Legal advice

Information on voluntary sector law

Our resource library at Community House has copies of key publications like The Voluntary Sector Legal Handbook - an ideal reference guide for charity law issues. See the library page for more details.

Legal advice

Here is a guide to a variety of sources of pro bono (free) legal advice.

ProHelp

Did you know that through ProHelp you can access professional support in law, property, accountancy and marketing? An initiative of Business in the Community, Pro Help is a network of professional firms across the country who are ready to undertake work with local voluntary and community organisations.

If you are working to either:

raise achievement in young people
break down barriers to employment
or work in disadvantaged communities in deprived areas of the borough

You may be able to benefit from ProHelp support. You need to be able to show that you could not otherwise afford professional help.

For more information please visit www.prohelp.org.uk.

Law Works

LawWorks is the operating name of the Solicitors Pro Bono Group (SPBG) - an independent charity with a mission to support, promote and encourage a commitment to pro bono across the solicitors' profession.

LawWorks for Community Groups provides free legal advice to small charities, voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises in England and Wales via a network of volunteer lawyers.

They can help with areas like company law, employment law and property law and many other areas.

To access the service you must first apply to LawWorks. If successful they will try to match you with a volunteer legal advisor – you will then be a client of the firm and the legal advice is provided free of charge.

Visit www.lawworks.org.uk and click on ‘nonprofits’ for more guidance on their services.

Free legal advice for disputes with public bodies

The Public Law Project has teamed up with NAVCA, Community Links Bromley’s national body, to offer free detailed legal advice to voluntary organisations on disputes involving public bodies' decisions and failures.

The advice line could help you if, for example, you have a problem over your service level agreement.

The advice line is open on Mondays and Wednesdays 2pm to 5pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am to 1pm – tel 020 7697 2198 or email mailto:evs@publiclawproject.org.uk

London Voluntary Service Council legal advice service

London Voluntary Service Council now offer a legal advice service for voluntary organisations.

Rosemary Bonna provides advice on leases, licences, contracts, commercial agreements, constitutions and other related commercial matters.

Details from 020 7700 8116 or email rosemary@lvsc.org.uk

Page updated: 28 November 2008