The Children's Legal Centre

What The Children's Legal Centre does

Coram Children's Legal Centre (CCLC), founded in 1981 and amalgamated with Coram in September 2011, is the UK's first dedicated children's legal charity, operating as a registered charity (charity no: 281222) within the Coram group. The organisation specialises in law and policy affecting children and young people, delivering free legal representation, advice, and strategic litigation across immigration/asylum, child and family law, community care, education, and public law. Headquartered in London with a satellite office in Colchester, CCLC serves vulnerable populations including looked-after children, care leavers, unaccompanied migrant children, and children with special educational needs and disabilities. The organisation employs 11-50 staff and operates through four core units: the Legal Practice Unit (solicitors and paralegals delivering casework under legal aid contracts), the Child Law Advice Service (free telephone, email, and webchat advice funded by the Department for Education), the Migrant Children's Project (advice, training, and strategic litigation on refugee and migrant children's rights), and Coram International (research and consultancy across 86+ countries).

CCLC's service architecture combines three reinforcing pillars: frontline legal casework, professional training, and policy advocacy through strategic litigation and research publications. The Legal Practice Unit holds Legal Aid Agency contracts across multiple practice areas and is one of only two legal aid providers nationally in education law. The Migrant Children's Project co-chairs the Refugee Children's Consortium, a coalition of NGOs influencing UK policy on refugee children. Supplementary programmes include the KIND UK Children's Citizenship Pro Bono Legal Service (delivered through volunteer lawyers at A&O Shearman, Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper, and Skadden Arps under CCLC supervision), the First4Adoption information service (jointly with Coram and Adoption UK), and a strategic litigation practice that has produced landmark judgments on child detention, the legal aid residence test, and destitute family support.

CCLC operates a non-commercial revenue model funded almost entirely through grants, legal aid contracts, and pro bono contributions. Primary income streams are Legal Aid Agency contracts, Department for Education funding for the Child Law Advice Service and First4Adoption, grants from approximately ten major trusts and foundations (Clifford Chance, Esmee Fairbairn, Pears Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Trust for London, Comic Relief, Big Lottery, The Legal Education Foundation), international funding from the European Commission and UNICEF, and pro bono legal services from major law firm partners. Services to beneficiaries are free at the point of delivery, with a single £30 callback booking fee for scheduled Child Law Advice appointments. CCLC is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, and holds Lexcel accreditation for legal practice management.

Name

The Children's Legal Centre

Legal name

The Children's Legal Centre

Website

https://childrenslegalcentre.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Coram Children's Legal Centre is a UK charity (founded 1981) providing free specialist legal representation, advice, training, and strategic litigation in immigration, family, education, and community care law for vulnerable children, young people, and families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Legal Aid and Rights Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (54111), Child and Youth Services (624110), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM), Child Rights & Protection (BPADAGAG), Family Advocacy, Parent Training & Support Services (EDAJAKAK)

Keywords

• Children's legal services
• Immigration law advice
• Education law advice
• Child rights advocacy
• Legal aid services

Headquarters

HQ city

Colchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Aid Agency Funding: Legal aid contracts covering immigration/asylum law, child/family law, community care, education, and public law. Most cases in the Legal Practice Unit are funded by legal aid.
2. Department for Education Funding: Funding received to run the Child Law Advice Service, providing free information and advice on child/family and education law.
3. Trusts and Foundations Grants: Voluntary income from trusts and foundations (Clifford Chance, Esmee Fairbairn, Trust for London, Pears Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Comic Relief, Big Lottery, The Legal Education Foundation) to support both small- and large-scale projects addressing emerging issues.
4. International Funding: Grants from international funding bodies including European Commission and UNICEF for research, evaluation, and capacity-building projects on children's rights globally.
5. Pro Bono Legal Services: Free legal services through KIND UK partnership with major law firms (A&O Shearman, Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper, Skadden Arps) providing end-to-end citizenship representation for children and young people at no cost.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Children's Legal Centre (operating as Coram Children's Legal Centre) is a UK charity providing free, specialist legal representation, advice, and information to children, young people, and families on immigration/asylum, child and family law, community care, and education law. It combines frontline casework through its Legal Practice Unit and Child Law Advice Service with policy advocacy, research, strategic litigation, professional training, and an international children's rights consultancy (Coram International). Most services are free, funded by legal aid contracts, Department for Education commissioning, and grants from trusts, foundations, and international bodies.

