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  1. About us
  2. Who we are
  3. Our Team

Our Team

“Central England Law Centre is an organisation that leaves no stone unturned in the quest for social justice for society’s most vulnerable people.”
Lord Willy Bach, Patron of Central England Law Centre

Our staff and volunteers work together to deliver our services but are organised into teams under specialist areas of law and expertise. Each Team is led by a solicitor or advisor who bring years of experience and dedication to human rights law.

Chief Executive Officer - Elayne Hill

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Elayne has led the law centre as its chief executive officer since 2022. She is responsible for setting the vision of the organisation; its strategic direction and development; and growing its impact. She is also the law centre's senior solicitor and oversees the senior leadership team, which includes the finance director and the impact & development director. 

Having qualified as a solicitor in 2003, Elayne joined the law centre in 2004 and prior to becoming its chief executive was the director of operations with responsibility for the daily management of the organisation, ensuring it complies with its legal and regulatory requirements as well as working closely with the heads of the legal teams to manage the delivery of its services. She previously represented clients in the Employment Tribunal and County Court covering all aspects of employment and discrimination law and in 2013 she was appointed as a fee-paid employment judge.  

Published: 1st August, 2018

Updated: 17th May, 2022

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Director of Finance - Paul O'Donnell

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Paul has worked in the voluntary sector as a finance director for over 30 years. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant, he also holds an ICAEW Diploma in Charity Accounting.

He works closely with the finance team to ensure that the charity complies with it’s statutory obligations including, charity law, company law, and tax law.

Paul also has a keen interest in computing having overseen the I.T. department in previous employments.

Published: 7th December, 2021

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Director of Service Development and Impact – Claire Stern

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Claire has worked for the law centre since 2015.  She is the director of service development and impact with responsibility for managing and developing external relationships in order to build stronger service delivery partnerships.  She represent the law centre to influence policy and practice for the benefit of its clients and is also responsible for leadership of the Rights in the Community strategy implementation and oversight of the information systems that demonstrate the impact of the law centre's work and create the insights to inform its service development.  Additionally, she also leads on the development of proposals and applications to external funders and grant management.

Claire has worked in paid and voluntary roles in the charity and not for profit sector for over 15 years including periods at the HIV/AIDS Alliance, Refugee Action, Bristol Refugee Rights, Refugee Women of Bristol and the University of the West of England in project management and organisational development roles. She has a particular interest in how the legal sector communicates and works with the public to improve legal capability in society. 

Published: 8th August, 2018

Updated: 6th June, 2022

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Head of Employment and Discrimination - Katherine King

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As well as leading the Employment Team, Katherine coordinates volunteers across the Law Centre. In this role she works closely with university partners in supervising student advice clinics in Coventry and Birmingham.

Katherine is a qualified solicitor since 2013, and she has several years’ experience working in the voluntary sector providing general advice on social welfare law and specialist advice and representation in welfare benefits, family and employment law matters. She has a particular interest in pregnancy and maternity discrimination. Katherine is also an experienced university lecturer teaching postgraduates and has a particular interest in social policy campaigning.

Published: 7th August, 2018

Updated: 9th November, 2021

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Head of Family – John Hickey

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John is a qualified solicitor with 20 years’ experience as a Family Solicitor in private practice. John has extensive experience in a wide range of family matters and is a member of The Law Society Accredited Advanced Family Panel. He specialises in providing advice and assistance to victims of domestic violence and abuse and to parents involved in Care proceedings.

Published: 7th August, 2018

Updated: 20th September, 2018

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Head of Finance - Wendy Stanyon

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Wendy manages our Finance Team and is responsible for ensuring management of our finances and risk management processes. She ensures the correct recognition of and accounting for all of the funds that we have, as well as compliance with Charities Commission Guidance and Company law. Wendy has worked in voluntary sectors for many years and has been at the Law Centre now for 10 years and has guided us through a period of growth and the many changes that we have experienced in our funding sources as well as the numerous changes to Legal Aid.

