The profession’s spontaneous response to Grenfell should be applauded, but demonstrates the dire state of the Law Centres Network, says Jon Robins
Three years ago North Kensington Law Centre moved from its original home at the top end of fashionable Portobello Road to the Baseline Business Centre, formerly the car park underneath the Lancaster West estate and just a few feet from Grenfell Tower.
In the last few weeks, its small team of lawyers, comprising the equivalent of seven full-time posts, plus a small army of volunteers has advised 150 families affected by the fire, a third of that number were formerly residents of the 24-storey tower block.
Much has been said about how the tragedy has revealed the shocking inequality of living conditions of residents in one of the most affluent parts of our capital. It also has much to say about our failing system of publicly funded legal advice. As I pointed out in NLJ earlier this month the experience of the Grenfell tenants has prompted debate about the limits of legal aid (see ‘Lessons from Hillsborough’,
