This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/jul/24/underfunded-and-overstretched-the-lawyers-seeking-justice-for-grenfell-tower-fire
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Underfunded and overstretched: the lawyers seeking justice for Grenfell | Underfunded and overstretched: the lawyers seeking justice for Grenfell |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| North Kensington Law Centre is based in a vast subterranean bunker beneath the Lancaster West housing estate in west London. The doors at the rear of the building are just a few feet from the charred remains of Grenfell Tower. | North Kensington Law Centre is based in a vast subterranean bunker beneath the Lancaster West housing estate in west London. The doors at the rear of the building are just a few feet from the charred remains of Grenfell Tower. |
| In the early hours of Wednesday 14 June, as the catastrophic fire took hold, the law centre’s director, Victoria Vasey, was woken by text messages from friends and colleagues. “I got here as quickly as possible,” she recalls. “We all came with the same idea of bringing clothes and food, but it was apparent by lunchtime that that was in hand. The people working in the community centres have been phenomenal.” | In the early hours of Wednesday 14 June, as the catastrophic fire took hold, the law centre’s director, Victoria Vasey, was woken by text messages from friends and colleagues. “I got here as quickly as possible,” she recalls. “We all came with the same idea of bringing clothes and food, but it was apparent by lunchtime that that was in hand. The people working in the community centres have been phenomenal.” |
| NKLC’s offices are so close to the tower that, for the first couple of days after the fire, they were behind the police cordon. So on that first Wednesday morning, its staff decamped to the Clement James community centre in the church over the road. A drop-in legal clinic for residents was up and running by lunchtime. | NKLC’s offices are so close to the tower that, for the first couple of days after the fire, they were behind the police cordon. So on that first Wednesday morning, its staff decamped to the Clement James community centre in the church over the road. A drop-in legal clinic for residents was up and running by lunchtime. |
| “For the first couple of days, people were in shock; the overwhelming feeling was one of disbelief,” Vasey says. “People really couldn’t get their heads around the legal side of things until [the following] Monday: it was the issues around temporary accommodation – and, in particular, tenants thinking they were about to be evicted – that first shocked people into coming to see us.” | “For the first couple of days, people were in shock; the overwhelming feeling was one of disbelief,” Vasey says. “People really couldn’t get their heads around the legal side of things until [the following] Monday: it was the issues around temporary accommodation – and, in particular, tenants thinking they were about to be evicted – that first shocked people into coming to see us.” |
| Over the past four weeks, the centre’s lawyers have had to conduct confidential interviews with bereaved clients in the claustrophobic, brick-paved corridors outside its tiny office unit, located where tenants of the estate used to store their cars and rubbish. “It’s not ideal,” says Vasey, with understatement. | Over the past four weeks, the centre’s lawyers have had to conduct confidential interviews with bereaved clients in the claustrophobic, brick-paved corridors outside its tiny office unit, located where tenants of the estate used to store their cars and rubbish. “It’s not ideal,” says Vasey, with understatement. |
| Supported by an army of volunteers, NKLC’s small team has advised 150 families affected by the fire – roughly a third of whom lived in the 24-storey tower block itself. | Supported by an army of volunteers, NKLC’s small team has advised 150 families affected by the fire – roughly a third of whom lived in the 24-storey tower block itself. |
| Advising the bereaved is “incredibly difficult”, Vasey acknowledges. “This is an order of magnitude away from what we usually deal with, but it’s not totally removed. Raw grief has quickly turned into anger – but you can deal with that, because it’s so clear where it comes from. We are lawyers, but we are human beings too.” | Advising the bereaved is “incredibly difficult”, Vasey acknowledges. “This is an order of magnitude away from what we usually deal with, but it’s not totally removed. Raw grief has quickly turned into anger – but you can deal with that, because it’s so clear where it comes from. We are lawyers, but we are human beings too.” |
| Legal history | Legal history |
