COVID-19 UPDATE: Access to Justice is currently closed to new clients but existing cases are being dealt with.
Access to Justice Project
It is crucial that asylum seekers and migrants have access to good quality legal advice at the earliest opportunity. This was becoming increasingly difficult due to cut backs in publicy funded legal services. Local access to a good, free solicitor became very limited, and many areas of immigration law receive no public funding at all. It was in response to this crisis that the Access to Justice Project was born in 2014.
We are currently open on a part time basis with two experienced advisors. We are registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commisioner (OISC) to advise clients up to level 3 (appeal stage). The service is available to individuals who do not have access to a free advisor.
Once a potential client has contacted us for help, they will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about their circumstances. The case is then assessed and further information gathered if necessary. A decision is then made about how the client can best be helped.
Our most successful case so far was a victim of domestic violence. She was traumatised and had no real hope that her situation would improve. She was abandoned by her parents as a child and had no home country to return to safely. She was so overwhelmed when she got the news that she could stay in the UK with her children that she ran around the building, laughing one minute, crying the next. We brought hope to that family and they are now able to live a life free from fear.
We are a small project and we will never be able to take the place of the publicly funded legal services that have been lost. What we lack in size we make up for in the commitment and determination. We will be there for those who need us, on every step of their journey.
Special thanks goes to John Bingham, whose tireless efforts brought the project to life, and to Lia Deyal for volunteering as an advisor.
Frances Pilling
Access to Justice Project Coordinator
It is crucial that asylum seekers and migrants have access to good quality legal advice at the earliest opportunity. This was becoming increasingly difficult due to cut backs in publicy funded legal services. Local access to a good, free solicitor became very limited, and many areas of immigration law receive no public funding at all. It was in response to this crisis that the Access to Justice Project was born in 2014.
We are currently open on a part time basis with two experienced advisors. We are registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commisioner (OISC) to advise clients up to level 3 (appeal stage). The service is available to individuals who do not have access to a free advisor.
Once a potential client has contacted us for help, they will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about their circumstances. The case is then assessed and further information gathered if necessary. A decision is then made about how the client can best be helped.
Our most successful case so far was a victim of domestic violence. She was traumatised and had no real hope that her situation would improve. She was abandoned by her parents as a child and had no home country to return to safely. She was so overwhelmed when she got the news that she could stay in the UK with her children that she ran around the building, laughing one minute, crying the next. We brought hope to that family and they are now able to live a life free from fear.
We are a small project and we will never be able to take the place of the publicly funded legal services that have been lost. What we lack in size we make up for in the commitment and determination. We will be there for those who need us, on every step of their journey.
Special thanks goes to John Bingham, whose tireless efforts brought the project to life, and to Lia Deyal for volunteering as an advisor.
Frances Pilling
Access to Justice Project Coordinator