The President of the Law Society of England and Wales has officially opened a new Centre at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) that will link students with the local community to offer advice on legal and cybercrime matters.

Run by UCLan’s students and graduate legal advisers, UCLan’s Advice and Resolution Centre (ARC) will bring together the well-established Law Clinic, Business Law Clinic, Centre for Mediation and Cybercrime Advice Clinic under one roof so that the local community can easily access a range of advice services.

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau and charities Cyber Helpline and Locate International will also support the ARC.

It means that not only will the general public and local business community benefit from free advice and support, but students from across many subjects in the School of Justice, including criminology, law, policing and sociology, will gain vital experience working with real clients on real issues.

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ARC Director and senior law lecturer, Lucy Blackburn, said: “UCLan’s new Advice and Resolution Centre presents the perfect opportunity for the School of Justice to contribute to the local community in a variety of ways, whether that’s helping individuals to mediate about a dispute, aiding businesses with legal advice and document drafting or liaising with our cybercrime advisors on both preventative and evidence gathering measures.

“It also means our students can develop their skills working with real clients so that they are ready for the workplace. We’re very pleased to serve the community and I’m delighted to have the backing of the President of the Law Society, I. Stephanie Boyce.”

Speaking at the launch of ARC, Law Society of England and Wales president, I. Stephanie Boyce, said: “I am delighted to officially open the UCLan’s Advice and Resolution Centre today.

“It is so important for aspiring solicitors to gain real-life, hands-on experience which will benefit their careers. 

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“As we continue in the transition from Legal Practice Course (LPC) to Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) routes, gaining work experience before undertaking either an LPC or SQE course will always be valuable to aspiring solicitors.”

“Third year law student and co- student president of the UCLan School of Justice, Dean Thompson, said: “Working with the Advice and Resolution Centre will allow me to be involved in real-life proceedings and provide the vital practical experience graduates need to stand-out.”

UCLan’s Missing Person Investigation Unit, which is staffed by student volunteers using open-source intelligence techniques to search the cyber space for intelligence related to missing person cold cases will also come under ARC’s umbrella of services.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the services offered by the ARC can email the team on arc@uclan.ac.uk

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Will you be seeking guidance from UCLan’s new Advice and Resolution Centre? Let us know in the comments below.