I am a lawyer (solicitor) and have been practicing in Glasgow for the past six years. I work for Govan Law Centre, an amazing organization that gives free advice and representation to residents in South West Glasgow, as well as campaigning for law reform. We opened a branch office in the South East of Glasgow in November 2008, called Govanhill Law Centre, to address the lack of free legal advice on topics such as housing and employment law. See www.govanhilllc.com for further details.
Govanhill residents find themselves at the sharp end of many unlawful practices, from rogue landlords unlawfully evicting tenants on a whim or failing to carry out repairs, to newly arrived migrants not receiving the minimum wage. On the face of it, politicians are committed to addressing these problems, but on the ground residents, myself included, have yet to see any real change. What I find incredible and inspiring about Govanhill is the number of residents who are committed to improving the area and fighting for change.
I am taking a period of unpaid leave from the Law Centre, and I am living temporarily in Brooklyn, New York. I have been working as a part time volunteer at South Brooklyn Legal Services, for their HIV Project – see http://www.sbls.org/index.php?id=15 .
The aim of this blog is to share information and idea on the following topics:
1. Access to justice- what barriers do New Yorkers face enforcing their housing, employment and other civil rights and how do these barriers compare with problems we face in Scotland?
2. Tenant led campaigns- how have tenants organized and campaigned here? What can we learn and apply to our fights in Govanhill?
I will also post links to relevant stories in the media here.
I hope you find this blog interesting- please feel free to post your comments and thoughts here too.
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