How we work
We work alongside people and communities to make legal support more accessible, relevant, and rooted in their needs.
How we work in practice
We work through legal advice, training, resources and partnership. Each one shaped by what communities tell us they actually need.
Workshops and training sessions
Through workshops, we share legal knowledge and skills that help organisations set up, grow, and sustain their work
One-to-one legal advice and conversations
Our 1:1 sessions offer responsive guidance on incorporation, governance, and strategic legal issues
Toolkits and open-access legal resources
We develop toolkits, guides and resources, often open-sourced, so communities can access legal knowledge beyond our direct support
Partnerships with collaborators
We collaborate closely with organisations and funders to co-create solutions, redistribute legal expertise, and strengthen organising
How we work together
We listen first, move at your pace, and build trust through shared aims
Collaborators not clients
We work in partnership with you as collaborators towards common goals
Plain language
We explain things as they are, without the unnecessary formality that makes law feel distant
Accessibility first
We can resource your accessibility needs, like translators, BSL interpreters and in-person sessions, to help make legal advice understandable
How we work together
We listen first, move at your pace, and build trust through shared experience.
Collaborators not clients
We work in partnership with you as collaborators towards common goals
Plain language
We explain things as they are, without the unnecessary formality that makes law feel distant.
Accessibility first
We can resource your accessibility needs, like translators, BSL interpreters and in-person sessions, to help make legal advice understandable
What is community lawyering?
In 2022, we asked ourselves “is there another way for us to be lawyers?”
Sistren Legal Collective is our answer. We practice community lawyering grounded in collaboration, reflection, and accountability. We co-create solutions, share knowledge, and support access to legal tools while challenging traditional lawyer-client hierarchies.
Based on research with community organisations, we developed eight principles for Community Lawyering in the UK:
Eight principles of community lawyering
We share or develop deep understanding of clients’ contexts.
We stand in solidarity with our clients’ work.
We understand systemic barriers to accessing legal support.
We proactively dismantle barriers through an ‘access to justice’ approach.
We embrace collaborative and reciprocal knowledge exchange.
We democratise and distribute access to legal knowledge.
We advise on intersecting community and individual needs.
We situate our work within wider movements for social justice.
