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Review
Trinity FLAC: A Year in Review By Georgia Dillon, Secretary of Trinity FLAC, JS Law Trinity FLAC is the Trinity College Dublin branch of the Free Legal Advice Centre. The society seeks to advance and promote the principles of social justice and human rights on and off campus through offering free legal advice and raising awareness of social justice issues in our local and global communities. At the heart of FLAC lies the belief that every human being deserves dignity and respect. We started this year with a change to our Constitution to allow for the recruitment of two Deputy Legal Research Officers, Patricia and Rebecca, who joined our Legal Research Officer Hugh to produce two research projects this year. The first, Disability Rights: A Research Report By Trinity FLAC, was shortlisted for best publication at this year’s CSC Awards. The second research project, Gendered Issues in Irish Law and Policy, is well underway and explores a number of pressing issues, from feminist approaches to legal decision-making, to period poverty, to parental and reproductive health leave. Our Free Legal Advice Clinics continued over the phone this year. They took place every Tuesday of the academic year and allowed staff and students to avail of free legal advice from a qualified legal practitioner from A&L Goodbody. These clinics are at the heart of what we do at Trinity FLAC, promoting access to justice for all, and were run by our Clinics Officer Isobel, who returned this year for her second stint in this position. Isobel handled the transition from in-person clinics to phone clinics wonderfully and enabled dozens of people to receive free legal advice. We hosted a number of panel discussions this year, both online and in person. We were delighted to continue our YouTube Speaker Series following the return to in-person events, as we received feedback that they have been helpful for students working on research and assignments. We continued to platform a number of advocates and experts speaking on issues of social justice, including Chairperson of Safeguarding Ireland Patricia Rickard Clarke, Professor Patricia Brazil and Finn Keyes, who kindly gave their time to speak to us about wardship in Ireland and the need for reform in this system. Our Speaker Series continued with a Civil Legal Aid Review with Christopher McCann and Professor Gerard Whyte, and a discussion on prisoners’ rights with Ciara Kirrane and Mary Rogan. We also hosted a number of live online events, including our annual ‘Alternative Careers in Law’ Event. At this talk, we heard from a number of speakers who pursued careers outside the traditional corporate law route, from academics to CEOs of NGOs. We offered a number of workshops including a tenants’ rights workshop with the Trinity College Dublin Student Union and a Consent Workshop with Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. This year marked the return of our in-person events, including our annual Advocacy Award. This award acknowledges people that FLAC believes has made a significant contribution to the advancement of social justice in Ireland. This year we were honoured to give the award to Independent Trinity Senator Lynn Ruane, who has used her position in the Seanad to advocate for reform in Irish drug policy and the criminal justice system. In conversation with our chairperson Síofra, Senator Ruane shared insights into her time in the Seanad and the adversity she has overcome in her political career. FLAC took part in a number of collaborations with other societies this year. We hosted a talk on the intersection of the ‘Environment, Economics and Law’ with Trinity Law Society, Environmental Society, Student Economic Review and the Students’ Union. We also organised a number of social and fundraising collaborations, including our Freshers’ Week Cable Tie Scavenger Hunt with the Trinity Law Society and The Chase: Law Hacks Edition, where representatives from the Law Society, Trinity College Law Review and The Eagle faced off against law students in a game hosted by our lovely Hilary Term Moot Officer, Jules. This event
