ELF is delighted to announce that Cardiff Law School has joined our growing university pro-bono law clinic network. Under the tutelage of Ben Pontin, friend of ELF and senior environmental law lecturer at Cardiff, this gives ELF a stronger presence and creates greater opportunities for communities to access free environmental legal advice in Wales. Already this relationship has seen a flurry of recent nature-related enquiries coming from Wales.

University of Birmingham Law Clinic Contact Birmingham FLAG

Birmingham University join the ever growing national network of pro-bono ELF student law clinics. Birmingham bring a new dynamic to the ELF clinic with No 5 Chambers in Birmingham as their supervising partner. Two very interesting cases were initially sent for their students to work on - the first was a matter concerning a Parish Council’s statutory duties to local people to provide allotments (where private allotment space had been promised and not delivered). The second matter concerned “poultry sheds” - intensive farming facilities that see 60,000 to 80,000 birds being reared in tight indoor confinement and a question over the gaps between the planning application process and that of industrial permitting.

Here are the views of two Birmingham students, Jessica and Emma, on what it was like to work in the clinic:

University of Manchester Legal Advice Clinic Contact Manchester LAC

Established in 2000, Manchester’s Legal Advice Centre (LAC) offers reliable legal advice whilst providing practical experience for its law students, supervised by legal practitioners. It is managed by Director, Mrs Dinah Crystal OBE (Solicitor), and Deputy Director, Mr Neil Allen (Barrister), with the support of local lawyers and academic staff.