header-logo header-logo

15 February 2017
Issue: 7734 / Categories: Legal News
printer mail-detail

Law centre opens in Moss Side

A new law centre has opened in Moss Side, Manchester—a rare piece of good news in an otherwise bleak landscape for the not-for-profit sector.

The Greater Manchester Law Centre opened last week on Princess Road, with seasoned legal aid lawyer Robert Lizar and community activist Dr Erinma Bell cutting the ribbon.

The Greater Manchester area once had nine law centres, but recent public funding cuts have forced them to shut. The last one, in Longsight, closed in 2014 leaving only two law centres in Bury and Rochdale.

The Moss Side law centre will provide advice and representation on welfare benefits, employment, prison, mental health, community care and disability law.

Law Centre chair, John Nicholson, a barrister at Kenworthys Chambers, said: “Now—when people are facing vicious benefit sanctions, homelessness, escalating racism, cuts in health and education—they need legal advice like never before.”

The centre has been supported by Michael Mansfield QC, actress Maxine Peake and film director Ken Loach.

Issue: 7734 / Categories: Legal News
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
back-to-top-scroll