HCLC News

On Monday June 11th 2012, Hackney Community Law Centre launched our new Community Law Shops service. In the first instance, the  walk-in, 'pop-up' services will operate between 2pm and 5pm every Monday at Hackney Central library.  The sessions are kindly sponsored by the London Borough of Hackney and Matrix Chambers. At the Community Law Shop sessions, Hackney residents will be able to s

HCLC is delighted to welcome Danielle Brown to the Centre as an overseas intern.

Danielle Brown is postgraduate law student from the University of Richmond in Virginia on the east coast of the United States of America.  Danielle is spending a month with HCLC as a legal intern before travelling to Cambridge to participate in a special University of Cambridge programme for overseas law students.

Choice in Hackney, the voluntary organisation which provides Advocacy and Independent Living Services to disabled people in London, is looking for participants to take part in its popular 12 week training course in Disability Advocacy and Advice.

As part of the course, participants undertake a 6-8 week work experience placement with a London employer. Hackney Community Law Centre is commit

On Monday May 21st 2012, Hackney Community Law Centre was extremely proud to participate in the 2012 London Legal Walk organised by the London Legal Support Trust.  

This year's walk saw more than 6000 people take part and more than Ј500,000 raised! The London Legal Walk is a 10km sponsored walk around some of London’s legal landmarks.  It is (probably!) the largest annual gathering of

Hackney Community Law Centre was delighted to participate in the 2012 Hackney Adult Learners Week, an annual event, funded by the Skills Funding Agency, which brings together a wide range of education and learning providers in Hackney to deliver exciting and inspirational free workshops for people who wish to learn something new or brush up on existing skills.  

The festival programme was c

Hackney Community Law Centre was delighted to participate in the College of Law's high profile 'Diversity at the Bar' debate held on Monday 16th April 2012.

The event saw a panel of eminent legal figures including Baroness Helena Kennedy QC and Rolande Anderson, Chair of the Bar Standards Board's Equality and Diversity Committee, discuss equality and diversity at the Bar. You can watch

HCLC Chair Ian Rathbone writes for new website 'Legal Voice'.

We are on the cusp of what we consider a law centre revolution. Serving a deprived but vibrant community in East London for almost 40 years, Hackney Community Law Centre has been considered part of Hackney’s furniture, writes Ian Rathbone. Now every day, however, we are confronted by the prospect of our demise and very survival.

Hackney Community Law Centre was delighted to take part in the Guardian newspaper's 'Live Justice' blogging experiment, where journalists tweeted live from courts across London.  

The point of this groundbreaking journalistic exercise was to try and demystify what goes on in our courtrooms to people who might not have had any experience of the courts system. On Tuesday 3rd April, the journalist

BPP Law School is now offering a free telephone adviceline for people with employment law related problems. Clients can call the line at any time and leave a message with their name and number.   Student volunteers then call them back to gather some basic information.   This information is then referred onto a volunteer employment lawyer who calls the client back to give some advice on

The Young Legal Aid Lawyers organisation has produced an interesting report on the impact of the legal aid changes on MPs’ caseloads.  

The report, launched in Parliament next week, finds that the caseloads will very likely go up. Read a summary of the report HERE and the full report HERE.  

Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC), the charity, which provides free and independent legal advice and representation to residents in Hackney, has gained its first official set of patrons.  

HCLC, which faces large cuts to its budget as a result of Government changes to legal aid, has approached a number of well-known public figures in the legal, political and entertainment worlds to se

The Newham Monitoring Project’s (NMP) FAIR Project provides FREE training and workshops, and aims to raise awareness around issues of race & faith hate crime - from low level harassment in the home to escalating levels of violent crime.

The FAIR project will also address: Any form of discrimination faced in daily life whilst accessing statutory services etc. – i.e. within housing/ed

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) is now offering a telephone adviceline service for undocumented migrants on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10am - and 1pm.

Download a flyer with more information HERE.

HCLC Chair Ian Rathbone responds to Ken Clarke after BBC Radio 4's ‘Law in Action’ programme (broadcast Tuesday February 21st 2012)

Last night as I listened to Kenneth Clarke, the Justice minister on the BBC iPlayer talking to Joshua Rozenberg on Radio 4?s ‘Law in Action – Legal aid changes: long overdue reform or denial of justice?‘ programme I noticed that on screen underneath was

Hackney Community Law Centre has launched a new advice service for young people aged 16-24. 

We are working alongside advice & advocacy workers from the Off Centre in Hackney Grove, and the Springboard Hackney organisation, which is based at the The Levy Centre in Lower Clapton Road, to provide specialist legal advice on issues such as: Homeless applications Renting in the private secto

Matrix Chambers has made a significant donation to support the setting up of ‘Community Law Shops’ in Hackney.

Through its ‘Causes Fund’, Matrix has pledged to pay towards the expenses of volunteer solicitors staffing the proposed Hackney Community Law Centre’s ‘Community Law Shops’ for their first two years of operation.   The provision of extra solicitors and casework

A carer mum and her vulnerable autistic son can remain living in Hackney, thanks to the work of the Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC).

Three years ago, HCLC - the charity which provides free and independent legal advice and representation to residents in Hackney - took on the case of Mrs Ama and her 23 year old son (pictured right). Mrs Ama’s son is autistic, has mental health problems a

From The Guardian -  There is a link between the welfare reform bill and the legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders (Laspo) bill, and it is not simply the inspiring challenges that the Lords have made to both.

At the moment, someone denied a benefit can obtain free legal advice on whether, and how, they should appeal to a tribunal against the refusal. The success rate for appellant

The Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA) has proposed a number of amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, which is going through the House of Lords.

If the bill were signed into law as it currently stands, it would abolish Legal Aid for immigration matters - mainly relating to exclusions to Judicial Review for immigration matters. Click HERE t