Brent Community Law centre

Brent Community Law centre

At a glance

Causes

  • Counselling / advice
  • Housing and homelessness
  • Human rights
  • Local / community
  • Refugees / migrants

Other details

Geographical remit: 
Local

Objectives

BCLC was founded in 1972 to meet a growing demand for specialist legal assistance from people who could not afford to pay for a solicitor. Over four decades later, BCLC is a staunchly independent, and an effective and influential proponent of legal rights in social welfare law. We are committed to achieving the highest professional and quality standards in our legal work, recognising that effective representation is at the heart of a just, credible and efficient legal system, and we co-operate with peer law centres and other organisations to promote best practice and knowledge sharing. At least 50% of our clients are from ethnic minority backgrounds, and we target our services towards the vulnerable and most in need wherever possible. Though we focus on deploying our legal expertise on more complex and borderline cases, and on working with more vulnerable and traumatised clients, the emphasis we place on sensitivity and empathy in our casework enables us to sustain a success rate in our legal representation that is way above the national average.      

Our advocacy objectives are rooted in the evidence generated by our legal work, ensuring that the focus of our advocacy is on challenging poor quality decision-making and inequality of service provision, and on promoting the value of a fair and non-discriminatory legal system that ensures access to competent legal representation for all.

BCLC plays an active role in the borough voluntary sector and NGO movement, networking, co-ordinating and combining to strengthen the impact of our individual and collective efforts. We work constructively, though never uncritically, with local government, where and when it is in the interests of people exercising legal rights to do so.     

Committed to remaining responsive to the needs of its beneficiaries and on running a streamlined organisational infrastructure, BCLC has consistently provided free legal services to the Brent community for over forty years. We seek to retain our clear sense of purpose and a sharp cutting edge in the continued provision of these services, despite central government austerity measures and their impact on funding for legal aid and for specific advice giving projects.

 

Activities

BCLC is a specialist legal practitioner, representing and litigating on behalf of vulnerable clients at all stages of social welfare law – namely Housing, Social welfare law , Immigration, Debt, Employment, Welfare Benefits, Community Care and Public Law. We are highly regarded for the rigour and effectiveness of our legal services, and widely respected for our commitment to our clients and the influence we exert within the law centre movement. 

Our advocacy objectives are rooted in the evidence generated by our legal work, ensuring that the focus of our advocacy is on challenging poor quality decision-making and inequality of service provision, and on promoting the value of a fair and non-discriminatory legal system that ensures access to competent legal representation for all.

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