TERMS OF BUSINESS LETTER

Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms,

We are pleased to confirm an appointment with the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic (USLC) to discuss your case. We are located on Level 8 of the Graham Hills Building, University of Strathclyde on 40 George Street, Glasgow G1 1QE.

This letter sets out the terms which apply to our service. It is important that you take time to read and consider these terms. If you have any questions about any of the terms, it is important that you ask for clarification.

Who are we?

The USLC is a student run organisation and is part of the University of Strathclyde Law School.

Two volunteer law student advisors will be allocated to your case. These advisors will conduct the interview and all case work and representation, if appropriate and possible. They will give you a note of their names when you meet them.

While we try to ensure that the same two student advisors will remain on your case from the beginning, where this is not possible new advisors will be assigned without delay.

The work of the student advisors is supervised by one of our supervisors. Although our supervisors are qualified as solicitors, they do not practice as solicitors for the USLC and are not acting in their capacity as a solicitor on your case.

What is this meeting for?

The purpose of the initial interview is to allow us to gain an understanding of the facts and issues surrounding your case.

What happens next?

Following the interview, your student advisors will prepare a Statement of Facts, which sets out our understanding of your case. Two copies of the Statement of Facts will then be sent to you, allowing you to amend the details or add any additional information.

Once you are happy with the contents of the Statement of Facts, we will confirm whether or not we are able to assist you and the extent of that assistance. If we are unable to take on your case, we will write to you and explain the reasons why it is not possible to assist you.

Where your case involves representation at court or tribunal we may not be able to represent you if the hearing lasts for more than 3 days. This is due to the academic commitments of our student advisors. If this is the case we will discuss this with you.

Instructions

We will only act on your behalf in accordance with instructions provided by you. We may seek instructions by telephone or by letter or by email.

Do our services cost?

We provide a free service. However, if we agree to take your case on, you will be responsible for all court costs and other expenses such as Sheriff Officer fees. We will keep you advised of these as necessary.

Confidentiality

We undertake to keep the information provided by you confidential within the Law Clinic, subject only to disclosure with your permission or where required by law.

Getting in touch

Please note that the office is normally open between 9am and 5pm on weekdays, but we are not always available during these hours. You may leave a voicemail message if no one is available to take your call.

All correspondence and telephone calls are logged and passed to the relevant student advisors for their attention.

While we try to ensure that all correspondence and telephone phone calls are attended to as quickly as possible, our student volunteers do not keep regular office hours and communication can therefore be less immediate than in a fully staffed office. Wherever possible, we aim to reply to any correspondence and return telephone calls within five working days.

Withdrawal from acting

Very occasionally, during the course of a case, it may be necessary for us to stop acting for you.

We would only do this for a good reason and we would give you reasonable notice of our decision to do so. Such reasons might include where it would be unlawful or unethical for us to continue to act, where we can offer no further assistance, where your case is deemed to have no reasonable prospect of success, or where it would be a disproportionate use of the USLC’s limited resources to continue to act.

What if I am not happy?

In the event that you are not satisfied with the work that has been done for you then please raise it with us at the earliest opportunity in the hope that it can be resolved. If, however, you wish to take the matter further then feel free to contact one of the supervisors, on the Law Clinic phone number, 0141 548 5995. Following contact with one of the supervisors, if you remain dissatisfied, we will provide you with a copy of our formal complaints procedure.

We hope this information is clear and helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any matter of concern.

Yours sincerely

University of Strathclyde Law Clinic

TERMS OF BUSINESS LETTER

Name (first and last):

Email Address:

Address:

DECLARATION

I do hereby confirm receipt of Strathclyde Law Clinic’s Terms of Business Letter. I acknowledge that these constitute the terms and conditions of the service offered to me by the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic.

I have read and understood the declaration:

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