OUR SERVICE

The Law Clinic offers free advice to those who cannot get advice elsewhere.  The service is run by volunteer law students working under the supervision of suitably qualified staff. There are three ways to obtain legal advice from the Law Clinic namely our Online Service, our Initial Advice Clinics and our Advice and Representation service. Which one is most appropriate depends on a number of factors such as the complexity of the case, the urgency of the issue, or the area of law involved. See details below of each service and how to access them.

WHAT CAN WE HELP WITH

We can help with

• Employment law
• Housing issues (e.g. private rented tenancy disputes)
• Consumer issues
• Scottish Social Services Council

We cannot help with

• Family law (eg, dissolution of relationships, child contact, domestic abuse)
• Criminal law
• Road Traffic
• Conveyancing (buying or selling property)
• High value claims in the Sheriff Court (above £5000)
• Court of Session cases

WHO CAN USE OUR SERVICE

All our services are for people who need legal advice and/or assistance and cannot obtain this elsewhere.  As our resources are limited we can only help those who cannot obtain legal aid (or cannot find a solicitor to help) and cannot afford a solicitor. We may need to ask for details of your income and savings to check if you are eligible for our service.

ONLINE SERVICE

The Online Service offers one off general written guidance on your legal issue. No meeting takes place and documents cannot be reviewed but a student researches the issue you contact us about and provides a written reply to your query within 15 working days. This is for people looking for non-urgent general guidance only. To use this service please complete the New Enquiry Form below.

INITIAL ADVICE CLINIC

Initial Advice Clinic’s offer one off on the spot guidance for people who do not need or want representation or where we cannot offer representation. This service operates every second Wednesday in the evening and is currently delivered by Zoom appointment or by phone.  The service is run by our student volunteers, with advice given by volunteer solicitors or trainee solicitors. Appointments are generally for 30 minutes to allow us to see as many people as we can. We cannot review documents in any detail or undertake any representation work through this service. Repeat appointments are not normally offered but exceptions are made depending on the circumstances. To use this service please complete the New Enquiry Form below.

ADVICE AND REPRESENTATION

This service involves our volunteer students having an initial meeting with you to obtain full details of your case. Meetings are being conducted by Zoom or telephone during the pandemic. After this meeting we will assess whether we can help and the students will confirm whether they can represent you and advise you on your situation. As your representatives they will have meetings with you, research the law, review the documents in your case, provide ongoing advice and where appropriate write letters on your behalf and in some cases represent you in the court, tribunal or other process you are involved with. All work is supervised by suitably qualified staff. As we have limited resources we can only take on a limited number of cases.  To use this service please complete the New Enquiry Form below.

ENQUIRY FORM

If you would like to use any of our services detailed above please complete this form. The form asks which service you would like to use. If you are unsure which is the most suitable service please select “unsure” from the drop down menu and we will contact you about this. It may take several days to get back to you so please bear this in mind and if you need urgent help you should seek help elsewhere.