This witness seminar event provided the opportunity to discuss a range of experiences of legal aid, and how to access it, including the ongoing challenges of its provision in the context of legal aid constraints.
It has been widely agreed that as a nationwide issue, the legal aid provision landscape is in urgent need of reform, the local dimension to that provision is less well understood. The nuances and region-specific needs when providing legal aid need to be taken seriously and properly understood. It was consciousness of this that shaped the direction of this Witness Seminar event.
A panel of speakers, with members drawn from the University of Plymouth, discussed their experiences, highlighting both the challenges and the successes of alternative services in the region in supporting the availability of legal advice. The intention was to provide local law firms, community organisations and local government policymakers in the South West (as well as those at national levels) with a resource for the present and the future.
THE PANEL
The panel was chaired by Professor Judith Rowbotham, Visiting Research Professor (University of Plymouth). Speakers were Dr Simone Schroff, Associate Head of School (Law) (University of Plymouth), Rosie Brennan, Associate Professor of Law, Director, Law Clinic (University of Plymouth), Luke Fisher, Lecturer in Law (Education) (University of Plymouth) and Dr Craig Newbery-Jones (University of Exeter).
The panel was chaired by Professor Judith Rowbotham, Visiting Research Professor (University of Plymouth). Speakers were Dr Simone Schroff, Associate Head of School (Law) (University of Plymouth), Rosie Brennan, Associate Professor of Law, Director, Law Clinic (University of Plymouth), Luke Fisher, Lecturer in Law (Education) (University of Plymouth) and Dr Craig Newbery-Jones (University of Exeter).
The event was open to legal professionals in Plymouth and Exeter in particular (but not exclusively – it was open to all South West firms dealing with immigration locally), organisations that provide affordable legal advice and also to local government staff and councillors, local MPs, Citizens Advice Bureau and local branches of groups like Refugee Works and Age Concern UK. It was also open to law students, especially those involved in law clinic activities.