Product overview

Coram Children's Legal Centre is a legal charity offering a portfolio of interconnected services focused on children's rights and access to justice. The core offerings include the Legal Practice Unit (providing legal representation in community care, immigration/asylum, education, and family law), the Child Law Advice Service (funded by Department for Education), and the Migrant Children's Project (advice, training, and advocacy for refugee and migrant children). Supporting services include Children's Rights Training for professionals, the Children's Citizenship Pro Bono Legal Service (in partnership with KIND UK), Research and Publications, Strategic Litigation, First4Adoption, and Coram International. The organisation also provides the Child Law Advice Service via telephone, email, webchat, and callback; the Migrant Children's Project advice line via email; and various fact sheets and guides. Services are delivered through legal aid contracts, grant funding, and pro bono partnerships with major law firms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Migrant Children's Project: Promoting rights of refugee and migrant children, young people and families through advice line, training, strategic litigation and policy advocacy.
• Legal Practice Unit
• Child Law Advice Service
• Coram International
• Children's Citizenship Pro Bono Legal Service
• First4Adoption

Products and services

• Legal Practice Unit (LPU) Legal Practice Unit staffed by solicitors, trainee solicitors and paralegals providing legal representation in community care law, immigration and asylum law, education and discrimination law, and family (children) law. Holds legal aid contracts in each area of law for representation delivered through office appointments and outreach sessions across Greater London.
• Child Law Advice Service Provides free legal advice and information on family law and education law affecting children and families via telephone (0300 330 5480 family, 0300 330 5485 education), email, webchat (8am–5:30pm Monday–Friday), and £30 callback bookings. Covers relationship breakdown, local authority intervention, child protection, admissions, exclusions, bullying, and special educational needs. Funded by the Department for Education.
• Migrant Children's Project (MCP) Promotes the rights of refugee and migrant children, young people and families through a free email advice line, face-to-face advice in Greater London, training to professionals, 30+ downloadable fact sheets, policy advocacy, and strategic litigation. Works towards individual change, change to practice, and change to law and policy.
• Children's Rights Training Expert training on child law including immigration, community care and education law for professionals in statutory and voluntary sector organisations. Equips social workers, teachers, solicitors, barristers, immigration advisers and other practitioners with knowledge and confidence to uphold and advocate for children's rights. Commissioned via [email protected].
• Children's Citizenship Pro Bono Legal Service (KIND UK Partnership) Free legal service in partnership with KIND UK and four global law firms (A&O Shearman, Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper, Skadden) providing end-to-end representation for children and young people to secure British citizenship. Casework is carried out by volunteer lawyers supervised by CCLC specialists. Covers London, South East, and West England.
• First4Adoption Dedicated information service for people interested in adopting a child in England, providing answers to questions about adopter suitability and the adoption process. Delivered via information line (0300 222 0022, open 10am–6pm Monday–Friday) and website. Run jointly with Coram and Adoption UK; funded by the Department for Education.
• Coram International Research institution and consultancy that protects and promotes children's rights worldwide through social and legal research, assessments, evaluations, training, capacity building, and policy and legislation design. Projects delivered for governments, multilaterals (e.g. European Commission, UNICEF) and NGOs in over 86 countries.
• Resources and Fact Sheets Over 30 downloadable fact sheets on legal issues affecting young refugees and migrants, covering immigration, asylum and nationality matters. Available as free resources from CCLC's website to support self-advocacy and professional guidance.

