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Senior lawyer appointed as head of the Legal Advice Centre at Nottingham Law School

Cartwright King director, Laura Pinkney, has been appointed as head of the Legal Advice Centre at Nottingham Law School, as the Centre exceeds £2.5 million in compensation and recovered benefits for clients.

    Entrance to the Legal Advice Centre
    More than 1,800 student volunteers have helped in excess of 1,675 clients through the Legal Advice Centre

    Laura, who takes up the position in January, is a director and operational board member at Cartwright King and is also the current president of the Nottinghamshire Law Society.

    She originally joined Cartwright King as an intern in 2002 and has extensive legal practice management and strategic planning experience, overseeing the operational management of more than 200 staff across 18 offices. Laura specialises in serious fraud and regulatory cases and is also the head of Cartwright King’s Crime and Immigration departments.

    As the Chair of Nottinghamshire Law Society’s Education and Training Committee, she led its response to proposed regulatory changes, including the Solicitors Qualifying Exam. Laura has sat on the NLS Employer Advisory Board for the last seven years and, as an alumna of the Law School, has been involved in numerous events including the Pathways to Law project and the Alumni Fellowship programme.

    Laura has also recently been closely involved in the National Law Society’s ‘Women, Leadership and the Law’ platform.

    Laura Pinkney
    Laura Pinkney joins Nottingham Law School from Cartwright King

    The Legal Advice Centre acts as a ‘teaching law firm’ and is fully regulated as an Alternative Business Structure by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It works closely with local firms, advice agencies, voluntary sector organisations and schools to offer legal support to the local community and develop pro bono opportunities for Nottingham Law School students.

    In the last year the LAC has recovered £999,208 in compensation or benefit for it clients and in excess of £2.5 million in the last four years. Since its inception more than 1,800 student volunteers have worked in the Centre for over 1,675 clients.

    Dean of Nottingham Law School, Professor Janine Griffiths-Baker, said: “Laura has already had an exceptional legal career and is bringing a wealth of experience with her, as well as an extensive network of contacts within the legal profession on a local and national level. She will be taking the helm of a unique and successful service - in the last four years we have seen a 91% increase in enquiries and requests for support which means our Legal Advice Centre is assisting more individuals, organisations and businesses than ever before.”

    Laura Pinkney said: "The Legal Advice Centre plays a vital role in inspiring the next generation of solicitors and barristers and provides students with unique opportunities to develop their technical and practical skills. The Centre also provides access to justice to those who are unable to afford much needed legal advice and I have seen first hand the client testimonials praising the advice and support of the students, which is often given during difficult and life changing times. The impressive statistics speak for themselves and I look forward to continuing and developing the excellent work being undertaken by the Legal Advice Centre."

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      Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2017 at the Times Higher Education Awards, and Modern University of the Year in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.

      NTU has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available.

      NTU is one of the largest UK universities. With 30,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University contributes £900m to the UK economy every year. It is one of the UK’s most environmentally friendly universities, containing some of the sector’s most inspiring and efficient award-winning buildings. 96% of its graduates go on to employment or further education within six months of leaving.

      Our student satisfaction is high: NTU achieved an 88% satisfaction score in the 2018 National Student Satisfaction Survey.
      The University is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable Nottingham Trent to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

      NTU is home to world-class research, and won The Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2015 – the highest national honour for a UK university. It recognised the University’s pioneering projects to improve weapons and explosives detection in luggage; enable safer production of powdered infant formula; and combat food fraud.

      With an international student population of over 3,000 from around 100 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook

    Published on 10 December 2018
    • Category: Press office; Nottingham Law School