The Legal Team at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham were last week (Wednesday 2 December), awarded Best Contribution by an In-house Team at the LawWorks Awards 2020 for pro bono work with victims of domestic abuse.

The prestigious award recognises the hugely important work they carry out with the Citizens Advice  Bureau on the DV Flag East project which offers free independent, confidential legal advice to anyone experiencing domestic abuse in Barking and Dagenham. The service was launched in June 2019 and also involves four local family solicitors’ firms.

The legal team’s Solicitors, Barristers and Paralegals, volunteer their time out of hours. The legal service started the project as a social value contribution from income the team generates from taking on additional work from other boroughs. The judging panel described our legal team as ‘outstanding’.

Residents are referred by professionals or can self-refer and are sign posted by Citizens Advice who assess their eligibility for legal aid and connect them to a local family law firm. Additional systems are built in to ensure they can be referred to specialist support services, such as domestic and sexual violence services, or wider legal advice services such as immigration, housing or debt advice.

For those who fall out of scope of legal aid, a pro bono offer exists, using members of the council’s In-house legal team, who volunteer as honorary legal advisors with Citizens Advice and provide advice outside of their working office hours.

Cllr Twomey, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services, said: “With the high prevalence of domestic abuse cases in the borough, made more difficult during lockdown, the service has been able to offer a lifeline to residents affected by domestic abuse.This project has also been recognised nationally and although I am delighted that our legal team generate income into the borough through their commercial work, they have also forged a path to work with partners, addressing the issues of access to quality legal advice when residents are in most need. This delivers on our commitment to ensure no one is left behind. 

‘’It is a testimony to the service that in its first year, it received 264 referrals. Clients have also gone on to receive other forms of support, signposting to local specialist services, other forms of legal advice and links to the witness service.”

You can view the awards ceremony here https://youtu.be/p1vet4nV-1U?t=2082

Residents can contact the service by telephone on 020 8507 5994 or by email: dvflageast@bdcab.org.uk or visit the website at: DVFLAG East – Informing choices, creating options, building confidence