Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice CentrePro Bono, Volunteering and Partnership Opportunities

A personal letter from Sir Nicolas BratzaI became involved with Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre in the early 1970s. As a recently qualified barrister, working as a volunteer at the Centre provided me with an invaluable opportunity both to support those in need and to develop my professional skills and experience.

Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre offered me and my fellow volunteers access to a breadth of work and diversity of clientele that would not otherwise have been open to us. It also brought with it considerable professional benefits in helping us to develop and practise legal skills in advising, negotiating, building a legal case and preparing the case for litigation. Throughout my 17 years as a volunteer, I received strong encouragement from my Chambers, which recognised not only the professional benefits which the experience brought to the Chambers as a whole, but the great importance of the engagement of its members in pro bono legal work.

Toynbee Hall founded the Poor Man’s Lawyer in 1898 and has been providing access to free legal advice ever since. It is the oldest continuously running service of its kind in the world. Welfare reform and legal aid cuts have resulted in an unprecedented increase in demand meaning that Toynbee Hall needs more volunteers to provide support to the local community. This need is greater now than ever.

Toynbee Hall’s proximity to the City makes it easy for volunteers to become involved. With increasing pressure for law firms to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility and engage with their local community, Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre provides the ideal opportunity for legal firms in the City to provide pro-bono support for a remarkable institution, with which I am proud to be associated.

As an ambassador for Toynbee Hall and former volunteer, I urge you to consider how your organisation can play a role in supporting your community through the Free Legal Advice Centre and reap the benefits of a more engaged, skilled and experienced workforce.

Contents

1 A personal letter from Sir Nicolas Bratza

2 Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre

3 How you can support FLAC

4 Volunteering

5 The benefits of volunteering

6 Financial sponsorship

7 What our clients say: Sarah’s story

8 What our partners say: Allen & Overy

Sir Nicolas BratzaToynbee Hall Ambassador

Former President of the European Court for Human Rights

1 Volunteering2 Financial support

We build mutually beneficial and strategic relationships with our partners to meet their corporate responsibility aims, whilst harnessing the skills and goodwill of the volunteers to support disadvantaged people in London.

We offer our partners bespoke benefits including branding opportunities, recognition on our website and communications, invites to Toynbee Hall events, and tailored support to keep employees engaged and to demonstrate their impact.

How you can support FLAC

Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre

The Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) is Toynbee Hall’s flagship service and the longest running free legal advice centre in the world. FLAC helps people from Tower Hamlets and across London to understand and exercise their rights so that they can tackle social injustice and improve their lives.

Supporting FLAC demonstrates a commitment to engaging with and investing in your local community – the founding principles of Toynbee Hall.

• Child poverty in Tower Hamlets is 49%1 - the highest in the UK

• 50% of older people in Tower Hamlets live in poverty 2

• Severe income inequality: a fifth of households have an annual income under £15,000 while the average salary of those working in the borough is £78,000 3

• Tower Hamlets has had some of the largest budget cuts to local services in the country – the youth service budget decreased by 65% in 2014 4

• Following cuts to legal aid, FLAC saw a 92% increase in demand in 2013/14

• 50 volunteers provide over 4,000 hours of support to over 5,000 people

Toynbee Hall is based in one of the most culturally diverse and creative parts of the country. But despite its proximity to the City, Tower Hamlets is the scene of some of the worst rates of poverty and inequality in the country.

Your company can support FLAC in two ways:

Pro Bono, Volunteering and Partnership OpportunitiesToynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre

1 Child Povety Map of the UK, End Child Poverty, October 20142 The reference is: NHS Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group Prospectus. Our Plans for 2013-163 Is Tower Hamlets Rich or Poor? Part 1: Poverty, Income and Employment Evidence Pack. Fairness Commission, 20134 Youth services spending down by one-third, BBC Online, March 2014

49% of children live under the official poverty line in Tower Hamlets

Volunteering The benefits of volunteering

Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) currently operates four days a week. Each day has a prominent theme:

Our volunteer advisors provide a vital contribution to the work we do, and we understand that working with us in this way is very beneficial for lawyers as they develop and practice their legal skills, particularly early in their careers.

Monday: employmentWednesday: general enquiries including family, immigration, criminal and civil litigationThursday: housing, consumer and debtSaturday: women only sessions (monthly)

The greatest demand is for employment advice; however demand for advice on immigration, civil litigation and (minor) crime is also relatively high.

We have worked with a number of legal firms over the years. Through experience and research we have developed a flexible volunteering model that provides exemplary support to our clients and complements law firms’ CSR strategies.

