support Project – providing help with specific court application forms and a legal information helpdesk at Family Court
- Stop and Search Reference Group – we dip sample the anonymised stop and searches and then pass comment upon them, from a legal/equality perspective, in writing and at the Reference Group meeting
- We are in the process of recruiting a Housing legal aid supervisor to set up a housing law project
- With partners, working to get our legal services out into the rural villages through our new "Justice Bus" project which we are fundraising for
- Developing a young person’s legal project with other local charities
- Working with partners to develop a sustainable Suffolk Health Justice Partnership to bring the benefits of social welfare law advice to tackle health and social problems across the county
- Recruiting many more champions for legal rights in Suffolk
For further information, visit our website.
