Students offer practical and emotional support
A helpline that supports members of the public representing themselves in court cases has found a new home at Nottingham Law School.
The busy helpline of the charity Support Through Court has handled some 17,000 calls annually over the past two years, providing advice and guidance to individuals involved in civil and family matters.
The charity has announced that the service will now operate from the NLS campus, where students will manage the phone lines. The move brings together the helpline with the charity’s national online service, also based at NLS, part of Nottingham Trent University, and offering clients both telephone and video appointments.
Students receive expert training to work on both services, and the addition of the phone line enables volunteers to provide legal information, assist with procedures, court forms, and statements, while also offering much-needed emotional support.
A minimum of 150 NLS students are trained each year to work on the services, with up 48 students working across both services each day. The charity hopes to support 3,000 clients each month during a time when many individuals cannot afford legal services, providing vital access to justice.
Laura Pinkney, head of NLS Legal, the law school’s teaching law firm, said:
“This development is testament to the strength and success of the Support Through Court/NLS partnership to date, and we look forward to continuing to work with Support Through Court to help more litigants in person and to offer more outstanding opportunities to our students.”
Lizzy Parkes, Support Through Court’s senior service manager for the National Services, added: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Support Through Court with our national services giving us the opportunity to reach more clients around the UK who may not be able to get in touch with a local office for support. We are grateful to have the support of NLS Legal, Nottingham Trent University, and its fantastic students to assist us in ensuring that no one must face court alone.”
News of the move comes after the charity’s partnership with St. Mary’s School of Law earlier this year, which allows student volunteers to support members of the public attending hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice and the Central Family Court.