Caroline Bird

Caroline joined TV Edwards in February 2018.

She carries out a range of housing and community care cases, particularly in the area of migrant support.

Caroline advises and assists young asylum-seeking people who have been assessed as being older than their claimed age by local authorities. She represents clients living in unsuitable asylum support accommodation provided by the Home Office. She also helps young people to obtain appropriate support and accommodation from local authorities under their duties towards care-leavers. 

In relation to housing work, Caroline advises and assists tenants facing eviction from their home for rent arrears and alleged anti-social behaviour. Caroline is experienced in helping those seeking homelessness support from a local authority and recently helped a client fleeing domestic abuse obtain emergency accommodation. Her work has also helped clients obtain injunctions for urgent repairs to their homes and compensation for poor housing conditions.

Under the supervision of Nilufer Ozdemir, Caroline advises and assists persons deprived of their liberty with applications to the Court of Protection under section 21A of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Before joining TV Edwards, Caroline gained experience by volunteering with the Welfare Rights Team at Norfolk Community Law Service. She also advised students at the University of Essex Student’s Union Advice Centre on welfare issues, arranged law conferences on human rights matters and educated young people on public law issues. Caroline enjoyed volunteering as part of a team to investigate miscarriages of justice and preparing their appeals. It was whilst doing this voluntary work that Caroline gained an interest in Social Welfare law and came to understand the importance of a properly-funded legal aid scheme.

Caroline was recognised for her charity work when presented with a prestigious Diana Award in 2011. Caroline is a Graduate Member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and has completed her Level 6 Diploma in Legal Practice.

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