University strengthens partnership with leading legal charity

University News Last updated 07 November 2022

Birmingham City University (BCU) has joined forces with leading legal charity Support Through Court to launch a new legal support service for people in the city.

The new service, which is based at Birmingham Court Office and launches on 7 November, will see BCU’s Law Clinic and School of Law students play an instrumental role in helping the charity provide practical and emotional help to people going through the civil or family courts as litigants in person.

Volunteers will support people who can’t afford vital legal services or access legal aid before they go to court, whilst also providing assistance at in-person and remote hearings.

The Birmingham-based personalised legal support service reaffirms BCU’s commitment as the university for Birmingham, along with Support Through Court’s commitment to the city’s people, as well as boosting the partnership between the two organisations.

Emma Taylor, Interim Chief Executive Officer for Support Through Court, highlighted the value of the partnership with BCU:

Since March 2020 the BCU Law Clinic has also hosted Support Through Court’s National Helpline call service which continues to help people across England and Wales to access remote help and support as they face court alone. In the last financial year, the Helpline supported people on 13,701 occasions, representing 28% of the charity’s overall client contact figures, with an average of 1,142 calls per month.

Lauren Moult and Frankie Flanagan, both third-year BCU School of Law students, and committed Support Through Court volunteers were each given additional paid roles with the charity over the summer.

This strengthened partnership will deliver benefits for all court users as well as BCU School of Law students who, through volunteering and face-to-face support work, are further developing as rounded legal professionals and graduates.