Areas you can work in

Actions against the police
Clinical negligence
Community care
Consumer general contract
Crime
Debt
Education
Employment
Family
Housing
Immigration and asylum
Mental health
Personal injury
Public law
Welfare benefits

Actions against the police

Advice on an action against the police for assault, entering their home, false imprisonment, wrongful arrest, interference with their property, malicious prosecution or other abuses of police authority.

Clinical negligence

Claims for damages against all types of public and private medical practitioners. This includes treatment from doctors, nurses and dentists.

Community care

Community services provided via social services department or a health care authority. Clients may need help in making a claim regarding a failure to provide services or facilities to the sick, elderly or those with disabilities.

Consumer general contract

Help with all kinds of contracts made by consumers. For example, advice about making a claim when a product does not do what the seller or maker claimed. Clients may need a company to fulfil a contract they signed or to put right work that is not up to standard.

Crime

Legal help on everything to do with criminal proceedings. For example being investigated, prosecuted and sentenced. Clients may need advice on length of prison sentence, detention or parole. Also covers help over the way prisoners are treated.

Debt

Advise clients because they owe money, are bankrupt or insolvent. Legal advice if they are behind with their mortgage, tax or investment payments.

Education

Problems with the education service, including failing to provide education. Clients may want to know about making a legal case for education funding or about education for special needs.

Employment

Advice on anything to do with what happens at work. Clients may feel they have been sacked unfairly. You may need to advise on aspects of a client’s employment contract or whether they have a case for racial or sexual discrimination. Clients may want to know whether a strike is legal or how they stand on data protection and employee confidentiality.

Family

Clients may want advice if they want their children to live with them following a divorce and whether the other party should have contact with them. Help on what to do about domestic violence, or if their child is being taken into care or being considered for adoption.

Housing

Clients can get advice if they fall into arrears with their rent or mortgage, need to get improvements or repairs done, or are being evicted or suffering from noise or nuisance. This includes the rights of leaseholders.

Immigration and asylum

Clients may have questions about their nationality or right to stay in this country. They may need to know about asylum, the information required to enter the UK and why they may be deported.

Mental health

Assistance where mental health is the main issue and clients or a dependant want services to be provided or are facing detention in an institution. Clients can get help on anything to do with the Mental Health Act 1983.

Personal injury

Claims for damages for injury caused by another person or organisation. Advice on claiming following a traffic accident. Also, how they stand on the issue of an accident at work, or a disease caught there.

Public law

Clients may want to know how the Human Rights Act 1998 will affect their situation. Advice on data protection, freedom of information issues and how to challenge the decisions of public bodies.

Welfare benefits

Clients may need advice on housing benefit, war pensions or state pensions. They may need to know what happens at a welfare benefit review meeting.

Further information

60 Years of Legal Aid provides case studies of how legal aid can help in each of these categories.

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Last updated: 16 October 2009