Helping families through the Legal Advice Centre
Our Law students get the chance to make a difference in the local community while gaining real world experience and client contact through volunteering at our Legal Advice Centre.
The Centre was established thanks to a partnership between the University of Winchester and the Winchester office of Dutton Gregory LLP Solicitors. Members of the community can book a 30-40 minute advice session with a qualified lawyer who will provide initial oral legal advice on family law matters for free, ‘pro bono’. Our Law students volunteer to be on hand to assist and observe.
We caught up with Thomas Atkin, first year LLB (Hons) Law student, and Leo Todd, second year LLB (Hons) Law student, to find out more about their experience with the University’s Legal Advice Centre.
Jonathan Whettingsteel, Dutton Gregory LLP, left, and student Leo Todd, right
Why is the University’s Legal Advice Centre so important?
Tom: Family law topics – such as divorce, childcare agreements and so forth – are very common but it’s an area where many find it difficult to get funding to put forward a case as it is often complex, time-consuming and therefore expensive. This is why the Legal Advice Centre was set up to focus on this specific area in the first instance. As legal aid becomes further restricted for most families, advice centres, pro-bono cases and free sessions offered by solicitors are becoming increasingly important to a functioning justice system.
Tell us about your involvement in the Legal Advice Centre
Tom: The sessions offered by the Legal Advice Centre usually consist of a solicitor and two students together with the client. During these sessions, we get the opportunity to sit in with Jonathan Whettingsteel, the Head of Family Law from the regional firm Dutton Gregory LLP, to improve our notetaking, client interviewing and understanding of the various legal challenges facing families. Before undertaking the sessions, we partook in various training workshops on data protection and client concerns, ensuring that we abide by Solicitors Regulation Authority regulations, and to ensure the utmost confidentiality for those using the service. It has been a pleasure to make a difference and to help people from Winchester, and the wider Hampshire area, to access free legal advice and to understand their next steps assisted by free advice from a brilliant solicitor.
Leo: My role in the Legal Advice Centre has involved greeting clients, sitting in on advice sessions with clients, maintaining confidentiality and taking notes on the issues posed and advice given. I know that a number of cases in the Centre involve clients seeking advice about divorce proceedings, sometimes involving complicated factual and legal situations. I have somewhat of an active role, but it is definitely Jonathan (the family lawyer) giving the advice!
How has this opportunity helped to prepare you for the future?
Tom: The Legal Advice Centre is a great learning experience for those trying to get their foot in the door and build their CV. We are not required to have any previous legal experience which makes it a great opportunity for first year students like me. The Centre has helped me gain valuable insight into the profession and will bolster any students’ portfolio as they apply to firms in the not-so-distant future.
Leo: As someone who has a vested interest in family law, the Legal Advice Centre has provided me with not only a head start into gaining in-depth family/child law knowledge, but also experience on how a client interview happens, how legal advice is given in a professional context and how to take relevant, succinct notes. It is also a great opportunity to network with other Law students and Jonathan himself. These skills will aid me in further legal study and eventual practice.
Find out more about the Legal Advice Centre here.
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