RLC Volunteers in the Spotlight
14th June 2010
Renfrewshire Law Centre's busy Volunteer Program recently received attention in the local press. Our volunteers are currently working towards the launch of a Law Clinic, which RLC hopes to run together with the University of the West of Scotland starting in October 2010.
Kenneth Speirs, PDE Reporter, has interviewed some of our volunteers for his recent article:-
LEGAL experts at Renfrewshire Law Centre have spent 12 years living up to their Justice for the Community slogan.
The team of legal eagles and volunteers, in George Street Paisley, offers free advice to people struggling financially, those facing eviction and anyone who is battling employment disputes or is on the verge of becoming homeless.
Anyone who has hit tough times can get help from lawyer Jon Kiddie, who is principal solicitor at the centre, and his team.
Jon said: “The staff is made up of lawyers, paralegals and clerical staff and is essentially a legal firm. We take on cases that the more traditional firms probably don’t.”
Their work is funded through the Scottish Government and is administered by Renfrewshire Council.
Volunteers play a vital role in the workings of the centre, and these are usually law students who want to help people and gain some experience at the same time.
Claire Gillies, 25, from Paisley, is a graduate of both Paisley University and Strathclyde Law School. She joined RLC back in 2007 as a law student volunteer, and has special interests in family law and women’s and children’s rights.
She told the Paisley Daily Express: “I sort of fell into it. I did a degree at the University of Paisley as it was then, and then I decided I wanted to practice law at Strathclyde. I thought I’d better get some experience.
“I was always going past the law centre, and one day I nipped in to see if anything was going. As I say, I sort of fell into it.”
Claire went on to join the staff permanently as a paralegal and last year she started her legal traineeship there.
Australian Briony Cullin, 27, from Melbourne, recently moved to Glasgow to join her Scottish boyfriend.
She is a qualified lawyer, but cannot practise in this country – although she is studying for a qualification that will allow her to do so.
Keen to keep her hand in, she joined the centre in December last year and does legal research and deals with funding applications.
She is being mentored by Joe Bryce, an advocate who is also co-ordinator of the volunteer programme, and through him she has gained experience of Scotland’s supreme civil court.
She said: “I’ve been to the Court of Session in Edinburgh with Joe and been able to observe how the Scottish legal system works.”
Law centres are well established in Australia, and so Briony has been able to bring her experience of those to Scotland.
She added: “In Australia, law centres are important places for law students to gain experience and to help people who are financially disadvantaged.”
In Poland, law centres do not exist at all, as PLC student volunteers Olga Sachanbinska and Mariusz Purgal, both 23 and from Krakow, can testify. Indeed, Legal Aid is greatly restricted in their country, compared with Scotland.
Olga told us: “There is Legal Aid for criminal cases, but not for civil cases. If people can’t afford a lawyer for civil cases, then they might have to stand up in court and represent themselves.”
Apart from the legal experience she is gaining in Paisley, the day-to-day work at the centre is an eye-opener for the student.
“It has been important for my education,” she added.
Both Olga and Mariusz are students at the Paisley campus of the University of the West of Scotland, and they owe their places in part to the centre.
“We were looking for some volunteer opportunities and we found this place – we saw it from the street,” Mariusz said.
Joe Bryce, a member of the Faculty of Advocates, gives his time free of charge to the law centre, having been encouraged in his role by the FA.
He explained: “The Faculty of Advocates is keen to develop social welfare law. There is potential for the universities, the Faculty of Advocates, law centres and the wider legal profession to act together to deliver access to justice.”
l If you want to volunteer, or if you are facing poverty or hardship and need legal help, pop into Renfrewshire Law Centre, 65-71 George Street, Paisley.
You can also call the team on 0141 561 7266 to set up a meeting or ask for advice.