Legal aid, employment rights and a new Law Centre: the Law Centres Network AGM

Colleagues from across the country joined us alongside Lord Bach and Kate Bell of the Trades Union Congress.

On the day, we also launched our new annual review. Learn how we’ve been responding to challenges, strengthening the network and planning for the future over the past year.

Chair of Leicester Community Advice and Law Centre, Lord Bach, kicked off the AGM. He told attendees that he and colleagues are “so proud to be a Law Centre, and so proud of what we do and what we achieve.” Speaking on the state of civil legal aid, Lord Bach continued: “we really do have to change how things are, and we have to do this during the course of this government.”

Justice minister, Heidi Alexander MP, passed on a message which was read by LCN chair, Helen Rogers:

“I would like to extend my gratitude, respect and admiration to the Law Centres Network, and all your members, for the incredibly important work you do… we now have the opportunity to rebuild our justice system, and making sure we have a sustainable legal aid and legal support system is a top priority for me, and for my colleague, the Lord Chancellor.”

With legal aid in mind, we then turned our attention to Leeds, a city which has been hard hit by legal aid cuts. After a successful vote, we were delighted to welcome our newest Law Centre: Citizens Advice Leeds.

We also took time at the AGM to remember lost colleagues. Vicky Fewkes, director of Ealing Law Centre, paid tribute to Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre housing lawyer, Simon “Spike” Mullings, who passed away in the summer.

Spike was an inspiration to colleagues across the network, and so too was Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC) solicitor, Nat Mathews, who passed away two years earlier in May 2022.

To commemorate Nat, HCLC recently launched the Nathaniel Mathews Award for excellence or innovation in Law Centre housing work. At the AGM, we announced the first winner: many congratulations to Marcin Brajta of North West London Law Centres.

Marcin is said to reflect Nat’s definition of social justice warrior. Chair of HCLC, Ian Rathbone, described Marcin accordingly:

“He is very tenacious; he won’t accept defeat, and he has pursued some of the most difficult cases to the higher courts.”

The AGM concluded with a talk from Kate Bell of the TUC on the Employment Rights Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament. With a view to strengthening workers’ rights, the trade union movement has long been campaigning for this legislation. But as Kate told the AGM:

“This legislation will only make a real difference if people have access to justice.”

The network couldn’t agree more wholeheartedly, for this is what Law Centres do: they enforce people’s rights. Better enforcement of rights means a society where employers are less likely to exploit workers, where landlords are less likely to exploit tenants, and where public bodies are less likely to neglect their duties. To make this a reality, we need change for legal aid.