Sean Canning – manager
Sean started his career working in the social housing movement where he began work as a housing worker before becoming Director of An Teach Irish Housing Association, an organisation which specialises in working with young, single homeless people in Haringey.
Sean has worked in the Law Centre movement for the last eight years as Director of the North Kensington Law Centre. He has extensive experience of fundraising, managing legal aid contracts and developing volunteer programmes.
Sean was instrumental in setting up the Advice Now project in Kensington and Chelsea – a collaborative £500,000 project funded by the Big Lottery Fund to offer a wider range of all types of advice services.
Sean has been Treasurer of the Law Centres Federation for three years (2007-2010) and has served as a member of the Law Centres Federation Executive Committe for several years.
He is a school governor.
Wendy Pettifer – solicitor
It is 35 years since Wendy started out in Manchester Law Centre when it first opened. She has been committed to working with the most vulnerable sections of UK society ever since.
She moved to Hackney 30 years ago when she was a single parent, running an Advice Centre at Centreprise for 9 years. She worked part-time throughout her full time Law degree in the 80s and qualified as a solictior in 1992, having completed a training contract with Winstanley Burgess.
Wendy worked in private practice for 12 years as a social welfare lawyer, supervising housing and family contracts in Tottenham and Hackney. She completed her Masters Degree in Refugee Studies in 2003 and during this period worked for 6 months in Cairo, supervising interns in a Legal Aid project assisting refugees with applications to UNHCR.
Wendy is bi-lingual and has travelled widely in Europe Africa and the Middle East. She currently maintains her interest in International Human Rights as a delegate with REMDH in Tunisia.
Wendy took 6 years out of practice to run a pro bono unit with the College of Law, but returned to practice to work in the Law Centre in 2011. The work of the Law Centre is an integral part of her life and she hopes she still contribute to supporting and helping people on the margins of our society to be housed and obtain sufficient money to survive in these harsh times.
Nathaniel Matthews – solicitor
Nathaniel Matthews is the senior solicitor at HCLC. He was born in the UK but spent much of his childhood abroad in Mexico, Italy and Kuwait. He has worked at HCLC since qualifying as a solicitor in 1994. He heads the Social Welfare Team.
In 2006, Nathaniel was awarded the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Award (Social Welfare).
In his spare time, in a personal capacity, he writes a blog called ‘Frontline Hackney – a day in the life of the Law‘.
Paul Heron – solicitor
Paul Heron joined Hackney Community Law Centre in 2010. He is a solicitor specialising in housing, social security, and public law. Paul started his professional life working as an advisor to homeless people with mental health, alcohol and drug problems and worked in a number of legal advice agencies prior to qualifying as a solicitor. He is on the executive committee of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers. He is a fanatical supporter of Everton FC.
Housing law
Paul specialises in all aspects of social housing law. He has extensive experience in homelessness cases – including section 202 reviews and section 204 homelessness appeals, unlawful eviction, disrepair claims, judicial reviews, human rights, public law defences and appears regularly at the duty rota scheme at Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court.
Social Security law
Paul specialises in all aspects of social security law. He regularly assists clients with tribunal representations to the lower and upper tribunal. He has wide experience of maximising benefit entitlement. He also deals with complex challenges to decision relating to Housing Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Disability Living Allowance, and all other types of disability benefits.
Public Law
Paul has represented clients in bringing proceedings against Local Authorities and public bodies. He has had cases both in the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Diane Morrison – trainee solicitor
Diane Morrison joined the Law Centre as a typist in May 2005 (initially on a part time basis). She then qualified as a Generalist Adviser with the CAB (Holborn) on a part-time basis and became the Law Centre’s main adviser alongside the specialist caseworkers. She still volunteers with the CAB. From 2009 onwards she started the Law Centre’s volunteer programme which was then upgraded with input from Ms. Wendy Pettifer.
Diane’s main experience has been in the social welfare law team – alongside supporting the volunteers with front level advice work and represents the Centre at the London Borough of Hackney’s Public Service Promise meetings.
Outside of the Law Centre she is also a keen distance runner (hoping to complete her fourth marathon in London next April).
She also believes the world’s problems could be solved if more people learned knitting and embroidery. She is a member of the Womens’ Institute (Alexander Palace) and has joined the London Comedy Writers circuit as an outlet for writing sketch comedy. She was also the secretary of the St Ignatius Soup Run for 11 years and is a member of a choir.
