LSE Legal Advice Clinic

The members of 42BR's Employment Team are delighted to be supporting the LSE Legal Advice Clinic, in partnership with LSE Law School & gunnercooke. 

The Clinic offers free, confidential legal advice to members of the public on a range of issues, while giving students the chance to develop practical, hands-on skills that will enhance their employability and deepen their understanding of how the law can make a real difference in people’s lives.

The clinic is designed to assist those who would otherwise struggle to obtain legal advice, as well as providing students with the opportunity to develop their legal skills, guided by the experienced members of 42BR Barristers.

Susan Chan, a member of 42BR's Employment Group, says of her involvement, "I have been overseeing some very 'switched-on' LSE law students in their giving of written legal advice to clients. The LSE run a legal scheme where clients can seek advice on employment law matters from the students, with supervision from 42BR Barristers. I had a discussion with three law undergraduate students, who were in the second or third year, prior to their first conference with the client, to discuss what the factual and legal issues might be, arising from the information initially provided by the client. The client was seeking advice on an alleged overpayment by their employer, which the employer was now seeking to recover. We discussed what questions the students had for the client, and what documents they might seek in their conference. I then spoke to the students again after they had met with the client, to see how it had gone, if any new lines of inquiry had opened up and if there were any gaps that needed following up.   

We also discussed how the written advice letter should be structured in terms of a factual timeline, identification of the factual and legal issues, referring to relevant legislation or case-law as well as flagging up procedural reminders such as ACAS conciliation and time-limits for employment tribunal claims. As the students only provide advice, not representation, the students refer the client on to further sources of help if they wish to seek legal representation. 

The students then prepared their draft letter of advice, which I looked over and commented on; this included my reminder that the advice needed to actually include their necessarily provisional view on the merits - easy to forget when setting out the history and issues!  

I found the students engaged, interested and informed: It was lovely having these interactions with them at the start of their legal practice careers, and I hope that they enjoyed this 'real world' insight of what it is like to be a practising lawyer."

Aysha Ahmad added, "I volunteered to supervise the LSE Law clinic pilot scheme. I was connected to two LSE students who had been sent a request for advice through the clinic. After the students met the client, I met them both and discussed the matter. We reviewed the documentation that the client had sent in together and their impressions and instructions from the client. I provided some parameters and guidance and we had a frank discussion. It was a challenging legal issue requiring forthright advice but also requiring empathy and a little ‘out of the box’ practical and strategic thinking. When I received the draft letter, which was spot on, I was absolutely delighted as I could see how much both students had absorbed and learnt from our session. It was a very rewarding experience. I think the clinic is a great idea and I have recommended it to both my mentees at LSE."

LSE added, "Thanks so much for all your support. Your barristers have all been amazing with our students, we are so grateful for everything they have done for the clinic."

We look forward to continuing our work, alongside gunnercooke, with the LSE Law Clinic and supporting both the students and those in need of legal assistance.

8th Apr 2025

Susan Chan

Call 1994

Aysha Ahmad

Call 1996