How it works

• Volunteer advisors from law firms support advice sessions from 7pm-9pm

• We require between four and five volunteer advisors - often trainees - and a supervisor from the same firm

• Each advisor supports between one and two clients per evening

• Advisors give initial advice to clients face-to-face

• Advice and instruction is followed up within two weeks where necessary, which accommodates the advisors’ other commitments and any research required

• Advisors are supervised by an experienced lawyer, with the support of other volunteer advisors who have particular areas of expertise

• All communications are done via Toynbee Hall and are referred back to the client to protect advisors’ and law firms’ professional privacy

50% of pensioners in Tower Hamlets live in poverty

Benefits for volunteers• Gaining experience in a unique environment

• Dealing with a diverse range of clients and issues face-to-face

• Greater autonomy than in the workplace - as cases are less complex

• Making a significant difference to clients’ lives

• Engaging with the community in which they work

• Contributing to the longest running free legal advice centre in the world

Benefits for law firms• Support pro bono work for people in need • Attract and retain talent

• Fulfil Corporate Social Responsibility goals

• Demonstrate commitment to staff development and community engagement

• Tailored updates from Toynbee Hall to support partners’ CSR reporting

• Enhanced reputation among employees, potential recruits, clients and the broader public

Pro Bono, Volunteering and Partnership OpportunitiesToynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre

It costs £50,000 to run Toynbee Hall’s FLAC each year.

Though costs are kept to a minimum and despite increased demand, we were forced to close one evening service in 2014 due to lack of funding.5

Given the growing need for our services, we therefore encourage law firms engaging in our FLAC volunteering partnership to make a contribution towards the costs of running this valuable service.

We also welcome the opportunity to discuss bespoke projects and partnership opportunities across all of our services - we are always seeking to partner with innovative organisations that share our commitment to improving the lives of others.

5 In FY2013/14 FLAC ran on Tuesday evenings: the total cost of all FLAC services was £65,000

Financial support

FLAC volunteering: £5,000As part of FLAC volunteering we ask for a financial contribution of £5,000 towards the running of FLAC.

Sponsor the women-only monthly FLAC service for a year: £3,500On Saturdays, once a month, we run a women-only Free Legal Advice Centre providing a safe, women-only environment to discuss legal issues affecting women and their families, such as domestic violence and family issues.

Sponsor an evening advice session at FLAC for a quarter: £3,500FLAC operates three evenings a week: we would welcome sponsorship for one weekly evening session for a quarter.

Sponsor evening advice sessions at FLAC for a quarter: £10,500£10,500 could fund our FLAC evening advice sessions (Mon-Thurs) for a quarter.

Sponsor an evening advice session at FLAC for a year: £14,500Last year, FLAC was forced to close on Tuesdays due to lack of funding. By sponsoring one weekly evening advice session for a year, you could help us accelerate our plans to reinstate this vital service.

Pro Bono, Volunteering and Partnership OpportunitiesToynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre

What our clients say: Sarah’s story

What our partners say: Allen & Overy Since 2011, A&O has been providing regular volunteers to Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre. Volunteering with Toynbee Hall is a compulsory part of their traineeship programme. Over the time we have worked together, A&O’s involvement with us has grown, with the firm also now providing support in relation to other aspects of Toynbee Hall.

But it is not simply a one-way relationship: A&O lawyers gain an enormous amount from volunteering at Toynbee Hall.

From a professional perspective it helps you learn to supervise other people. As a junior lawyer you’re often working in a team and you’re the person being supervised. Advising a client face-to-face means you have real ownership over your work, and there’s huge potential for personal and professional skills development as a result.”Nick Charlwood, Associate

Pro Bono, Volunteering and Partnership Opportunities

“

By participating in Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre I have had the opportunity to work closely with clients and develop my communication skills, take ownership of matters and to explore different and often challenging areas of the law.”

“I have found it a source of satisfaction to play a part in an institution that fulfils a fundamental role in providing legal advice to those with limited access and on occasion to have the chance to make a difference.” Oliver Grant,Trainee

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I have gained everything by going to Toynbee Hall. I had lost my marriage, my job, my self-respect. Everything. But due to the support from them, I regained my self-respect and my self-esteem. I don’t know what I would have done. I wouldn’t be here today without them – that’s for sure.

The moment I spoke to an adviser at Toynbee Hall they believed me and didn’t doubt me. One advisor gave me lots of moral support and the other solved all my problems. They changed my life. They took me out of the darkest place in my life.” Sarah, service user

After 32 years of marriage, Sarah’s husband threw her out of their family home. With nowhere else to turn, she ended up in a women’s refuge. Even though Sarah had been the victim of domestic abuse, she was still hopeful that her situation was temporary and that soon she would be able to go back home.

This was not the case. Sarah’s husband began a vendetta against her and began sabotaging her work as well as her home life. He stole some confidential letters from the healthcare centre where Sarah worked and lied about a serious health condition to get her in trouble. Once these came to light Sarah was suspended from her job for four months while she was investigated and was eventually dismissed. She had worked there for 23 years.

After receiving no help from her Union, Sarah came to FLAC for help. One of our advisers worked with Sarah to rebuild her life. They helped her get a car loan, wrote to her Trade Union and then helped with an industrial tribunal where she was awarded a settlement of over £40,000.

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Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre

Contact: Alex Allison, Corporate RelationshipsE: alexandra.allison@toynbeehall.org.ukT: 020 7392 2949

Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street,London E1 6LSwww.toynbeehall.org.uk

Registered charity number: 211850

Toynbee Hall has been providingfree advice services since the launchof the Poor Man’s Lawyer in 1898