Hackney Community Law Centre

27/05/2026

My friend Pip Salvador-Jones, who has died aged 61 of gall-bladder cancer, was director of Citizens Advice in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham, one of the UK’s most disadvantaged areas.

Having started out at North Lewisham law centre in south-east London as an articled clerk, Pip moved on to Hackney Community law centre, where she worked as a solicitor helping, among others, Travellers, tenants’ associations and disabled people’s organisations.

Later, as chief executive of the Mary Ward legal centre in central London (2005-08), she doubled that organisation’s size and set up a new programme, Young, Free and Legal, to increase access to legal advice for young people.

Her final working spell, from 2010 until her death, was spent at Barking and Dagenham Citizens Advice, where over 15 years she headed initiatives to provide legal aid and advice to people facing evictions, domestic abuse and debt. She also made space in the office car park for a converted bus that served as an LGBTIQ+ homeless shelter ....

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/may/27/pip-salvador-jones-obituary?CMP=share_btn_url

Law Centres Network Hackney Migrant Centre The Guardian Hackney Gazette

Other lives: Legal expert who worked at three London law centres before becoming director of Barking and Dagenham Citizens Advice

16/05/2026

A note from Law Centres Network Director, Julie Bishop:
The dust is beginning to settle on last week's local elections. The headline across much of England - no overall control - tells its own story about where we are as a country: a fractured political landscape, deep voter dissatisfaction, and a genuine uncertainty about what comes next.

What does this mean for us? The results were mixed and, in places, alarming. Where parties with hostile attitudes towards advice services and the communities we serve made some significant gains - the implications for Law Centre clients are real: for housing, for welfare, for the tone of public services and the willingness of local authorities to invest in advice and support. These are not abstract political shifts; they are felt by the people who walk through our doors.

However, the fragmentation reflects the fact that no party has been handed a blank cheque and that creates space - for advocacy, coalition-building, for the kind of practical engagement that some Law Centres have already been pioneering.

It is worth remembering that Law Centres exist because the world is unequal and because people need somewhere to turn. That has been true through every political cycle we have navigated and it remains true now. We know the need for what we do does not diminish in difficult times. It grows.

Julie Bishop
Director, Law Centres Network

16/05/2026

We joined a because we believe something simple: legal support is an act of hope.

When someone walks into a Law Centre feeling powerless and leaves with their rights protected—that's hope, made real.

This week, we're celebrating it. 💛

16/05/2026

Hope looks different depending on who you are.

For a family facing eviction, it's a solicitor who picks up the phone. For someone whose benefits have been stopped, it's an adviser who understands the system. For a worker who's been treated unfairly, it's knowing they don't have to face it alone.

That's what we're part of. That's why we're joining a 💛

16/05/2026

16/05/2026

The Renters’ Rights Act is a significant moment for private renters but whether it becomes a genuinely transformative one will depend on what happens next.

Without , too many renters will be locked out of justice.

More in our newsletter.
👉 https://us5.campaign-archive.com/?u=0460307137424dbae2ed66bdf&id=11e2383168

16/05/2026

Four Law Centre nominations feature in the 2026 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (LALY) shortlist, announced this week.

A solicitor fighting for compensation for Windrush victims; a Bristol-based barrister with unique expertise in Welsh law; and two law centres both celebrating 50 years of delivering justice to their local communities are among the finalists in the 2026 LALY awards.
The LALY awards, now into their 24th year, are organised by Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) on a not-for-profit basis to celebrate the work of those on the social justice frontline. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in central London on 3 July.

Chris Minnoch, LAPG CEO, says: ‘The finalists selected by the LALY judges give a snapshot of the range and calibre of work being done by coalface legal aid lawyers. At a time when the rule of law and access to justice are under threat as never before, their work is more important than ever. The LALY judges had some incredibly tough decisions to make as the standard of entries is extraordinarily high, and everyone at Team LALY sends their warmest congratulations to all the finalists.

'We are delighted to be able to continue to celebrate the life-changing work that you and legal aid lawyers across the board are doing.’

LALY26 finalists include:
Van Ferguson, an immigration solicitor at Southwark Law Centre, who has won more than £780,000 compensation for Windrush victims; and brought a successful public law challenge over the lack of legal aid for these claims.

And also from Southwark Law Centre, Debbie Yates, shortlisted in the Legal Aid Support Staffer category in recognition of the essential behind-the-scenes work that keeps Law Centres running.

https://lapg.co.uk/news/lapg-announces-the-29-individuals-and-organisations-shortlisted-for-this-years-legal-aid-lawyer-of-the-year-awards/?utm_source=Bulletin&utm_campaign=45dd0a0d5e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_05_15_02_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-45dd0a0d5e-188195369

Law Centres Network South West London Law Centres Young Legal Aid Lawyers Hackney Migrant Centre

A solicitor fighting for compensation for Windrush victims; a Bristol-based barrister with unique expertise in Welsh law; and two law centres both

01/05/2026

Peter Kandler reflects on establishing the first Law Centre
Peter Kandler, co-founder of North Kensington Law Centre, has been featured in the My Legal Life series in the Law Gazette.

