Brighton Legal Clinic

We offer a range of free legal advice and support services for clients.

Our services are delivered by volunteer Brighton Law School students, with guidance from qualified solicitors and barristers. We are not a law firm and we are not regulated by either the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Bar Standards Board. However we make every attempt to meet their high standards in our service.

COVID-19 statement

Despite the problems caused by COVID-19 the majority of our services continue to function. We are currently providing our service either online or by phone. In very limited circumstances we may be able to offer you a face to face appointment.

We offer the following areas of law and practice, but please contact us if you do not see an example that matches your situation exactly.

Business Law

For example:

• You need help with small business set up.
• You want to protect your intellectual property.
• You need some terms and conditions for your business.
• You need help drafting policies and practice documentation.

Employment Law

For example:

• You have been discriminated at work.
• You are a victim of bullying and harassment.
• You have been unfairly dismissed from your job.
• You are being asked to work very far from home.
• You are being paid less than your colleague who is the opposite sex.

Equality Act Claims

For example:

• You have a complaint about unfair discrimination, victimisation or harassment by a public body such as a council or college.

Family Law

For example:

• You need help with your divorce.
• You need protection from an ex-partner.
• You have not seen your children and want to establish contact.
• You need help with an elderly relative. 

Housing

For example:

• You have been unlawfully evicted.
• You are living in very poor conditions such as persistent mould.
• Your landlord is harassing and bullying you.
• You have split up with a partner and wish to know your rights regarding your joint tenancy agreement.

Planning and Environment

For example:

• You wish to challenge a planning decision.
• You are part of a community group challenging a local plan.
• You want to protect a tree that has a TPO on it.
• You want to complain about pollution levels in your river.

Welfare and Support Payments

For example:

• You have been refused universal credit.
• You have been deemed to have no recourse to public funds.
• Your disability claim for financial assistance has failed.

We aim to serve as many people in our community as possible. We have no geographic exclusions and we have no high-income exclusions. However, we would ask you to consider whether you or your organisation can raise funds to seek paid legal advice – we can help you with a referral for this.  

We are extremely busy, and reserve the right to decline your case if we believe you would be better served elsewhere.

Our criteria for taking your case free of charge is as follows:

• You must have a legal problem that fits within the categories of our services
• You are not receiving legal advice or assistance from any other provider

We will give priority to those who would not otherwise be able to access legal services (for example, due to very low income).

1. Are you still providing legal advice during the pandemic?
2. What standard of service can I expect?
3. How quickly will I receive advice?
4. My case is urgent – can you help me?
5. Will I be charged?
6. Is the service confidential?
7. Can you represent me in court?
8. I have a disability and/or specific access needs. Can you still assist me?
9. How do I start my case with you?

1. Are you still providing legal advice during the pandemic?

Yes, most of our services are being provided either online via video calling or by phone. You may be able to attend in person in exceptional circumstances. We expect to be fully back face to face by October 2021.

2. What standard of service can I expect?

All of our projects are delivered by third year and postgraduate law students. They are supervised by fully qualified lawyers dedicated to the provision of accurate and timely legal services. All of our legal advice services meet the standard expected by the SRA and BSB.

3. How quickly will I receive advice?

Unfortunately, there is a huge demand for free legal advice. All queries are important to us but the timescale is dependent on the area of law and the availability of supervisors. More guidance will be provided when you contact the individual project. However a likely timescale for an interview is 2 weeks after initial contact.

4. My case is urgent – can you help me?

Our clinic is usually unable to provide legal services at short notice. This is because we must source an acceptable supervisor and review your matter with them. However, please do contact us as in special circumstances we may be able to expedite our processes.

5. Will I be charged?

There is no charge for our legal services. However, there may be some charges for expenses such as court fees. We will always make this clear to you in advance.

6. Is the service confidential?

All students and staff are required to sign a commitment to confidentiality. Our supervisors are bound by legal professional privilege and cannot disclose your confidential information except in accordance with our professional legal ethics. If you have any questions about what might become a necessity to disclose, please ask at the start of your interview.

7. Can you represent me in court?

Generally, our clinic is limited to provision of advice. However, we can assist you with Employment Tribunals and Social Security tribunals.

If you need to go to court for anything else we can use our network to assist you with a litigation solicitor or barrister.

We can continue to assist you with court tasks and research where you represent yourself as a litigant in person, however we cannot have ‘conduct of your litigation’. This means you will ultimately be responsible for your own matter and appearance in court but we will support you.

8. I have a disability and/or specific access needs. Can you still assist me?

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have a disability or any specific access needs. We will do all we can to make adjustments to suit your needs, including if you require a telephone appointment or documents in large print.

The type of support we can provide may differ depending on the service you require so please contact us using our contact details. We will ensure that the staff member responsible for the project is made aware of your requirements and that staff member will then contact you (using your preferred method of contact) to discuss the support we can offer you.

All of our services are completely confidential so we will not disclose your disability/access needs to anyone outside of the Brighton Legal Clinic

9. How do I start my case with you?

Access to the clinic is by pre-arranged appointment please contact us to book an appointment.

If you wish to seek assistance from the Brighton Legal Clinic team, it is essential that you contact us. 

Please note, Brighton Legal Clinic's services operate in line with the university's academic term dates between October and March, with a reduced service provided between March and September. We may be able to refer you to other organisations that can help you, once we have received your enquiry, we will consider the relevant referral details for you.

For new and existing cases and other matters, please email brightonlegalclinic@brighton.ac.uk.  

If you do not have any internet access (for non-urgent matters), you can contact the office for the School of Business and Law on 01273 642135 who will pass on your contact details to the team - you do not need to share any details of your legal enquiry. 

Or you can write to us at:

Brighton Legal Clinic,
University of Brighton,
Elm House,
Lewes Road,
Brighton,
BN2 4NU

You can also follow the clinic on social media:

Twitter: @legalbrighton

LinkedIn: Brighton Legal Clinic