HCLC News

Believe in public service? Care about access to justice? Then this opportunity is for you! Hackney Community Law Centre is seeking new trustees to join our Board of Directors. 

The Law Centre is now recruiting legal graduates as interns & day volunteers for the period Monday 2nd October to Friday 22  December 2017.

Kevin Long, one of HCLC's housing solicitors, has written a piece for The Guardian on the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the role of Homes and Communities Agency.  

Hackney Community Law Centre is delighted to announce that we have been selected as a host organisation for the Legal Education Foundation's Justice First Fellowship programme, which funds training contracts and pupillages in social welfare law. 

HCLC is delighted to have welcomed Philip Glanville, the directly elected Mayor of Hackney, to the Centre on Wednesday the 2nd of August.

On Tuesday the 18th of July, HCLC's Marcin Brajta, Miranda Grell and summer intern and work experience student Allie and Liam, travelled up to the House of Commons to attend the the launch of the issue 3 of Proof Magazine – ‘Why legal aid matters‘. 

HCLC is delighted to welcome US summer intern Allie Clements to the Centre.  

Hackney Community Law Centre joined the Hackney 'More in Common' festival on Saturday the 17th of June 2017. The Hackney event, which took place at the Hackney Community College, was one of thousands around the UK celebrating the life of the late Jo Cox MP.

We are delighted to have welcomed Sir Henry Brooke to Hackney Community Law Centre.

Our immigration caseworker, Sonia Lenegan (pictured right) has been successful in winning a number of asylum appeals since she joined Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC). One of her recent cases involved Sonia appealing a Home Office decision after it dismissed a HCLC client's application for asylum. Our client, a gay man from Algeria, was originally told by the Home Office that they didn't bel

Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC) is deeply honoured to have received a donation for £500 from Lady Antonia Fraser DBE. Lady Antonia is is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. Her first major work was a 1969 biography of Mary, Queen of Scots, which was followed by several other biographies, including Cromwell, Our Chief of Men in 1973. 

Good news for our client Julius Holgate! On Wednesday 22nd February 2017, Julius (pictured right with his HCLC caseworker Marcin Brajta) received a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) informing him that it would no longer refuse to pay him Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Back in January, Julius - a double amputee with no legs - approached HCLC for help after the DWP a

Hackney Community Law Centre is delighted to welcome Sonia Lenegan to the team as our new immigration solicitor! Sonia (pictured right) joined Hackney Community Law Centre in January 2017, having previously volunteered at South West London Law Centre when she was a Legal Practice Course student. She has volunteered with Camden Law Centre since 2013. Sonia was admitted to the roll as a solicitor

In January, Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC) was approached by Julius Holgate, a disabled double amputee (pictured above). Mr Holgate had applied for the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) benefit and been asked to attend a medical assessment. Despite having no legs, Mr Holgate was awarded a total of 0 points by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) officer who conducted the ass

On Wednesday 25th January 2017, Miranda Grell, HCLC's development officer, addressed a conference organised by the Westminster Legal Policy Forum. The conference was entitled "Legal innovation and the business of law: technology, skills and new business models". Miranda gave a joint presentation with Jimmy Vestbirk, the founder of Legal Geek who organised a hackathon for HCLC last year. Mirand

We are delighted to announce that, with the help of students and pro bono staff from BPP Law School, our services to: a) help people with debt and consumer law problems; and b) help people fill out their Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) forms has reopened. Debt and consumer service To find out how to make an a

HCLC housing solicitor Jamille Mohammed (pictured right) was recently on duty at Clerkenwell & Shoreditch County Court. This meant that he was required to advise, assist and represent anyone attending the court that day who didn't already have a solicitor. As always, there were lots of people waiting and Jamille prevented a number of defendant tenants from being evicted. One housing associa

SEASON'S GREETINGS FROM EVERYONE AT HACKNEY COMMUNITY LAW CENTRE! Thank you for your support in 2016 and we look forward to continuing to work with you in 2017! We are closed from 1pm on Friday 23rd December 2016 until 10am on Tuesday 3rd January 2017.

Hackney Community Law Centre held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday 28th November 2016. We were delighted to be joined by our patron Jean Lambert MEP who gave the keynote address. Jean sits on a number of committees in the European Parliament. She is a member of The Employment and Social Affairs Committee working on issues including immigration, social inclusion, workers’ rights an