Manchester is the North West's legal capital: criminal courts at Crown Square and Minshull Street, the purpose-built Civil Justice Centre handling everything from evictions to High Court business, the region's employment tribunal at Alexandra House — and the Property Chamber office for the whole of northern England at Piccadilly. Whatever's hit — an arrest, a landlord's notice, a dismissal, a debt claim — call our line and an AI legal assistant trained on the law of England and Wales explains where you stand and where your case goes, free, 24/7. Legal information, not legal advice; no solicitor-client relationship. A one-hour consultation with an expert solicitor is a fixed £145, bookable on the call.
Free legal information. Not legal advice. Available 24/7 across Manchester.
Call any hour and tell our AI legal assistant what's happening — arrested in the city centre, a possession claim in Salford, a dismissal in Trafford — and get clear legal information for Greater Manchester: your rights under the law of England and Wales, the procedure, the deadlines, and which Manchester court or tribunal actually hears a case like yours. Free, 24/7, unlimited questions; it's legal information rather than legal advice on your specific case, and no solicitor-client relationship arises. Arrested: the duty solicitor is free at every Greater Manchester Police station, no means test — take it before saying anything of substance. A one-hour consultation with an expert solicitor is a fixed £145, booked while you're on the line.
Manchester's legal geography confuses even locals: criminal and civil justice run through entirely separate buildings, and the criminal side itself splits across two Crown Courts. The working rule — magistrates' and Crown Square share the Crown Square complex; Minshull Street carries its own Crown Court list in the Victorian courthouse a half-mile east; and everything civil or family, from a £500 small claim to a High Court business dispute, goes to the Civil Justice Centre tower on Bridge Street West. Two consequences worth knowing: check which Crown Court your case is listed at before travelling (the two are routinely mixed up), and don't go to the magistrates' court for an eviction or debt hearing — housing and money live in the civil tower. Our line tells every Manchester caller not just the law but the building.
Manchester's free-help network is strong and genuinely local — a campaigning law centre, one of the country's biggest Citizens Advice services, and a university clinic open to the public. These are the verified anchors.
Wherever you are in Manchester, the line is free and answered 24/7 — including:
I've been arrested in Manchester — what happens and what should I do?
Ask for the duty solicitor — free at every Greater Manchester Police station, no means test, and interview generally waits until you've had the advice. The England-and-Wales caution means silence can carry risk and unguarded answers more, so the free professional comes first. If charged, your case starts at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Crown Square; serious matters go up to one of the two Crown Courts — Crown Square or Minshull Street. Our criminal guide covers interview, bail, both court tiers and criminal records.
Where do Manchester eviction cases go — and what law applies now?
Possession claims for the city run through the Manchester Civil Justice Centre on Bridge Street West, with a free duty adviser at possession hearings. The law is England's rewritten 2026 regime: section 21 no-fault evictions abolished, every tenancy open-ended, eviction on statutory grounds only with set notice periods, and deposit-protection failures blocking possession. Rent-increase challenges go to the Property Chamber at Piccadilly Exchange — free, and the tribunal can't set a higher rent than proposed. Start with our England housing guide.
How do I bring an employment claim in Manchester?
Free, on a strict clock: ACAS early conciliation first (mandatory, 0300 123 1100), generally started within three months of the dismissal or deduction — six months for acts from 1 October 2026 — then the claim to the Manchester Employment Tribunal at Alexandra House on The Parsonage. No fees, and costs orders are rare. Note the 2027 changes in our GB employment guide: the unfair-dismissal threshold falls from two years to six months and the compensation cap goes — reshaping who can claim.
Which building handles divorce and children's cases in Manchester?
The Manchester Civil Justice Centre — its family courts handle divorce, children's arrangements, financial orders and domestic-abuse injunctions for the city. Divorce itself is now a no-fault online process taking about six months minimum; children's arrangements follow the welfare checklist; and the £62 consent order is the step that actually ends financial claims between ex-spouses. Urgent protection from domestic abuse is fee-free and can be heard without notice. Our family guide walks through each.
What free legal help actually operates in Manchester?
A real network: the duty solicitor at every police station, Greater Manchester Law Centre in Longsight (housing, employment, benefits), Citizens Advice Manchester's hubs and video service, the University of Manchester's Legal Advice Centre (public appointments), Support Through Court for anyone facing a hearing alone, Shelter's Greater Manchester hub, the free duty adviser at possession hearings, free small-claims mediation, and fee-free employment tribunals. Our line — free, 24/7 — routes you to the right one first time.
Does Manchester handle big business disputes locally, or does everything go to London?
Locally — Manchester is the North West's High Court centre. The Civil Justice Centre houses the Business and Property Courts in Manchester: commercial disputes, insolvency, company matters and chancery work that would once have travelled to the Rolls Building now issue and try here. For smaller commercial matters the ordinary county-court tracks apply — small claims to £10,000, fast and multi-track above — same building. The civil guide covers procedure, costs exposure and settlement mechanics.
From magistrates' lists to Civil Justice Centre possession hearings to Alexandra House tribunal claims, our 24/7 line meets Greater Manchester at the moment people need advice — and books them into £145 fixed-fee consultations. If you practise in Manchester and want pre-triaged, paying clients in your field, we'd like to hear from you.
General legal information, not legal advice. We research every page from primary sources — legislation, the courts, and government legal-aid bodies — and check it for accuracy. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at admin@platfirm.ai.
Two Crown Courts, one civil tower, a regional tribunal and the North's property chamber — Manchester's system rewards knowing where your case goes and what clock it's on. Our free line is live now, 24/7, trained on the law of England and Wales, with no limit on your questions. We are not a law firm; it's legal information, not legal advice, and no solicitor-client relationship arises. When you want an expert solicitor on your specific problem, a one-hour consultation is a fixed £145 — bookable right on the call.
Free legal information. Not legal advice.