Volunteering
Richmond Legal Advice Service only exists through the time freely given by lawyers.
Who can volunteer?
To provide advice to clients an adviser must be a qualified lawyer,
i.e. a solicitor (who has completed their training contract and has
been admitted as a solicitor) or a barrister (who has completed their
pupillage and has been called to the bar). Trainee solicitors or pupil
barristers are also able to give advice, as long as they are
supervised.
In our literature we refer to all our advisers as being qualified lawyers.
Must an adviser be a practicing solicitor or barrister?
No. Some of our advisers are not practising as solicitors or
barristers. For example, some advisers might have child care
responsibilities, or are lecturing or pursuing other activities.
When is Richmond Legal Advice Service open?
Only on Tuesday evenings between 8pm and 9pm.
How often do volunteers have to provide advice?
Each adviser is asked to provide advice, on average, one evening in every 4 to 6 week period.
A rota is compiled for a period (3 to 6 months ahead). If a adviser is not
able to make a session then they can swap with another adviser or
contact the secretary to arrange a swap.
How specialist or extensive should the legal knowledge of a volunteer be?
The experience of most advisers is that clients normally require mostly
common-sense advice. The situations advisers normally face are:
- basic advice on commencing or defending a small-claims case, e.g.
over someone providing a service without reasonable care and skill.
Outlining the steps in taking legal or defending a case, practical
advice on the difficulty of pursuing a sole trader to obtaining redress
- Identifying whether a client has a legal problem, e.g. a
neighbour problem, identifying whether the action of a neighbour is
causing a nuisance or trespass
- Basic legal advice in such areas as consumer law, employment and landlord and tenant matters, neighbour disputes etc.
If clients require detailed, specialist, advice (which is outside of
the expertise of the adviser) or require ongoing advice and assistance
(like if the client had instructed a firm of solicitors) or require
urgent action to be taken on their behalf, then Richmond Legal Advice
Service is not the right organisation for them. If an adviser has a
client that falls into these categories then the client is offered the
choice of coming back to another session and to see another adviser who
knows more about the subject matter the client has asked for help or
refer the client onto a firm of solicitors. The rota includes
information on the areas of law on which a particular adviser is
expert.
If a client needs to be referred on, there is a list of firms of
solicitors in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames who undertake
CLS-funded work. There is also a list of specialist firms of
solicitors.
What kind of advice or assistance do clients require?
Technically anything and everything. But experience shows that the
majority of advice and assistance sought falls in the following
categories: consumer law, neighbour disputes and issues, landlord and
tenant, family law, employment, wills and probate, council-related
matters and civil litigation.
Areas where little or no advice is sought: immigration, welfare
benefits, debt and criminal law. Where welfare benefits and debt advice
and assistance is sought, Richmond Legal Advice Service normally refers
these clients to the local CABx.
Is follow-up work necessary or required?
There is not normally any follow-up work necessary, but sometimes it
may be necessary to write a letter, draft a claim etc. or reply to
correspondence, but usually no more. An adviser can do more than a
minimal amount of follow-up work if they wish, but copies of all
correspondence and documentation should be filed at Richmond Legal
Advice Service.
Although some clients come back for more than one session, normally clients only ever attend on one occasion.
If the client needs extensive follow-up work done or has a complicated matter the client is referred on.
How many clients can an adviser expect to see at a session?
An adviser can normally expect to see between 1 to 2 clients at every
session. The exact amount varies depending on the number of clients who
attend. On some occasions there are no clients, and one some occasions
there can be up to 10.
How many lawyers are present at each session?
At every session there are normally at least 2 lawyers present.
How to find out more/How to volunteer?
If you are a barrister, solicitor, trainee solicitor or pupil barrister
and would like to volunteer or would like to know more please contact
Victor Warner on 020 8891 2105 or by email (rlas {at} rlas {dot} org {dot} uk).