1. 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.
2. 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 two weeks after initial contact.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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 University of Brighton Legal Clinic
8. How can I contact you?
Please email us at brightonlegalclinic@brighton.ac.uk. We will then contact you to let you know whether we will be able to assist you. Communications with your student clinician(s) and supervisor may be face-to-face or online (in person at the university, via email and via video call). Our clinic meets every month and we can provide you with details of this when we confirm your instructions.