An article in today's LSG claims that roposed cuts to legal aid threaten to
undermine a decade of pro bono work - today being the start of the 10th
annual pro Bono Week.
A Law Society survey in the spring
revealed that just under half of
solicitors in private practice had undertaken
pro bono work in the previous 12 months, conducting an average of 55 hours
each, with an estimated total value of £518m.
But the leaders of
the Law Society, Bar Council and Institute of Legal Executives have warned
that the government’s proposed funding cuts could limit the ability of the
legal profession to continue providing pro bono assistance.
The
first Pro Bono Yearbook, published today by the three representative
groups, highlighted the achievements of the legal pro bono community over
the past 10 years, but voiced concern for the future.
It
stresses that the removal of key areas of law from the scope of legal aid
will result in the loss of expertise of lawyers practising in those areas.
This in turn will reduce their ability to provide training and supervision
for lawyers who practise in other fields but give free advice in areas such
as social welfare.
In addition it notes the consequent rise in
the number of litigants in person, resulting in an increasing demand for
free legal assistance.
The yearbook stresses that pro bono work
can and should never be a substitute for a properly funded justice
system.
In a foreword to the book, the leaders of the three
professions - bar chair Peter Lodder QC; Law Society president John Wotton
and ILEX president Susan Silver, say: ‘A properly funded and organised
system of legal aid is a fundamental requirement of a decent, just and
progressive society and one of the foundations for the rule of law. Pro
bono should never be a substitute for that, and nor should it try to
be.’
In the review, the former attorney general Lord Goldsmith
QC said lawyers have been volunteering their services for free since ‘time
immemorial’, but said that over the past decade there has been a ‘paradigm
shift’ in efforts to coordinate pro bono activity and work collaboratively
across the legal profession with the voluntary sector and other
professionals.
Goldsmith said: ‘As we look to the next decade
and face unprecedented change in the legal landscape, new challenges will
require innovative solutions and fresh approaches.’
Wotton said:
‘Pro bono work demonstrates a commitment that is anchored in the ethos and
values of the legal profession. By volunteering their time and expertise,
lawyers help hundreds of thousands of people, community groups and
charities each year and this week we celebrate that contribution.’ Such
efforts, he said, will be undermined by the government's plans: ‘Without
legal aid, expertise in areas like welfare, debt and housing will dissipate
and the ability to train the pro bono lawyers who enhance provision will be
permanently destroyed. The proposed cuts therefore represent a double
assault on access to justice.’
Lodder said pro bono
organisations had become fixed at the heart of the legal community over the
past decade, but they ‘must not be taken for granted’. He said: ‘If the
government continues to cut legal aid, many more people will be unable to
access legal help when they need it.
‘There are limits to what
can be provided pro bono. So when we applaud the work of lawyers providing
free
legal advice and assistance to those in need,
and the staff who support them up and down the country, we must also call
on the government to think again.’
ILEX president Susan Silver
added: ‘Lawyers across the country, from all legal backgrounds, give an
immense amount of their own time for free and for no personal gain other
than knowing they are helping those in need.’
She warned: ‘If
legal aid provisions continue to be cut, pro bono lawyers will not be able
to stretch their time or necessarily have the specialist skills to support
those in need, who suddenly find they no longer have access to the justice
system.’
National pro bono week opens today with a debate
organised by the National Pro Bono Centre, exploring how the changing legal
landscape is likely to affect the delivery of pro bono work over the next
10 years. It will be followed by a panel discussion, chaired by the
attorney general’s pro bono envoy and trustee of the National Bro Bono
Centre, Michael Napier QC.
Legal Aid Cuts will undermine Pro Bono Work 
Forum 
Scotland 
