Meet the team | University of Suffolk

Our Legal Advice Centre provides free legal advice to our local community, whilst at the same time providing our law students with an opportunity to gain practical experience. Find out more about our team, including hard-working and conscientious student volunteers and experienced supervising solicitors.

Eleanor Scarlett

Eleanor is the Director and a Supervising Solicitor of the Legal Advice Centre, which she established in 2021, together with student volunteers from the Law Department within the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Eleanor was previously Director and Supervising Solicitor at the University of East London Legal Advice Centre advising those clients on a wide range of legal issues including family law, housing, welfare benefits and consumer rights issues.

Prior to academia, Eleanor qualified and practised as a criminal defence solicitor representing those suspected or charged with a wide range of criminal offences, including murder, robbery and conspiracy to supply drugs. Eleanor acted for her clients right through the criminal justice process from the investigation stage through to trial.

Megan Bailey

Megan is the Legal Assistant for the Legal Advice Centre. Megan completed her Bachelor of Law with Criminology Degree in 2022 at the University of Suffolk receiving a 1st Class degree, and during her final year, helped to establish the Legal Advice Centre, advising clients in both Family Law and Business Law. Alongside her position as Legal Assistant, she is also completing her Solicitors Qualifying Exam, and training to become a solicitor.

Ben Belson

For this academic year, Level 5 law students had the opportunity to choose the Clinical Legal Practice Module as one of their optional modules. Our placement student for this year is Ben Belson, who saw the Legal Advice Centre as a way to gain experience and broaden his knowledge of certain areas of the law. Ben has both attended and led client interviews, obtaining skills that will benefit his future endeavours.

Ben assisted and participated in the Lady Hale Event, even meeting Lady Hale herself. There are many experiences and newly developed skills that are directly attributable to the Legal Advice Centre. As a result, Ben is further considering developing a career within Law.

Student volunteers

Our student volunteers range from first year students to third year students, all of whom are very enthusiastic about gaining experience in advising clients about different issues. The students have played a crucial role in selecting the areas of law we provide advice in. They are very passionate about these areas of law, as they believe they are relevant and beneficial to the public and community in Suffolk.

Richard Port MBE

Richard is our volunteer solicitor who helps to support us with Family Law clients. Richard qualified as a solicitor in 2015 following the completion of his LPC at Staffordshire University and specialises in complex child arrangement cases and matrimonial matters. Richard is passionate about helping individuals who have experienced domestic abuse and in April 2021, he joined the Family Department at George Green LLP as Partner. He was made an MBE in the Queens New Years 2022 honor's list for Legal Services to domestic abuse victims. He was also awarded Solicitor of the Year 2022 in the Birmingham Law Society awards.

Amanda Timcke

Amanda is one of the volunteer solicitors who support our Legal Advice Centre with our business clients. Amanda qualified as a solicitor in October 2003, and gained her Masters in Legal Practice in 2013. She joined Birketts in July 2017, where she is a Senior Associate Solicitor in the Commercial Property department. In 2023, she became the 87th President of the Suffolk and North Essex Law Society, and the sixth woman who has been elected to this role.

Paul Whittingham

Paul is one of our volunteer solicitors who was previously a Partner at Ashtons Legal in the Corporate and Commercial Team where he was Head of Business Services. He is experienced in the acquisition and disposal of companies and businesses, as well as advising franchised businesses. Paul has provided legal advice to small businesses frequently throughout his career and continues to do so on a volunteer basis through our Legal Advice Centre, for which we are hugely grateful.

Andrew Tubb

Andrew is one of the volunteer solicitors who supports our Legal Advice Centre with our business clients. Andrew is a Partner at Birketts Solicitors in the Corporate Finance Team. Andrew’s corporate finance practice involves acquisitions, disposals, MBOs and reorganisations (including international transactions) acting for sellers, buyers and other investors. Andrew also has experience of structuring and negotiating investment and joint venture agreements.