University of Bolton to launch centre offering free legal advice

The University of Bolton is to open a Legal Advice Centre in September for the people of Bolton. The centre will be operated by law students, supported by legal professionals, providing a free service for members of the public based in the university’s Institute of Management (IoM) building on Great Moor Street.

The centre will launch against a backdrop of reduced access to legal advice, which has created a huge gap at a time when more people than ever need legal protection.

Ian Bowden, Lecturer in Law at the university and practising Solicitor Advocate, is confident the new centre will help to meet that need.

“There are many cases that we know are not being dealt with at the moment and that is where we come in,” he said.

“The aim of the centre is to offer a valuable service to the people of Bolton, while at the same time providing an important learning experience for students.”

The centre provides members of the public with an online portal where they can register their legal enquiry.

Ian said: “The university has been working in partnership with the Bolton legal community to ensure that every enquiry can be appropriately dealt with, either through the centre team or through our external partners.

“All our students’ work is also completed under the supervision of an experienced and qualified team from the School of Law to ensure that the help we can offer will be of the highest standard.”