The article traces the early development of Law Centres and highlights his pioneering role in shaping the movement and expanding access to justice.

The Ministry of Justice stated that Kandler, who helped establish North Kensington Law Centre in 1970, was nominated for ‘transforming access to justice, inspiring the nationwide law centres movement and strengthening the legal profession’s commitment to rights and community-based practice’.

His approach ‘helped give rise to social welfare law, including the development of new areas of practice such as housing law and criminal defence at police stations’.

Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC) was founded in 1976.

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/my-legal-life/my-legal-life-peter-kandler-co-founder-of-north-kensington-law-centre/5126574.article?utm_source=Bulletin&utm_campaign=ba0d3bad53-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_04_24_02_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-ba0d3bad53-188195369

Law Centres Network Hackney Labour London Labour Party Hackney Migrant Centre Hackney South & Shoreditch Labour Party

The UK's first law centre.

30/01/2026

A Windrush generation man who arrived in Britain as a child 60 years ago has spent several months homeless and destitute, after officials questioned whether he had the right to live in the UK.

George Campbell, 69, ended up staying in a bus shelter in east London and visiting food banks after he was discharged from a hospital stay last year. Because he had no paperwork proving that he was in the UK legally, council officials classified him as ineligible for state-funded homelessness support.

Although the Home Office’s Windrush team was alerted to the urgency of his situation in early October, it was months before officials accepted that he was living in the UK legally and granted him the proof of immigration status to which he had always been entitled. He remains living in a night shelter, supported by a charity, because his attempts to claim a state pension have also been rejected, despite a lifetime working and paying taxes in Britain.

He is particularly grateful to a council worker called Juanita based in Walthamstow library, who noticed that he was spending all day there. She helped him get food vouchers. “If it wasn’t for her, I would be dead,” he said. Council staff placed him in an emergency shelter for a few weeks in September, but when they found he had no proof of his right to be in the UK, his housing application was closed, according to staff at the Forest Night Shelter, where he has been housed since then. He buttonholed Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, outside the library in September and explained his situation; she has tried to expedite his case but has been surprised at how long the process has taken.

“The Home Office knew it was urgent. It shouldn’t have taken so long,” said Creasy. While similar Windrush cases have largely tailed off in her constituency, she said she was concerned about a series of upcoming changes to the immigration system that could push new groups of people into immigration limbo.

“When we still have cases like this where uncertain immigration status means that people are completely abandoned by public services and reliant on the voluntary sector and night shelters, maybe we should take pause in any structural changes to our immigration system. None of us want another Windrush.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/26/im-part-of-this-country-windrush-man-left-homeless-by-home-office-inaction

Hackney Migrant Centre Hackney Labour Hackney Council Hackney South & Shoreditch Labour Party Stella Creasy Hackney Night Shelter

George Campbell, 69, slept in bus station as officials questioned his right to live in the UK after hospital stay

26/01/2026

Celebrating a milestone for the Law Centres movement:
We are delighted to share that Peter Kandler, founding member of the Law Centres Network and founder of the UK’s first Law Centre, has been awarded King’s Counsel Honoris Causa.

This rare honour recognises Peter’s extraordinary contribution to the law of England and Wales outside the courtroom and, in doing so, shines a light on the profound public value of Law Centres themselves.

More than fifty years ago, Peter helped establish North Kensington Law Centre with a simple but radical idea: there should not be one law for the rich and another for everyone else. That principle went on to shape a national movement rooted in communities, focused on fairness, and committed to making the law work for everyone.

This moment is not just about celebrating one individual. We want to use it to celebrate the impact of Law Centres in communities across the UK - the everyday difference you make in helping people keep a safe home, a secure income and stability for those they love, and in preventing legal problems from turning into crisis.

To mark this moment, we are inviting people all Law Centre staff to share a short reflection on what Law Centres mean to your community.

Hackney Community Law Centre offers our congrats to Peter, and our thanks to everyone across the network whose work continues to carry forward the values that inspired the first Law Centre and still inspire the movement today.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-kings-counsel-and-honorary-kings-counsel-welcomed-by-lord-chancellor--2?utm_source=Bulletin&utm_campaign=a3dfb567f6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_01_23_04_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-a3dfb567f6-188195369

Law Centres Network Hackney Labour Hackney South & Shoreditch Labour Party Hackney Migrant Centre Hackney Council

His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of 96 new King’s Counsel and the award of 8 new Honorary King’s Counsel.