LAW students from the University of Sussex will offer legal advice to performing arts charities through a new law clinic.

From tomorrow (November 12), participating students in the Performing Arts Law Clinic will work under the supervision of expert law academics from the University, as well as with pro bono support from lawyers from Covington & Burling LLP.

The clinic, the first of its kind in the UK, aims to help such charities deal with complex legal issues in the wake of the pandemic and Britain's exit from the European Union.

Professor Amir Paz-Fuchs, director of clinical legal education and professor of law and social justice at the University of Sussex, said: "This clinic will be invaluable experience for our students: offering them a real taste of life as an in-house lawyer for an organisation, giving them access to some of the best lawyers in the world, and providing a service that will be a lifeline to local performing arts charities hit hard by recent events.

"Such clinics are not uncommon in the US but, excitingly, ours will be the first to launch in the UK."

Former managing partner of Covington's London office Christopher Walter approached the University about the idea, keen to help the charities that have been struggling financially and have been faced with a myriad of legal changes and complexities.

He said: "Charities generally face all the compliance and legal challenges of for-profit organisations but have little or no budget for lawyers.

"I am confident the Performing Arts Clinic will prove to be a great resource for its clients."

The clinic's initial clients include Glyndebourne Productions Limited, Orchestras for All and Garsington Opera, with plans to shift focus to more local and smaller charities in the coming months.

It will run as a pilot scheme for the 2021/2022 academic year, before officially joining the university's range of legal advice clinics.

Fraser Argyle, one of the first law students to volunteer in the clinic, said: "Many of my close friends are involved in the performing arts and as such, I see on a day-to-day basis just how rewarding, yet simultaneously fragile, pursuing a career in this sector can be. This vulnerability has been exponentially heightened throughout the pandemic.

"As a student legal adviser, I look forward to helping charities navigate the increasingly complex legal challenges that they face during this difficult period, to the benefit of the artists and staff dependent on the survival of those organisations."

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