History of law centre


Hammersmith & Fulham Community Law Centre was founded in 1979 by a steering group of local advice agencies, charities, council officers and community groups. It responded to a strong need for legal advice, specialist casework and legal representation. It is still responding and meeting the needs of local residents and community groups today. The management committee of the Law Centre is made up of persons nominated by the local authority, named partner advice agencies and community organisations, and persons (generally ex-users) elected at the annual general meeting to represent specified groups of clients such as black and ethnic minorities, claimants, tenants, employees. We have a successful management committee and considerable local interest in and support for the Law Centre.

The Law Centre works closely with its partner advice agencies that form the backbone of the Hammersmith & Fulham Advice Forum. The main organising agencies along with the Law Centre are Fulham CAB, Fulham Legal Advice Centre, Shepherds Bush Advice Centre, Threshold Housing Advice and Hammersmith & Fulham Action for Disability, all of which offer some specialist advice whether under contract with the LSC or otherwise, and are funded by the local authority to provide advice. These organisations have a semi-formal partnership working arrangement dating from before the Hammersmith & Fulham Community Legal Partnership, which was one of the first to be formally set up, and one of the last in which the LSC formally was involved. The service delivery and mutual referral arrangements between the law Centre and these agencies are part of each agency’s funding agreement with the local authority, and our close partnership working is known to our LSC contract manager Alan Hunter.

The Advice Forum (and Refugee Forum, see below) draws together other local organisations offering general help, signposting and general advice, and other refugee and community organisations whose clients are the users of our services. We meet quarterly and The Law Centre provides the Chair.

Through these close-knit and well-established local networks the LawCentre provides second tier advice on the social welfare law issues in which we specialise: housing, community care, employment and asylum support, and also on immigration, asylum and nationality, to local advice and support services and community groups. From our local authority and London Councils funding the Law Centre provides important own pro bono advice to clients (especially in employment) and to local groups as organisations.

From our local authority and London Councils funding for social policy work and strategic legal work, the Law Centre also provides 'pro bono' training to other community groups including MIND, Refuge (the main women’s refuge in Chiswick assisting women facing domestic violence;) and other local refugee and community organisations including Refugee Advice and Support (RASC), Iranian Association, Iraqi Association, Eritrean Association in Hammersmith & Fulham, East European Advice Centre, Shanti Centre, NAZ project, Horn of Africa Community Group and many other local groups. (The Law Centre was the main impetus behind the setting up of Standing Together against Domestic Violence, now a nationally-funded independent project; the Hammersmith & Fulham Homelessness Forum, and from that the Hammersmith & Fulham Refugee Forum, now also independently-funded and managed).