| NKLC has a significant part in legal history. It was the UK’s first law centre in a network that reached more than 60 at its peak – having started life in a shabby butcher’s shop near the famous Portobello Road in 1970, four years before the first families moved into Grenfell. | NKLC has a significant part in legal history. It was the UK’s first law centre in a network that reached more than 60 at its peak – having started life in a shabby butcher’s shop near the famous Portobello Road in 1970, four years before the first families moved into Grenfell. |
| Its opening marked the start of a genuinely radical movement, which aimed to take access to justice to the poor and vulnerable. Law centres were run on a not-for-profit basis, specialised in social welfare law, and were usually based on high streets with shop-front exteriors; no discreet brass plaques here. | Its opening marked the start of a genuinely radical movement, which aimed to take access to justice to the poor and vulnerable. Law centres were run on a not-for-profit basis, specialised in social welfare law, and were usually based on high streets with shop-front exteriors; no discreet brass plaques here. |
| When a 1974 World in Action documentary tracked a week in the life of Britain’s first law centre, it captured an impoverished community living in the shadow of London’s newly built A40 Westway. The narrator bluntly called the area “a slum”, as the film captured semi-derelict houses with smashed windows, bare plasterboard and leaking roofs. | When a 1974 World in Action documentary tracked a week in the life of Britain’s first law centre, it captured an impoverished community living in the shadow of London’s newly built A40 Westway. The narrator bluntly called the area “a slum”, as the film captured semi-derelict houses with smashed windows, bare plasterboard and leaking roofs. |
| To NKLC lawyers, the circumstances surrounding the Grenfell Tower fire had uncomfortable echoes of that past. “One of the reasons we started the law centre was because private-practice solicitors were pretty useless,” recounts one of its founding solicitors, Peter Kandler. “They didn’t act for tenants; they acted for landlords. The citizens’ advice bureaux, which went on to do a great job as the century developed, were run by blue-rinse ladies who told you off for being a tenant.” | To NKLC lawyers, the circumstances surrounding the Grenfell Tower fire had uncomfortable echoes of that past. “One of the reasons we started the law centre was because private-practice solicitors were pretty useless,” recounts one of its founding solicitors, Peter Kandler. “They didn’t act for tenants; they acted for landlords. The citizens’ advice bureaux, which went on to do a great job as the century developed, were run by blue-rinse ladies who told you off for being a tenant.” |
| In 1981, a fire ripped through three large connected houses in Clanricarde Gardens in Notting Hill Gate, a short distance from Grenfell Tower. More than 100 people, mainly migrants working in the hotel and catering sector, had been crammed into a rabbit warren of 56 bedsits. Eight people died. | In 1981, a fire ripped through three large connected houses in Clanricarde Gardens in Notting Hill Gate, a short distance from Grenfell Tower. More than 100 people, mainly migrants working in the hotel and catering sector, had been crammed into a rabbit warren of 56 bedsits. Eight people died. |
| “The council had been called in 18 months before,” recalls Mike O’Dwyer, a housing lawyer who worked at NKLC from 1978 to 1990. “They hadn’t carried out any of the enforcement warnings. The fire tore through the building with enormous ferocity and there was no means of escape. It was horrific.” | “The council had been called in 18 months before,” recalls Mike O’Dwyer, a housing lawyer who worked at NKLC from 1978 to 1990. “They hadn’t carried out any of the enforcement warnings. The fire tore through the building with enormous ferocity and there was no means of escape. It was horrific.” |
| In 1983, there was a finding of maladministration against Kensington and Chelsea council for not having taken the proper steps to enforce regulations. “My message to tenants at the time was that if you want protection, look after yourselves,” O’Dwyer recalls. “We were so angry with the council. I lived with that case through my entire professional career.” | In 1983, there was a finding of maladministration against Kensington and Chelsea council for not having taken the proper steps to enforce regulations. “My message to tenants at the time was that if you want protection, look after yourselves,” O’Dwyer recalls. “We were so angry with the council. I lived with that case through my entire professional career.” |
