Our history

The national Law Centre movement was started in the 1970s by radical lawyers who were disappointed in the failure of the welfare state to eradicate poverty and deliver a more equal society.

Coventry Law Centre was founded in 1976 by four Councillors: Tom McLatchie, Gilbert Richards, Arthur Waugh Senior and Charles Ward. Coventry City Council has been a key supporter of our work ever since.

Central England Law Centre Ltd was formed after Coventry Law Centre opened an office in Birmingham in 2013. Central England Law Centre continues to trade in Coventry as Coventry Law Centre and trades in Birmingham as Birmingham Community Law Centre.

Over the last 40 years, the Law Centre has evolved in response to the changing needs of our clients and changes to the public funding of legal advice but we have never wavered from our focus on improving the lives of our community, here are some examples from then and now:

Latest

Safeplace - contact us

You can refer yourself or someone you are working with to the Safeplace, our rights for victims of domestic violence service, by calling the dedicated telephone line on 07415623628 between 09:00am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday or filling out the referral form available here and emailing it to [email protected]
Fundraise while shopping

You can now fundraise for Central England Law Centre whilst you do your shopping!
Fundraise for the Law Centre

Creating your Fundraising Page is really simple. Just choose a name for your page and add a message explaining why you think this work is important and why you're supporting it. Thank you for your support!
Debt Advice and Whitefriars Housing

A large proportion of our debt advice service is delivered in partnership with and funded by Whitefriars Housing, the largest provider of social housing in Coventry. We help around 250 of their customers each year, where their debts have reached a stage that their tenancy is threatened.

Who we help

We provide free legal advice to those most in need and use legal processes to fight social exclusion.
Contact Us
Volunteer

The Law Centre is a resource for the whole community and we rely on our amazing team of volunteers help us reach more people with our services.
Work for us

Join our team and be part of a cutting edge team using the law to fight social exclusion in society.
Our Vision

We want to live in a society where people’s rights are upheld, their needs met and they are enabled to thrive. We are the largest Law Centre in the UK. We provide free specialist legal advice to people across central England.
Funding

The work we do is only possible because of the support we receive from a wide range of partners and supporters.
Our history

The national Law Centre movement was started in the 1970s by radical lawyers who were disappointed in the failure of the welfare state to eradicate poverty and deliver a more equal society. Coventry Law Centre was founded in 1976 by four Councillors: Tom McLatchie, Gilbert Richards, Arthur Waugh Senior and Charles Ward. Coventry City Council has been a key supporter of our work ever since.
Child and Family Law

Following the breakdown of a relationship, we provide advice and representation on all aspects of family and childcare law.
Asylum and Immigration Law

Legal advice and representation to people seeking to regularise their immigration status.
Chief Executive - Sue Bent