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Law students secure more than £5m for the Nottinghamshire community

More than £5 million has been secured for people in Nottinghamshire by students working at Nottingham Law School’s Legal Advice Centre.

    Students at the Legal Advice Centre
    Law students support clients with a range of services at the Legal Advice Centre

    The multi award-winning teaching law firm offers free and affordable advice and support on a range of legal areas, such as employment, family, business and commercial, insolvency, county court litigation, intellectual property, welfare benefits and housing.

    Students at Nottingham Law School work on cases under the supervision of qualified solicitors and have continued to provide support virtually during the pandemic.

    A recent win of more than £610,000 – its largest ever – in a construction dispute case means that the Legal Advice Centre has now passed the £5 million mark in benefits and compensation awarded to its clients.

    The Centre, which received the Contribution to the Community Award 2020 from the Nottinghamshire Law Society, has recently relaunched its housing service and expanded its intellectual property and special educational needs and disability services. Its range of services support vulnerable individuals, SMEs and charities, amongst others.

    The client represented in the successful dispute case commented: “We were in a situation where we felt broken; emotionally and financially. The support we have received from [the Centre] has been truly invaluable. Their knowledge, support, levels of communication and efficiency has been outstanding. We definitely couldn't have done any of this without them and we will be forever grateful. A huge thank you for helping us piece our life back together.”

    George Greenfield, LLB Law (Hons) student and a placement legal assistant at the Centre, worked on the case. He said: “Working at the Legal Advice Centre has provided me with a wealth of knowledge and experience I hope to implement within my legal career. I look forward to furthering my learning and working on similar cases in the future.”

    Head of the Legal Advice Centre, Laura Pinkney, said: “We are proud of the work we do in offering free and affordable legal advice to our local community. It’s a real team effort between students and colleagues at the Centre, who are all committed to providing access to justice for our clients who couldn’t otherwise afford legal representation.”

    Executive Dean of Nottingham Law School, Jenny Chapman, said: “This milestone demonstrates how important the Legal Advice Centre is for the local area. The team have not only continued their valuable work throughout the pandemic, they have expanded to offer even more to the people they serve.”

    As a not for profit teaching law firm with charitable status, the Centre was the UK’s first law firm fully integrated into a law school when it obtained an ABS (Alternative Business Structure) licence in 2015.

    It has won a string of awards, most recently including ABS of the Year in the Modern Law Awards 2020; being 'Highly Commended' for Volunteer Team of the Year at the East Midlands Charity Awards 2020; Paralegal, Jack Stuart, named as a ‘Rising Star’ in the Volunteer of the Year category at the East Midlands Charity Awards 2020; and Supervising Caseworker, Callum Scott achieving double success by being awarded Paralegal of the Year at the Modern Law Awards 2020 and also Highly Commended in the Junior Lawyer of the Year category at the highly competitive and prestigious Law Society Excellence Awards.

    Visit the Legal Advice Centre website for further information.

    • Notes for editors

      Press enquiries please contact Helen Breese, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8751, or via email

      About Nottingham Trent University

      Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students.

      NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 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.

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

      It is one of the largest UK universities. With nearly 32,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University contributes £900m to the UK economy every year. With an international student population of more than 3,000 from around 100 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook.

      The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was awarded University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards 2019.

      A total of 82% of its graduates go on to graduate entry employment or graduate entry education or training within six months of leaving. Student satisfaction is high: NTU achieved an 87% satisfaction score in the 2020 National Student Survey, above the sector average of 83%.

    Published on 13 April 2021
    • Category: Press office; Nottingham Law School