Last night I took the first 'surgery' for the Kent Law Clinic at Medway. The Law Clinic is a service arranged by the Kent Law School at the University of Kent whereby volunteer lawyers give free legal advice and assistance to local people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer. The service is run by students, who sit in on the advice sessions. The Clinic has already been providing the service to people in the Canterbury area for the past thirteen years - for further details see here: http://www.kent.ac.uk/law/clinic/index.htm. As the Student Supervisor stated at the launch event, the service is designed to help those that 'fall through the cracks in the system', specifically those that are not eligible for legal aid yet can't afford to instruct a solicitor on a private basis. Judging by the level of interest, there are an awful lot of such people - perhaps the 'cracks' are more like 'gaping holes'. I am quite prepared to offer my services on a 'pro bono' basis, but can't escape the feeling that I am doing work that should be covered by legal aid.