This year, Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) was proud to be nominated for a LawWorks Student Pro Bono Award for Best Contribution by a Team of Students.
For many years, GMLC has run an innovative programme, the Legal Advocacy Support Project (LASP), which works with students primarily from Manchester Metropolitan University’s Law department. Every year, a cohort of young lawyers gets an in-depth training in welfare rights law from GMLC’s benefits team, and builds up to representing benefits claimants through their social security tribunal cases. Most of the people they support are disabled residents of Greater Manchester who have been wrongly refused Personal Independence Payments or other disability benefits. In some cases, our student advocates have realised gains of tens of thousands of pounds for their clients. Many of our LASP students go on to become brilliant barristers, solicitors and legal advisers across a range of fields.
In the financial year 2023-24, LASP students contributed to our overall benefits gains of over £2 million for claimants across the 10 boroughs. We’re proud to be part of the wider project to ensure claimants receive the money they are entitled to.
Though we didn’t win the award, we were pleased to be recognised by the awards and our LASP team enjoyed their trip to the ceremony at the House of Lords.
To support our work providing services and campaigning for the rights of our communities, you can become a GMLC member and donor here. We also welcome corporate donations – you can read more here. As welfare rights work is basically no longer funded by Legal Aid as a result of legal aid cuts over the last decade, we rely on our donors – both individuals, business and grant-making organisations – to fund this vital part of our service. The benefits of our benefit team can be measured in pounds and pence!