Quantifiable outcome

• One in ten children in care has an unresolved immigration or nationality issue identified through CCLC research.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KIND UK (Kids in Need of Defense)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCLC partners with KIND UK on the Children's Citizenship Pro Bono Legal Service, providing free legal services to children and young people to secure British citizenship. The service addresses the gap between children entitled to citizenship and those applying in practice. Casework is carried out by volunteer lawyers supervised by CCLC specialists.
• A&O Shearman (Allen & Overy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal law firm providing volunteer lawyers for end-to-end citizenship representation for children and young people through KIND UK partnership. Lawyers trained and supervised by CCLC specialist immigration lawyers.
• Baker McKenziecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal law firm providing volunteer lawyers for end-to-end citizenship representation for children and young people through KIND UK partnership. Lawyers trained and supervised by CCLC specialist immigration lawyers.
• DLA PipercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal law firm providing volunteer lawyers for end-to-end citizenship representation for children and young people through KIND UK partnership. Lawyers trained and supervised by CCLC specialist immigration lawyers.
• Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & FlomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal law firm providing volunteer lawyers for end-to-end citizenship representation for children and young people through KIND UK partnership. Lawyers trained and supervised by CCLC specialist immigration lawyers.
• Central England Law CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based non-profit specialising in children's immigration and asylum law, working with KIND UK collaboration to support and develop pro bono legal representation model.
• Greater Manchester Immigration Aid UnitminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based non-profit specialising in children's immigration and asylum law, working with KIND UK collaboration to support and develop pro bono legal representation model.
• Just Right ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based non-profit specialising in children's immigration and asylum law, working with KIND UK collaboration to support and develop pro bono legal representation model.
• Migrant and Refugee Children's Legal Unit (MICLU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based non-profit at Islington Law Centre specialising in children's immigration and asylum law, working with KIND UK collaboration.
• First4Adoption PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint initiative with Coram and Adoption UK, funded by Department for Education, providing dedicated information service for people interested in adopting a child in England. Adoption information line: 0300 222 0022.
• Refugee Children's ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCLC co-chairs this coalition of NGOs working collaboratively to ensure rights and needs of refugee children are respected. CCLC provides evidence and recommendations to government through this forum.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Refugee Council: Larger UK refugee charity providing advice and advocacy across refugees of all ages, with overlapping work on asylum policy and rights — broader incumbent in the same beneficiary space.
• Coram: CCLC's parent organisation and the UK's first dedicated children's charity; broader portfolio spanning adoption, fostering, life education, and youth voice, with CCLC operating as its legal arm.
• Fisher Meredith LLP: Established UK law firm specialising in immigration, housing, and police/prison law that has trained multiple CCLC senior staff; represents the broader private-practice competitor for specialist children's immigration casework.

Direct peers

• Migrant and Refugee Children's Legal Unit (MICLU): Specialist unit within Islington Law Centre focused on children's immigration and asylum; collaborates with CCLC on KIND UK and serves a highly comparable client base.
• Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit: Non-profit specialising in immigration and asylum law including work with separated children; another KIND UK collaborator and a close functional peer for children's immigration casework.
• Just for Kids Law: UK charity providing free legal advice and representation to children and young people, with strong overlap in education, community care, and immigration law — the most direct functional peer to CCLC's Legal Practice Unit.
• JustRight Scotland: Scottish children's rights legal charity working on asylum, trafficking, and education law with migrant children — direct peer in the same practice area across a different UK jurisdiction.
• Central England Law Centre: Non-profit specialising in children's immigration and asylum law, working alongside CCLC within the KIND UK collaboration — a direct peer in the same niche legal aid market.
• Kids in Need of Defense (KIND): US-headquartered NGO partnering with CCLC to deliver the Children's Citizenship Pro Bono Legal Service; comparable mission and operating model around migrant children's legal representation.

Others

• Law Centres Network: UK membership network for law centres delivering free legal advice including to vulnerable children and families; an enabling/ecosystem peer rather than a direct competitor, with overlapping funder ecosystem and referral pathways.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CCLCUK
• Facebookfacebook.com/CCLCUK

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Children's Legal Centre