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University of Bristol Law Clinic |
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History
The University of Bristol Law Clinic is a non-profit organisation that was set up in 1995 to provide free, confidential legal advice and assistance to those who, for whatever reason, cannot obtain such services elsewhere. The Clinic was the brainchild of Donald Nicolson, a Lecturer in the University Law Department, who brought the model with him from South Africa. The scheme in which he had participated in Cape Town involved a network of local clinics that offered free legal services and were staffed by student volunteers working under the supervision of qualified lawyers also acting in a voluntary capacity. As well as directing the clinics, these lawyers provided telephone support and advice to the students as they worked on the cases they had taken on.
'We are a kind of safety net, catching anything that falls through the holes in the legal system.' Donald Nicolson,
An initial meeting for interested students was arranged in October 1995 and the response demonstrated that the idea had struck a chord. They had expected to attract about twenty students to the meeting, and had hoped to enroll half that number as active participants. In the event, some 200 people came to the meeting, 180 of them became members of the Clinic and 120 took part in a weekend training event. |
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‘...a kind of safety net, catching anything that falls through the holes in the legal system.’ |
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Tel: 0117 9545340 |
