Legal Fund to combat Racial Injustice

Legal groups The Law Collective (TLC) ( led by Raifa Rariq) , Black Men in Law Network (BML) (led by Isaac Eloi and John Oladeji), Urban Lawyers (led by Dr Tunde Okewale MBE), and barrister Alexandra Wilson, have come together to launch a new initiative to facilitate funding and legal representation for disenfranchised minorities with a specific focus on Black African individuals (including all Black people forming part of the African diaspora). The initiative will also advocate for legal reform in Parliament and in the media.

One Case At A Time (“OCAAT”) is an independent, apolitical, non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. Its mission is to facilitate access to justice, funding and legal representation for disenfranchised minorities with a specific focus for Black people (forming part of the Black African diaspora) who may have been victims of injustice in the courts or any other emanations of the State. Without placing limits on its ambition, we envisage doing this through advancing appeals, assisting individuals navigate complaint processes and participating in other public interest litigation in the civil and criminal courts.

OCAAT will seek to ensure that the State meets its obligations to fund the costs that are otherwise a barrier to access to justice. Where the State falls short, OCAAT will connect beneficiaries with lawyers who stand ready to undertake work at risk, or, if funding cannot be secured, on a pro-bono basis.

In due course, OCAAT will also commission quantitative and qualitative research into the experiences of individual groups in the context of this subject.

In the words of those behind OCAAT, "we welcome the input of those with something to offer that can help them do more and work better. We particularly value expert advice from Chambers, law firms and or legal representation who may be able to help them to advance cases through the courts. We highly value in-kind support, such as office space, a reliable vehicle, office supplies, subscriptions, technology and volunteers."

Due to the Covid-19 there has been a delayand restrictions on opening new bank accounts. As a result of this the donations will be temporarily held by one of the founding members ( Raifa Rariq) until they can be transferred into a OCAAT bank account.

We will keep you update about any further developments.