- Also see our post What if I don’t have a lawyer? For links and advice about being a litigant in person, direct access barristers or McKenzie Friends.
- To see if you qualify for legal aid check this link from the Gov.uk site or call 0845 345 4345
- Dictionary of Legal Terms – a useful list from Pennington Law
Adoption Legal Centre – legal team advising adopters and potential adopters
Association of Child Abuse Lawyers – an association set up for the benefit of victims, lawyers, experts and other professionals involved in the field of obtaining compensation for the physical, sexual or emotional abuse of children and adults abused in childhood.
Bar Council Legal Hub – an on line directory of barristers and expert witnesses
The Bar Pro Bono Unit is a charity which helps to find pro bono (free) legal assistance from volunteer barristers. If you have cannot afford to pay and have no public funding, it can help with:
- advice, representation and help at mediation
- cases in all legal areas
- cases where proceedings have not yet been started
- cases in all tribunals and courts in England and Wales
BUT you cannot self refer, applications will only be accepted if they come via a referrer, such as your MP, a lawyer or an advice agency.
The British Institute of Human Rights. – charity that aims to provide people with authoritative and accessible information about human rights.
Citizen’s Advice Bureau – provides free and independent advice to all about their rights and responsibilities.
Child Law Advice – operated by Coram Children’s Legal Centre, provides specialist advice and information on child, family and education law. If you are calling about family law the number is 0300 330 5480.
Child protection project – part of Coram Children’s legal centre; website is no longer being updated, but note useful ‘map’ of child protection proceedings.
Children’s social care law in Wales -to assist social workers, social care practitioners, foster carers and advisers find the current law relating to social care for children and young people in Wales.
Community Care – offers a free down load of a guide for social workers to make their court evidence compliant with Re B-S.
Court of Protection Hub – news, cases and resources about the Court of Protection
The Custody Minefield – provides guides to law and good practice in many areas of family law.
Family Rights Group – good source of help and advice for people involved with children’s services. Call their advice line on 0808 801 0366 or email [email protected].
Family Court Info – family court information for families in the Bristol area, but contains useful general information about the court process, applicable in any area.
No Family Lawyer – help about what to do if you don’t have a family lawyer.
Family Law Questions – website of family law barrister Clive Barker offering information and advice about a number of family law issues.
Families Need Fathers -charity chiefly concerned with the problems of maintaining a child’s relationship with both parents during and after family breakdown. Offers information, advice and support services to help parents to achieve a positive outcome for their children. A Forum and network of over 50 UK Branches also offer the pro-bono guidance of solicitors and others familiar with the family courts.
Just for Kids Law – delivers holistic, client-led support to children and young people from crisis to stability and onwards into independence. They offer community-based legal representation, advocacy and opportunities programme. They aim to be the UK’s leading experts in youth justice law, sharing our knowledge, expertise and model across the UK and the world.
Law Centres Network – Law Centres help those who cannot afford a lawyer. Find a law centre near you.
Law Works for Community Groups – brokers free legal advice to small charities, not-for-profit, voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises in England and Wales. This is done via their network of lawyers in member law firms and in-house legal teams.
Law for Life – a charity working to equip ordinary people with the knowledge, confidence and skills that they need to deal effectively with everyday law-related issues. Runs AdviceNow, a public legal information website.
Legal Beagles -a free consumer law forum offering help, support and debate in many areas of day-to-day life. Covers most topics ranging from debt through to family and employment matters. The users and team are all volunteers and give information and support without liability.
Mother and Child Project – adopts a rights-based approach to try to ensure pregnant women and mothers who are or have been in the care system receive appropriate support to give them the chance to parent their own children.
National Centre for Domestic Violence -NCDV provides a free, fast emergency injunction service to survivors of domestic violence regardless of their financial circumstances, race, gender or sexual orientation. Their service allows anyone to apply for an injunction within 24 hours of first contact (in most circumstances). Works in close partnership with the police, local firms of solicitors and other support agencies (Refuge, Women’s Aid etc) to help survivors obtain speedy protection.
Rightsinfo – uses social media to improve understanding of human rights.
Rights of women – founded in 1975, this is a voluntary organisation committed to informing, educating and empowering women concerning their legal rights.
It has a family law advice line; for advice on issues including:
- domestic violence and abuse
- divorce and civil partnership dissolution
- relationship breakdown
- issues relating to children, including parental responsibility, child contact and residence
Call 020 7251 6577 (telephone) or 020 7490 2562 (textphone) on Mondays 7pm-9pm, Tuesdays 7pm-9pm, Wednesday 7pm-9pm, Thursday 7pm-9pm and Fridays 12noon-2pm.
Parents accused – site run by solicitor Rachel Carter who offers advice to parents facing allegations that they have caused injury to their child.
Public Access Barristers – find a barrister you can instruct directly via the Bar Council Directory.
Law Firms
Abuse Law – team of solicitors specialising in child abuse claims, based in the North West.
Farleys solicitors – offers advice on making claims against social services. Their advice line is 0845 287 7866. They are based in the North West.
www.latimerlee.com – Latimer Lee solicitors are based at 9 Sankey Street Bury Bl9 0JE Tel: 0161 797 4000
To find a solicitor specialising in child protection law, contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Ipsley Court, Redditch, Worcestershire B98 0TD Telephone: 0870 606 2555.
Decisions made by the courts
Family Law Week is an excellent source of law reports and commentary on all areas of family law.
The British and Irish Legal Information Institute -you can find British and Irish case law & legislation, European Union case law, Law Commission reports, and other law-related British and Irish material.
Jordans online services – a service which allows you for a fee, to access the latest law reports, case law, commentary, precedents, news and legal and administrative changes.
For commentary on various cases and issues see The Transparency Project
Thanks for your Adoption Legal Centre Advice. I know some people who didn’t have that information and had a heck of a time dealing with all sorts of red, and other colour, tape.