Baker McKenzie's London office is proud to have collaborated with a team from Fieldfisher to build an online toolkit for the UK's leading homelessness charity, St Mungo's, to help identify areas of the law that homelessness specialists found unclear and difficult to navigate.
Lawyers from both firms worked together to design, write and build the new toolkit to enable the organization's staff to gain a better understanding of laws that relate to its work and clients. The toolkit itself is not exhaustive, nor a supplement for independent legal advice, but instead serves as a solid and accessible starting point to support staff in their roles and to help clients realize their rights.
The toolkit relates to three areas: accessing accommodation, health & social care and tenancy. It is not exhaustive, nor a supplement for independent legal advice, but instead serves as a solid and accessible starting point to support staff in their roles and to help clients realize their rights.
The Baker McKenzie team was led by Employment Associate Aaron Grant. Commenting on the project, he said: “We are delighted to have participated in this project and provided support to the UK’s leading homelessness charity at a time when more and more individuals are facing nights on the streets. The work has highlighted the importance of individuals being able to understand and enforce their rights, something which is only possible through accessible and comprehensive resources. We now look forward to providing training and legal education as the next stage of this initiative, delivering the information from the handbook to those who need it most.”
Fieldfisher's Head of Just Purpose (corporate responsibility), Millie Hawes said: “Global crises of recent years have disproportionately affected people who are homeless. We have often felt powerless over how to help, but working with St Mungo’s has allowed us to donate our skills and time, as well as our money. We know how complex legislation can be and, equally, how complex the challenges facing people who are homeless can be. So, we wanted to create a one-stop-shop to make the law, and justice, more accessible.”
Jay Hunt, Head of Partnerships at St Mungo’s said: “We are grateful to Fieldfisher and Baker McKenzie for sharing their expertise with us and for all their hard work in making this legal toolkit a reality. We have already received positive feedback from our service colleagues who are finding the toolkit a useful and timesaving resource. This new toolkit will really improve our working and understanding of certain laws around accessing accommodation, health and social care and tenancy, which will support our vital work to make every night someone’s last on the streets.”
This project forms of part of Baker McKenzie's wider pro bono program; some of the key highlights from the program this year have included supporting Coram Children's Legal Centre to help children obtain their British citizenship, securing a successful challenge to the Government's strategy for achieving 'Net Zero and acting for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN agency with responsibility for supervising the application of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in its intervention in the current litigation concerning the UK’s Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda.
Lawyers from both firms worked together to design, write and build the new toolkit to enable the organization's staff to gain a better understanding of laws that relate to its work and clients. The toolkit itself is not exhaustive, nor a supplement for independent legal advice, but instead serves as a solid and accessible starting point to support staff in their roles and to help clients realize their rights.
The toolkit relates to three areas: accessing accommodation, health & social care and tenancy. It is not exhaustive, nor a supplement for independent legal advice, but instead serves as a solid and accessible starting point to support staff in their roles and to help clients realize their rights.
The Baker McKenzie team was led by Employment Associate Aaron Grant. Commenting on the project, he said: “We are delighted to have participated in this project and provided support to the UK’s leading homelessness charity at a time when more and more individuals are facing nights on the streets. The work has highlighted the importance of individuals being able to understand and enforce their rights, something which is only possible through accessible and comprehensive resources. We now look forward to providing training and legal education as the next stage of this initiative, delivering the information from the handbook to those who need it most.”
Fieldfisher's Head of Just Purpose (corporate responsibility), Millie Hawes said: “Global crises of recent years have disproportionately affected people who are homeless. We have often felt powerless over how to help, but working with St Mungo’s has allowed us to donate our skills and time, as well as our money. We know how complex legislation can be and, equally, how complex the challenges facing people who are homeless can be. So, we wanted to create a one-stop-shop to make the law, and justice, more accessible.”
Jay Hunt, Head of Partnerships at St Mungo’s said: “We are grateful to Fieldfisher and Baker McKenzie for sharing their expertise with us and for all their hard work in making this legal toolkit a reality. We have already received positive feedback from our service colleagues who are finding the toolkit a useful and timesaving resource. This new toolkit will really improve our working and understanding of certain laws around accessing accommodation, health and social care and tenancy, which will support our vital work to make every night someone’s last on the streets.”
This project forms of part of Baker McKenzie's wider pro bono program; some of the key highlights from the program this year have included supporting Coram Children's Legal Centre to help children obtain their British citizenship, securing a successful challenge to the Government's strategy for achieving 'Net Zero and acting for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN agency with responsibility for supervising the application of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in its intervention in the current litigation concerning the UK’s Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda.
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