IN keeping with the thrust as ‘the people’s university’, committed to the expansion of access to service, scholarship and research, the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) has announced plans for the establishment of a Legal Advice Centre. The centre will provide legal advice for members of the public who are socially, economically or otherwise disadvantaged.

Initially, the UTech Legal Advice Centre will operate at UTech campus locations in Portland, Trelawny, St James and the Kingston campuses and later extended to other parishes.

Dean of the Faculty of Law and former Director of Prosecutions, associate professor, Kent Pantry, CD, QC says that the soon to be established Centre “will be a significant benefit to communities who will benefit from advice to solve many of their day to day problems, while students will be able to obtain hands-on training in several areas of law”.

He notes further that, many overseas universities incorporate Legal Aid Clinics and Legal Advice Centres as part of the undergraduate training curriculum.

The UTech Legal Advice Centre will, inter alia:

* Advise persons how to handle legal, administrative and other problems

* Refer persons to organisations which provide social and other services

* Recommend the use of alternative dispute resolution (negotiation and mediation) and arbitration.

* Assist in obtaining and improving justice for the poor and disadvantaged.

Student-Centred

The UTech Legal Advice Centre will be student-centred and interactive. Under the supervision of an Attorney-at-Law, it will provide second and third year UTech undergraduate law students with practical training and skills in a social justice context while meeting the legal needs of the poor and disadvantaged. Students will obtain academic credit for their work at the Centre. The service provided by students will include:

* Interviewing prospective clients

* Taking statements as to their problems

* Identifying the issue or issues to be resolved, and

* Providing a brief with recommendations to the attorney on duty.

The Attorney-at-Law will provide the advice to the client. The advice may either be a final determination of the issue or point the client to the way forward, which could be to obtain legal aid from a Legal Aid Clinic in order to proceed to Court or to have relevant documents drafted, where necessary.