| O’Dwyer, who lives 200 yards away from Grenfell Tower, recalls advisers taking judges from Bloomsbury and Marylebone County Court to impress upon them the squalor in which tenants in North Kensington lived. “It was a pretty revolutionary thing to do at the time. For me, the law centre always has been a community resource.” | O’Dwyer, who lives 200 yards away from Grenfell Tower, recalls advisers taking judges from Bloomsbury and Marylebone County Court to impress upon them the squalor in which tenants in North Kensington lived. “It was a pretty revolutionary thing to do at the time. For me, the law centre always has been a community resource.” |
| Historically, NKLC has been poorly supported by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It received £62,350 last year which, as Vasey notes, would barely cover rent on a decent office. “We don’t need anywhere plush. We just don’t need to be in a basement,” she says. | Historically, NKLC has been poorly supported by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It received £62,350 last year which, as Vasey notes, would barely cover rent on a decent office. “We don’t need anywhere plush. We just don’t need to be in a basement,” she says. |
| The centre is overstretched (it has the equivalent of seven full-time staff) and underfunded. Its total income has dropped from to £900,000 in 2010 to not much more than a third of that. Vasey says the last few years have been “about survival”. | The centre is overstretched (it has the equivalent of seven full-time staff) and underfunded. Its total income has dropped from to £900,000 in 2010 to not much more than a third of that. Vasey says the last few years have been “about survival”. |
| In April 2013, the coalition government slashed £350m from the £2.2bn legal aid budget. Entire areas of advice were removed under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (Laspo) Act, including housing (except where there is a risk of homelessness), welfare benefits, employment, and swaths of immigration and family law. | In April 2013, the coalition government slashed £350m from the £2.2bn legal aid budget. Entire areas of advice were removed under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (Laspo) Act, including housing (except where there is a risk of homelessness), welfare benefits, employment, and swaths of immigration and family law. |
| These cuts have led to the unraveling of an already threadbare network of advice agencies, a process exacerbated by austerity-driven local authority cuts. Law centres have borne the brunt of that: 11 centres have closed in the last four years, while many of the 45 that survive are a shadow of their former selves. | These cuts have led to the unraveling of an already threadbare network of advice agencies, a process exacerbated by austerity-driven local authority cuts. Law centres have borne the brunt of that: 11 centres have closed in the last four years, while many of the 45 that survive are a shadow of their former selves. |
| Nimrod Ben-Cnaan, head of policy at the Law Centres Network, estimates that over the past four years, law centres have lost more than 60% of their legal aid income, and more than 40% of total income. As a result, he says, the work done by NKLC for its devastated community has been “mostly thanks to public donations, charitable grants and pro bono volunteering. Legal aid covers so little of its legal needs.” | Nimrod Ben-Cnaan, head of policy at the Law Centres Network, estimates that over the past four years, law centres have lost more than 60% of their legal aid income, and more than 40% of total income. As a result, he says, the work done by NKLC for its devastated community has been “mostly thanks to public donations, charitable grants and pro bono volunteering. Legal aid covers so little of its legal needs.” |
| Housing rights activist Pilgrim Tucker pays tribute to the role the NKLC has played over the last four weeks: “‘It is the one of the few things that has worked relatively well – unlike all the statutory service provision that should have been happening, but hasn’t.” | Housing rights activist Pilgrim Tucker pays tribute to the role the NKLC has played over the last four weeks: “‘It is the one of the few things that has worked relatively well – unlike all the statutory service provision that should have been happening, but hasn’t.” |
| In an interview on Newsnight in the days after the fire, Tucker claimed that Grenfell residents had “tried to get lawyers but because of the legal aid cuts, they couldn’t”. | In an interview on Newsnight in the days after the fire, Tucker claimed that Grenfell residents had “tried to get lawyers but because of the legal aid cuts, they couldn’t”. |
| Britain’s creaking system | Britain’s creaking system |