Published: 3rd August, 2018

Updated: 1st July, 2019

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Head of Health and Social Care – Megan Ward

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Megan has many years of experience in social welfare law. Having joined the law centre in 2013, she has worked predominantly in community care law and since 2022 has led the health and social care team, which provide advice and representation for people who require care, support, services and/or accommodation from Social Services, the NHS or central government.

Published: 7th August, 2018

Updated: 17th May, 2022

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Head of Housing – Hugh Wilkinson

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Hugh has worked on legal aid housing cases for most of his career. He joined the Law Centre in 2019 from private practice in London, and since April 2022 has supervised the Law Centre’s housing team.

He is experienced in a wide range of housing cases, including possession proceedings, homelessness appeals, injunctions and committal proceedings, and appears regularly as duty solicitor in Coventry and Nuneaton County Courts as well as undertaking advocacy on most of his own cases.

Published: 7th August, 2018

Updated: 13th April, 2022

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Head of Immigration and Asylum – Robert Bircumshaw

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Robert is an experienced immigration and asylum law solicitor and heads up a dedicated team across Coventry and Birmingham as well as handling his own case load.  Robert has substantial experience in representation at the Immigration and Asylum chamber (First-tier and Upper-tier) and is regularly instructed on cases in the higher courts. Robert is accredited both to the Level 2 and Supervisor Legal Aid Agency standards. He works with many of the leading barristers in the field of immigration and human rights law and has gained the respect of chambers throughout the Midlands and London.

Robert also trains Citizen’s Advice volunteers throughout the UK in immigration law and teaches various modules for CILEX students at Coventry University Group.

Published: 7th August, 2018

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Head of Legal Casework and Compliance - Lydia Nash

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As head of legal casework and compliance, Lydia's role is to lead and manage our casework service to ensure that we continue to provide a high-quality legal advice service to our clients in line with our service delivery plans and that we comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

Lydia has been with the law centre since 2012 and qualified as a solicitor in 2013. Before becoming head of legal casework and compliance Lydia was the head of housing for the law centre and has extensive experience of representing clients facing housing issues including possession matters, homelessness, disrepair and anti-social behaviour.

Published: 13th June, 2022

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Head of Public Law and Human Rights - Karen Ashton

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Karen joined the Law Centre in 2015 and leads on our public law and human rights work. She qualified as a solicitor in 1992 and worked for 4 years post-qualification in an inner city legal aid practice. Karen developed her public law expertise in her 5 years at the Public Law Project, first as Project Solicitor and then as Director of the organisation. She was one of the founding partners of Public Law Solicitors in Birmingham before joining the Law Centre. Karen has particular experience in the health and social care fields, having specialised in this area for over 20 years. Karen is an experienced trainer, and writes for a number of specialist legal journals.

Published: 7th August, 2018

Updated: 9th November, 2021

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Head of Services Birmingham – Michael Bates

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Michael is a community care and public law caseworker.  He worked for the old Birmingham Law Centre for 17 years before its closure in August 2013 and specialises in the area of law where immigration status affects entitlement to social and welfare support.  He has experience of representation in the First-tier and Upper Tribunal as well as Judicial Review and has taken several cases to the Court of Appeal.

Published: 8th August, 2018

Updated: 1st July, 2019

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Head of Welfare Benefits - David Beckett

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David has been employed by the Law Centre since February 2012 as a welfare benefits specialist and as well as leading the team represents clients across the spectrum of benefits including first tier tribunal and upper tribunal.

David has been involved in welfare rights since 1985 and came to the Law Centre from Birmingham Tribunal Unit where he worked as a tribunal representative.

Published: 7th August, 2018

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Office Manager - Narinder Shergill

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Narinder is the law centre's longest-serving staff member, having started as its receptionist in 2001. She was promoted to manage the administration team and again promoted into the new role of Office Manager, for which her responsibilities include managing the front-of-house service and the administrative team, which supports the law centre's solicitors and case workers to work efficiently.  Additionally, she holds responsibility for the law centre's IT and HR functions, as well as managing the two office locations in Coventry and Birmingham.

