The Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court, Baroness Hale, and the Hon Charles Wigoder have opened the new Kent Law Clinic at the Canterbury campus.
Kent Law Clinic offers free legal advice to the local community and the Rt Honourable the Baroness Hale of Richmond has commended Kent for its work for those who otherwise could not afford it.
Under the direction of Clinic Director, Professor John Fitzpatrick, law students have helped clients gain millions of pounds in compensation in employment law cases and brought landmark cases in asylum law which have been of huge benefit to subsequent claimants.
Baroness Hale delivered a keynote speech, entitled Human Rights and Social Justice, in the Woolf lecture theatre at 6.00pm on 6 October, which was free and open to all.
The Wigoder Law Building, as it will be known, is sited between Eliot and Rutherford colleges and will be the new home for the Kent Law Clinic and the University’s mooting programme.
Built in the style of a court room, the new Moot Chamber will enable students to practice their advocacy skills in a professional setting, complementing the realism already provided by the involvement of the local judiciary in mooting at Kent.
The ground floor will provide extended accommodation for the Kent Law Clinic, with new facilities including a lobby and seating area for clients, an expanded shared working space for staff and students, and a greater number of interview rooms and offices.