| The remains of Grenfell Tower have become a symbol of the disparity between the living conditions of rich and poor in London. The tragedy has also shone a harsh light on Britain’s creaking system of publicly-funded legal advice, and the difficulties facing those in need of access to decent legal services. | The remains of Grenfell Tower have become a symbol of the disparity between the living conditions of rich and poor in London. The tragedy has also shone a harsh light on Britain’s creaking system of publicly-funded legal advice, and the difficulties facing those in need of access to decent legal services. |
| From within the deeply polarised legal profession, however, the response to Grenfell represents an unprecedented collaboration between the impoverished legal aid sector and the super-wealthy commercial sector. | From within the deeply polarised legal profession, however, the response to Grenfell represents an unprecedented collaboration between the impoverished legal aid sector and the super-wealthy commercial sector. |
| Since the fire, more than 650 people, mostly lawyers, have contacted NKLC to offer help. Twenty-five City law firms are between them providing six support lawyers every day, allowing other volunteer specialists on housing, immigration, employment and welfare benefits to focus on more complex work. | Since the fire, more than 650 people, mostly lawyers, have contacted NKLC to offer help. Twenty-five City law firms are between them providing six support lawyers every day, allowing other volunteer specialists on housing, immigration, employment and welfare benefits to focus on more complex work. |
| “It’s remarkable how generous people from all the sides of the legal profession have been,” Vasey says. “There is no way in a million years we would have been able to meet the demand by ourselves. But from day one, we were deluged with offers of help from people in the legal profession.” | “It’s remarkable how generous people from all the sides of the legal profession have been,” Vasey says. “There is no way in a million years we would have been able to meet the demand by ourselves. But from day one, we were deluged with offers of help from people in the legal profession.” |
| Even before the Grenfell tragedy, there had been calls for the City to do more to ensure access to justice for all. But the threat to the survival of Britain’s law centres has implications for this too, according to Rebecca Greenhalgh, pro bono manager at the international law firm Ashurst. | Even before the Grenfell tragedy, there had been calls for the City to do more to ensure access to justice for all. But the threat to the survival of Britain’s law centres has implications for this too, according to Rebecca Greenhalgh, pro bono manager at the international law firm Ashurst. |
| “Many City firms share a concern that legal aid cuts risk reducing the advice sector infrastructure through which our most effective pro bono work is carried out,” Greenhalgh says. “Law centres and other advice agencies provide the expertise, training and supervision that our commercial lawyers need, if they are to carry out pro bono work in local communities.” | “Many City firms share a concern that legal aid cuts risk reducing the advice sector infrastructure through which our most effective pro bono work is carried out,” Greenhalgh says. “Law centres and other advice agencies provide the expertise, training and supervision that our commercial lawyers need, if they are to carry out pro bono work in local communities.” |
| Not all lawyers have covered themselves with glory. There have been plenty of ambulance-chasers too: law firms signing up clients on “no win, no fee” deals. | Not all lawyers have covered themselves with glory. There have been plenty of ambulance-chasers too: law firms signing up clients on “no win, no fee” deals. |
| “It’s been terrifying and quite depressing,” Vasey says. “But people don’t need to feel pressured. If they have immediate problems around housing, immigration and so on, there are plenty of lawyers who will do that without making money. It’s completely free.” | “It’s been terrifying and quite depressing,” Vasey says. “But people don’t need to feel pressured. If they have immediate problems around housing, immigration and so on, there are plenty of lawyers who will do that without making money. It’s completely free.” |
| Jon Robins is the editor of Proof magazine. The new issue, Life in the Justice Gap: Why Legal Aid Matters, is a collaboration between The Justice Gap and Justice Alliance | Jon Robins is the editor of Proof magazine. The new issue, Life in the Justice Gap: Why Legal Aid Matters, is a collaboration between The Justice Gap and Justice Alliance |
| Follow the Guardian’s Inequality Project on Twitter here, or email us at inequality.project@theguardian.com | Follow the Guardian’s Inequality Project on Twitter here, or email us at inequality.project@theguardian.com |
| Inequality | Inequality |
| Grenfell Tower fire | Grenfell Tower fire |
| Legal aid | Legal aid |
| UK criminal justice | UK criminal justice |
| features | features |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |