Cherie Booth QC of Matrix Chambers Backs Essex initiative

A new legal service for vulnerable young people, being piloted in Essex, has been welcomed by leading barristers at Matrix Chambers.

'Lawyers for Young People' has been set up by Colchester law firm Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP, with funding from the Legal Services Commission. It is the first time a commercial law firm has been awarded a not-for-profit contract of this nature.

The service is being operated by solicitors Liz Frank and Simone Surgenor and is aimed particularly at young people in the care system or who have just left care or have family problems and whose needs are often overlooked yet who may need more support than most. The service is being provided in Colchester, Chelmsford, Basildon and surrounding areas.

Liz Frank explained: "There are so many reasons why young people may need a lawyer, for example, if they are separated from their siblings, estranged from their parents, needing accommodation or services, or perhaps they are having problems with their education. If they are in care, it may be that there is a proposed change of placement against their wishes and their voices are not being heard. Our aim is to reach out to these people or their carers, to say that there is support for them - and in most cases it is free, as it is funded by the Legal
Services Commission."

To highlight the problems young people face in accessing the law, Lawyers for Young People and Matrix Chambers hosted a discussion event at Matrix in London on Wednesday June 28th, chaired by David Wolfe, to a packed audience of senior representatives from the fields of social
work, fostering, care organisations, the Legal Services Commission and the legal profession.

In order to spread the word about Lawyers for Young People, Cherie Booth QC agreed to be interviewed for a podcast, i.e. a radio-style interview, which can be downloaded from the Lawyers for Young People website at www.lfyp.org.uk. The podcast also contains comments from some of those who attended the debate.

Cherie Booth QC - who is President of leading children's charity Barnardo's - said: "I'm delighted that the Legal Services Commission has had the courage to make this a pilot. I'm sure they're seeing, as I'm seeing when I take negligence cases, that if we could intervene earlier, not only could we help the children at the time they need it most, but we could avoid expensive legal claims years afterwards, so I think this is a very important development."

Barnardo's Children's Rights Manager for the London, East and South East region, Debi Morgan, added: "We are often in a situation where we need to access legal advisers for young people we are working with and it's been difficult for us to find people with the right skills at the right time with the right knowledge, so Lawyers for Young People is a good move in the right direction."

Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP, which is well known for its commitment to social welfare law, also provides advice on a variety of other issues which affect young people, recognising that their problems are rarely about just one issue. Information is available on other areas of law such as housing, welfare benefits, education, crime, family, employment, personal injury and human rights.

For further information about Lawyers for Young People, and ways to access the law through youth groups and drop-in services, Liz Frank can be contacted on 01206 835260.