UCL law clinic steps up to offer support during crisis

UCL's Centre for Access to Justice (CAJ) is continuing to offer free legal advice on social welfare issues to ensure that vulnerable adults have a lifeline of support throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The Centre was set up by Professor Dame Hazel Genn in 2013 to ensure that vulnerable groups have access to critical services and support that they need and to which they are legally entitled. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the CAJ team has transformed its legal advice clinic into a remote service, offering skype, WhatsApp video and telephone appointments for people who require specialist legal advice. It is also dealing with many of its enquiries over email. The service, based in Stratford, Newham, is run by qualified solicitors and in normal times is supported by students from UCL's Faculty of Laws. It offers free, independent and confidential legal advice and representation, specialising in welfare, housing and education, while also offering one-off advice on family law matters. Professor Genn, Executive Director of UCL's Centre for Access to Justice, is recognised internationally as a leading authority on access to justice.