The impact of the measures the government has put in place to combat the new COVID-19 coronavirus has prompted a lot of legal questions among ordinary citizens. Both individuals and organisations can now turn to the Brussels Law School Consultancy with their questions and receive free advice. Run by law students at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Brussels Law School Consultancy offer clear legal advice at an affordable price.
The Brussels Law School Consultancy non-profit was founded by Nicolas De Cuyper, Christophe Janssens, Thalie Arend and Thibault De Brouwer in September of 2019. It was created with a two-fold goal: to offer accessible and affordable legal advice to those who need it, and to offer law students an opportunity to put what they’ve learned in the classroom into practice. The Brussels Law School Consultancy have already expanded since their launch, with 15 consultants today assisting companies, non-profits and individuals. In addition to this consulting work, they also organise job fairs for their fellow students.
Vice-chair Christophe Janssens:
“We want this to be a win-win situation. For our clients, first and foremost. We want to assist them as best as possible, with advice in plain language at an affordable price. Because we know that people are reluctant to seek out the assistance of legal experts. They see it as something very formal, and it’s moreover expensive.”
“For our students second: legal studies are largely theory focused, while relevant job experience is crucial on the job market. Students who want to gain practical experience have to rely on internships during holiday periods. But there are only a limited number of spots, so a lot of students have nowhere to go. Our approach offers a solution to both problems.”
Solidarity response
Due to the coronavirus crisis and the increase in requests for advice, the student consultants have decided to remotely offer their services for the next few weeks and to do so for free.
“We’ve been getting a lot of very wide-ranging questions. From: ‘What are my rights now that the concert or performance that I bought tickets to has been rescheduled or cancelled’, to: ‘What does the temporary unemployment benefit scheme mean for my company, or for me as an employee, and what are my rights exactly?’”
“These are challenging times for everyone, and a bit of solidarity is certainly in order. It’s why we’ve decided to temporarily make our services completely free of charge. We’ll be doing so remotely, in accordance with the government’s guidelines. Anyone with a question is invited to complete the form on our website. The submitted questions will be processed by our consultants and they’ll respond with answers.”