Published: 8th August, 2018

Updated: 17th May, 2022

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Programme Manager IGNITE – Emma Bates

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Emma is the Programme Manager for IGNITE, a partnership with Grapevine, Childrens' Services and Whitefriars Housing. Emma has worked in a variety of operational roles for the third sector including Voluntary Service Overseas Kazakhstan, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and a Stroke Survivors Project in Hackney. She also worked for Coventry as Young people’s manager at the New Deal for Communities in Wood End and as Care Act Implementation Manager.

The Ignite role combines Emma’s enthusiasm to find solutions to some of our most difficult social problems with the need to strategically encourage others around the change needed in public services if we are to help people earlier and more effectively in overcoming difficulties and preventing crisis.

Published: 8th August, 2018

Updated: 9th November, 2021

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Rights in Community Strategy Lead - Emma Austin

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Emma is an experienced Community Care and Public Law solicitor, having represented clients in several high profile challenges to cuts in services and support for disabled people and in cases focused on securing adequate support for children. Since joining CELC in 2016 her work has been focused on public legal education projects including the RIPPLE Project, the MAC Project (Mother and Child Project) and the Rights in Peril Project. She now leads on the development, implementation and integration of CELC’s Rights in Community Strategy, working within CELC and externally with partnership organisations to improve legal rights knowledge and effective use of legal rights within our communities.

Published: 17th May, 2022

Updated: 6th June, 2022

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Showing 10 of 16

Latest

  • Central England Law Centre appoints new chief executive

    Central England Law Centre appoints Elayne Hill as chief executive officer to lead the law centre through a two-year development period focused on rolling out its rights in the community strategy.

  • Central England Law Centre appoints new chief executive

    Central England Law Centre appoints Elayne Hill as chief executive officer to lead the law centre through a two-year development period focused on rolling out its rights in the community strategy.

  • Social care work for migrants

    Social care work for migrants

    As of February 2022 Social Care work will be included in the Shortage Occupations List (SOL) and to the list of eligible occupations in the Health and Care worker visa. Read our policy briefing to find out what this means for people seeking asylum in the UK.

  • How to help when someone you meet is worried about money

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    How do I represent myself at an Employment Tribunal?

    Thinking of taking action at the Employment Tribunal without professional advice or representation? Find out how to represent yourself.

  • Contact Us

  • Volunteer

    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.

  • Housing Advice (Birmingham)

    Housing Advice (Birmingham)

    Housing advice, representation and advocacy at court. We assist individuals only, we do not act for landlords or mortgage lenders

  • Asylum and Immigration Law

    Asylum and Immigration Law

    Legal advice and representation to people seeking to regularise their immigration status.

  • Welfare Benefits Advice

    Welfare Benefits Advice

    Representation at appeals at the Upper Tribunal for those on low incomes eligible for legal aid. One off advice on general welfare benefits issues in the community.

  • Housing Advice (Coventry)

    Housing Advice (Coventry)

    Housing advice, representation and advocacy at court. We assist individuals only, we do not act for landlords or mortgage lenders.

  • Child and Family Law

    Child and Family Law

    We provide advice and representation on all aspects of family and childcare law in Coventry.

  • Chief Executive Officer - Elayne Hill

  • Asylum and Immigration Law

    Asylum and Immigration Law

    Legal advice and representation to people seeking to regularise their immigration status and secure their future status.

For general enquiries or to make an appointment contact us on:

Coventry: 02476 223 053 Birmingham: 0121 227 6540
Central England Law Centre logo

Registered office:
Oakwood House, St Patricks Road Entrance, Coventry, CV1 2HL

Email [email protected]

Phone 02476 223053



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Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority No. 617398

Member of the Law Centres Federation.

Registered with the Charity Commission No. 1087312. VAT registration No. 544 9032 44

Registered in England & Wales as Coventry Law Centre Ltd, a company limited by guarantee No. 4149673