About Law Centres

Law Centres have existed since the early 1970s. Law Centres should be available to everyone, especially those living in less affluent areas with poor public services. However, the distribution of Law Centres is still sparse.

Law Centres are mainly based in large cities – London has almost of the half the total of Law Centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The LCF and its supporters have campaigned for a national network of Law Centres for many years.  However, because of the difficulties in securing (and keeping) sufficient resources to set up and run a Law Centre, their development has been somewhat haphazard.

Over the years, the LCF has worked with many local people who have been keen to set up a Law Centre.  However, their projects have often failed either because local authority funding was not forthcoming or because contracts from the Legal Services Commission were unavailable. 

Changes to the priorities set by local authorities sometimes results in their questioning the funding they give to their local Law Centre.  The withdrawal or reduction of funding has meant in some cases that Law Centres have had to close. 

Law Centres however, remain popular and will play an important role in the development of new Community Legal Advice Centres (CLAC) and Networks.  Gateshead Law Centre for example, together with the local CAB and private practice solicitors formed the first CLAC in May 2007.

The LCF has compiled a timeline of significant events in the history of legal services and the expansion of Law Centres:
Signifcant_Dates_in_the_History_of_Law_Centres_April_2008.doc