Legal Advice Centre
The Kingston University Community Legal Advice Centre is dedicated to providing free legal advice to individuals, charities, businesses and groups from Kingston and the surrounding areas.
We offer an appointment-based one to one advice service and engage in projects with local charities and community groups, assisting local people with legal issues or helping them better understand the law.
The Centre is run by law students. Whilst they hone their legal skills, the students provide a valuable service to the community, at a time when Legal Aid cuts are making it harder for people to access legal advice. All appointments, research and advice are carried out by our law students, supported with guidance from our staff, and volunteers from the Kingston legal community.
The Community Legal Advice Centre works with a number of local partners and agencies, including Kingston Citizens Advice Bureau, Kingston Information and Advice Alliance and YMCA South West, to deliver services and maintain the highest standards.
Our current partners include Cahill de Fonseca. We are also hugely grateful to the local legal professionals and law firms who so kindly volunteer their time to support our student advisers in delivering these services.
Our services
Our areas of advice include:
- Consumer rights
- Tenancy/landlord disputes
- Employment issues
- Community and charitable ventures.
As well as offering a one to one advice service, we also take the service out into the local community, working with charities, community groups and resident associations to help them or their users to consider their legal rights and responsibilities or to tackle any legal issues they might encounter. We would welcome any person or group who might benefit from such a service to get in touch.
Although we do not currently represent clients in court, we will help you find an organisation that can.
How it works
- Contact us with your legal query, leaving a brief summary of your case and a contact number.
- One of our student advisers will call you back and ask more questions about your query.
- We will review the details of your case and, if it is suitable, you will be offered an appointment with two of our student advisers. If we are not able to assist we will endeavour to put you in touch with an organisation that can.
- You'll attend the appointment with our student advisers; they will establish the facts of your case and research a recommended course of action. Please note, no advice will be given to you at this appointment.
- Students will work with a legal professional to research your case and produce an advisory letter, detailing our recommended course of action. We will endeavour to ensure this letter will be sent to you within 14 days of your appointment with our adviser. If necessary a follow-up meeting may also be scheduled at this point. If you require advice in a shorter time frame we will unfortunately not be able to assist and suggest contacting another advice agency such as the Kingston Citizens Advice Bureau.
The Legal Advice Centre adheres to the Kingston University Data Protection Policy which complies with the principles set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. All information relating to clients is stored securely and only disclosed to those working directly on the case. It will not be disclosed orally, in writing or otherwise to any other third party without the written authorisation of the client. Client information is stored securely for a period of seven years after the appointment, unless the client explicitly requests that such information is destroyed before then.
Get in touch
The Legal Advice Centre Director is Darren McStravick. If you'd like to know more about the Centre or think we may be able to help you with a legal concern please contact us via email at legaladvice@kingston.ac.uk.
Please provide your contact details and a brief summary of your legal issue, and one of our student advisers will call you to arrange an appointment.
Visits to the Centre must be by appointment only.
