The mayor of Islington, London, councillor Barry Edwards, opens Green Roots, a social enterprise company set up by Islington Law Centre in a bid to maintain access to legal advice for clients in areas of law no longer funded by legal aid.

The law centre set up the company with the assistance of City firm Hogan Lovells. Green Roots employs two full-time staff – a community manager and an immigration solicitor.

Jemima Joll, the centre’s chair, said: ‘The primary focus of the company is to offer high-quality advice at as low a price as possible to people who may otherwise go without access to a lawyer.’ Any profit made by Grass Roots will be ploughed back into the law centre.