Introduction to Mind's Legal Unit

Who we are
What we do
What we do not do
Mind's Legal Advice Service
Contact Us

Who we are

We are a small team of lawyers who provide information on mental health and related law. We work as a solicitors' office in accordance with Law Society rules including strict confidentiality and supervision.

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What we do

• We give legal information and support to colleagues in other departments within Mind and local Mind associations (LMAs) in relation to inquiries from their clients.
• We provided training on mental health law for advocates, advisers and service users in conjunction with Mind's Conference and Training Unit.
• We publish a variety of legal information including:
  a Legal Rights Manual for mental health advisers
  a free enewsletter
  Rights guides and Legal briefings for service users, families, carers, and advocates
• We work with other mental health lawyers on significant impact cases.
• We undertake some casework, but only specific cases which meet strict "casework criteria".

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What we do not do

• We do not take on individual cases unless they meet strict "casework criteria".
• We do not see service users personally or represent people at Mental Health Review Tribunals or Hospital Managers’ hearings.
• We do not give advice on areas of law in which we have no specialist knowledge; for example, we do not advise on housing law, criminal law, wills and trusts, child care law, or welfare benefits. Details of where to seek specialist advice can be obtained from the Law Society (www.lawsociety.org.uk, telephone 0870606 6575) or from Community Legal Advice (www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk, telephone 0845 345 4345).

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Mind's Legal Advice Service

Mind's legal advisers:

• provide information about mental health and related law to people experiencing mental distress, families, carers, advocates and other professionals.
• respond to letters and emails requesting legal advice.
• operate a confidential telephone legal advice service.

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Contact us

The legal advice service can be contacted by

• phone on 0845 225 9393, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
• post to Mind Legal Advice Service, PO Box 277, Manchester, M60 3XN
• email to legal@mind.org.uk.

Our calls are recorded for training purposes only and within strict confidentiality guidelines.

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MindinfoLine

For more general information about mental distress, people can ring the MindinfoLine on 0845 766 0163, from anywhere in the country for the cost of a local call. The line is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

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