A new legal charity, LawWorks Scotland, which officially launches today,
Thursday 10 March, aims to increase access to pro bono - or free - legal
services for members of the public.
The new charity, which has
been set up by
solicitors and other stakeholders from the
charity sector with support from the Law Society of Scotland, will
co-ordinate and develop provision of pro bono legal services in Scotland to
help people who cannot afford to pay for
legal advice.
Lord Advocate, The Rt
Hon Elish Angiolini QC, who has long been a supporter of the legal
profession's pro bono efforts, will be announced as the charity's first
patron at a launch event at Edinburgh's Parliament House.
The
Lord Advocate, the Rt Hon Elish Angiolini QC, said: "I regard the
introduction of LawWorks in Scotland as a welcome step forward by the legal
profession and am delighted to accept the honour of becoming the
organisation's first patron, when I step down from office in May.
"As lawyers, we must all share responsibility for helping to widen access
to justice to ensure no-one is denied professional
legal advice due to lack of funds.
"In today's economic climate, more so than ever, people are facing
challenges in housing, employment, health issues and other social problems.
Affording legal advice is even more difficult than normal. While pro bono
legal services are never a substitute for Legal Aid, they are invaluable in
helping to ensure that people are treated fairly and have their rights
respected."
Jamie Millar, president of the Law Society of
Scotland, said: "The Society is very supportive of LawWorks Scotland.
Providing pro bono legal advice to those who need it is a deep rooted
tradition within the Scottish legal profession and I'm sure that LawWorks
Scotland will be welcomed by the profession and public alike."
Ian Moffett, chairman of LawWorks Scotland, said: "We're delighted to
have the Lord Advocate as LawWorks Scotland patron and for all the support
we've had from the Law Society and solicitors themselves.
"There are already many Scottish solicitors and firms providing pro bono
legal services however, many more would like to but are not quite sure how
to get involved. We want to encourage more lawyers to take part and help
put them in
contact with those most in
need. LawWorks Scotland will act as a 'clearing house' for those lawyers
who wish to do pro bono work. They'll be able to register with us and we
can set them up with front line advice agencies such as Citizens Advice
Bureau Scotland, law centres and university law clinics.
"It's
all about making things as straightforward as possible for solicitors who
want to take part and we take care of things like training, terms of
engagement forms, and insurance so that those who wish to help are not tied
up in red tape.
"We've had a great response so far, with law
firms such as Shepherd and Wedderburn, Burness, Turcan Connell and Sturrock
Armstrong and Thomson and solicitors in Edinburgh-based company
Cairn Energy already signed up with us. It's a very encouraging start and I
hope many more Scottish lawyers will chose to take part. While we will
operate as an independent charity, we have the support of the long
established LawWorks in London - almost every major law firm in England and
Wales is a member of Law Works and we want to see the same thing happen in
Scotland.
See the website
lawworks
scotlandLawWorks Scotland is managed by a Board
of Trustees, made up of representatives of the various sector of the legal
profession, universities, the Law Society of Scotland and advice agencies.
The Board of Trustees will also be responsible for promoting its activities
to the profession and universities more broadly in order to sign up members
and to bring in funds. Day to day running of LWS will operate from
administrative premises, provided free of charge by the Law Society of
Scotland.
The Board is presently made up of the following:
Ian Moffett, Anderson Strathern (Chair)
Prof. Donald
Nicholson, University of Strathclyde
Gillian Carty, Shepherd +
Wedderburn
Jane McLeod, Scottish Government
Paul
White, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
Emma
Anstead, Proactive Employment Lawyers
Colin Hulme, Burness
LLP
source - Law Society of Scotland 
Forum 
Scotland 
