Public Interest Law Centre

The Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) exists to challenge systemic injustice through legal representation, strategic litigation, research and legal education. It holds Legal Aid contracts in public law, claims against public authorities and housing law and also represents individuals, groups and organisations in the Undercover Policing Inquiry and the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

PILC works in collaboration with activists, grassroots groups and frontline organisations through a ‘legal hub’ model, building capacity through legal education and advocating through legal action in our areas of expertise, namely: state accountability; housing and land; racial justice and migrants rights.

The Baring Foundation has supported PILC since 2019.

“We have been extremely fortunate to receive support from the Baring Foundation. They have celebrated with us in the good times but more importantly, they stuck by us in the hard times. They were one of a handful of funders who ensured PILC survived the demise of Lambeth Law Centre in 2019.

We were initially awarded a three-year grant in 2019 to develop a partnership with Solace Women’s Aid to fight for the housing rights of women escaping domestic abuse, followed by another three-year grant to expand our activities to the needs of migrant women whose entitlements are limited by their immigration status or the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition. Then in 2024, we were awarded a new three-year grant to develop our work supporting communities fighting against gentrification.

The Public Interest Law Centre is a legal organisation located at the grassroots. This is not a market choice: it is where we come from and where we believe social change begins. Our approach uses the law as a means to empower collective action, utilising litigation strategically to bridge legal efforts with social movements to impact change. We do this by not platforming the law above other campaign tactics and by never substituting ourselves for the campaign.

PILC’s legal hub model has evolved over time and now consists of three interconnected parts:

1. Building power through relationships, identifying issues and sharing knowledge

We cannot overstate the importance of building and maintaining relationships with those affected by dispossession, discrimination, injustice, as well as frontline workers. None of the work we do would be possible without this foundation. It is also through these relationships that we are able to cascade information about rights and entitlements, share legal resources and support people to understand how to use the law. Working this way implies a recognition that process and outcomes are not separate.

2. Legal representation and strategic litigation

We build many of our strategic legal challenges from individual cases by showing how the issues involved impact a wide range of people. We also act on behalf of grassroots groups or frontline organisations campaigning on issues they cannot change through policy or campaigning work alone. The aim in much of our litigation is to set legal precedents and change wider policy and practice.

3. Research and communications

We highlight injustice through research and communications. Investigations help us identify unlawful policies and practices and provide an evidence base for strategic litigation. We are also deeply aware of the limits of legal action. We use communications to publicise legal successes and to ensure that the social justice issues at the heart of our work don’t get lost.

Our impact

Alongside legal representation and strategic legal challenges, some of our key achievements with survivors of domestic abuse are listed below:

• partnerships with Solace Women’s Aid, Southall Black Sisters and Latin American Women Rights’ Service, enabling us to reach out to a wide range of organisations, mostly in London;
• a comprehensive training programme on the housing rights and entitlements of domestic abuse survivors, resulting in the upskilling of hundreds of workers over the last six years;
• legal representation of domestic abuse organisations to challenge government failures during the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in £76 million of additional ring-fenced funding;
• an investigation into local authorities’ refusal to provide housing support to Domestic Abuse survivors through gatekeeping in every London Borough
• creation of the Domestic Abuse and Housing Forum to increase access to legal representation, share common issues and develop litigation.

Some of our key achievements alongside those fighting gentrification are:

• legal resources for estate residents and others facing gentrification, such as market stall holders across London;
• the launch and dissemination of research into the role of estate demolition in worsening London’s housing crisis and support for residents;
• shared reflections and learnings about our approach to working with communities and campaigners in how to develop strategic legal action.

“PILC puts the power of the law into working-class and marginalised communities so they can fight back.”