Chorouk El-Adib – trainee solicitor
Chorouk studied Law at Westminster University after working as a barrister’s clerk for Hickman and Rose solicitors on many cases involving actions against the police and criminal defence.
Chorouk then further developed her interest in actions against the police and human rights rights issues during a number of paralegal jobs and internships with Christian Khan Solicitors and Hodge Jones and Allen.
Following her graduation from the Legal Practice Course (LPC) in 2007, Chorouk worked as a volunteer at a womens shelter in casablanca in Morocco for victims of domestic violence.
Chorouk started working in Hackney in April 2009, firstly volunteering at the Hoxton Advisory Service as an immigration and welfare benefits advisor and then at the Hackney Law Centre assisting with the advice line and general casework.
Chorouk is now a trainee solicitor, hoping to qualify in 2012. She hopes to continue assisting with providing essential advice and representation to people within the community who need help the most.
Chorouk is bi-lingual and enjoys travelling, especially to Asia and the South East. In her spare time she enjoys lindy hop, salsa and challenging her nephew in Fast and Furious 4!
Hilton von Herbert – senior supervising immigration caseworker
With well over ten years of experience as an accredited Senior Caseworker and Immigration Supervisor, in the field of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, Hilton joined Hackney Community Law Centre in April 2009 having previously worked at Cambridge Citizens Advice Bureau, Nucleus Legal Advice Centre and Lambeth Law Centre.
He qualified with a Law Degree from the University of London and has many years of experience in delivering training in Immigration Law. He has also been involved in some high profile Parliamentary Lobbying which have brought about significant changes in UK Immigration Law and Policy that has undoubtedly benefitted and positively impacted on the lives of thousands of people.
As a keen cyclist, Hilton has helped several charities including the British Heart Foundation and Barnados raise money and awareness for their campaigns by engaging in charitable cycle rides and fundraising events. He is fluent in Krio and he loves the study of anthropology.
Hope Olugbola – debt caseworker
Hope joined Hackney Law Centre in November 2006.
He worked for the Hackney Citizens Advice Bureau in Mare Street, in the same position, for four years before joining HCLC.
Hope runs Hackney Law Centre’s Debt Advice project funded by Hackney Homes for council tenants. He works out of all five neighbourhood office across the borough.
He is also a LSC Debt caseworker Supervisor.
Hope is an approved Debt Relief Order intermediary and an accredited member of Institute of Money Advisers.
In his spare time, Hope is an active volunteer member of a charity-Life Gate, where he offers support, counselling and life-skills training to individuals and families in crisis.
Hope is married and has two boys.
Olu Adunuga – finance officer
Olu started working at HCLC in 2004. He has a background in banking and finance.
Prior to coming to HCLC, Olu had worked as a finance officer in private legal practice and in the charitable sector.
Olu is married with four wonderful children and has loyally supported Liverpool FC for the past 35 years.
He enjoys his work and banter with his colleagues.
Miranda Grell – interim development officer
Miranda came to HCLC in February 2011 as part of the first intake in a new formalised volunteer programme where she worked on housing and immigration and asylum law cases. Miranda then became an intern with HCLC in October 2011, answering calls on our telephone adviceline and seeing ‘drop-in’ clients for face-to-face appointments. Miranda is now HCLC’s interim Development Officer working with the Centre’s Manager to fundraise and build HCLC’s capacity and profile in a difficult financial time.
Prior to coming to HCLC, Miranda had successfully completed a Graduate Diploma in Law at City Law School, gaining a distinction in constitutional law, and undertook a number of legal placements and mini pupillages. She also spent six months with a busy children’s legal charity. Miranda had previously worked for the then Deputy Mayor of London as her researcher and was also a local Councillor. She also worked for the conciliation service Acas as a Senior Policy Advisor and in Brussels as a trainee speechwriter to the then European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs.
Miranda has a First Class degree in European Studies with Modern Languages (Spanish and German) from the University of Manchester and a Masters in International Employment Relations from the London School of Economics.
She loves to travel (when she can afford it), good food (she is now swimming regularly to burn it off!) and music – especially old skool UK garage, soca, merengue and opera. Miranda also loves spending time with her gorgeous 4 year old niece and with her beautiful God daughter and sister who live in Frankfurt, Germany. In the US Presidential Elections in 2008, Miranda campaigned for Barack Obama in London and in Florida. She remains one of President Obama’s most die-hard supporters….
*The solicitors, caseworkers, interns and volunteers are assisted by Bella – administrator, Kim – administrator and Cheryl - legal secretary*.
