Neil Rose sets the scene for National Pro Bono week - which will boast more than 40 events - and explains its role in influencing a new generation of lawyers


It is a year of change for National Pro Bono Week, now in its sixth year. Moved from its traditional early June date to mid-November, there will be more than 40 events (compared to 12 in 2002), culminating in the first National Pro Bono Conference.



It will also be the first week not overseen by Lord Goldsmith, the former Attorney-General, who during his time in office did much to bring co-ordination to the various pro bono groups and their activities through the Attorney-General’s pro bono committee.



Amid all the change, one constant remains the Attorney-General’s pro bono envoy, former Law Society President Michael Napier. Mr Napier, the senior partner of national firm Irwin Mitchell, says the new Attorney-General, Baroness Scotland, has picked up the reins from her predecessor ‘with equal enthusiasm’.



This year’s event – which Mr Napier describes as a mix of ‘celebration, showcase and engagement’ – has a particular focus both on law students and international pro bono. Diane Burleigh, chief executive of the Institute of Legal Executives, which along with the Law Society and Bar Council funds the week, explains that the date was changed to allow far greater student involvement. June was never a good time for students, but a key aim of the whole event is to convince the next generation that pro bono is ‘part and parcel of being a lawyer’.



Mr Napier adds that he has written to the heads of all law schools to urge them to become involved, while the Law Society has funded a new law schools student post at LawWorks (formerly the Solicitors Pro Bono Group), which was filled last month.



Robert Gill, chief executive of LawWorks, says: ‘The new post will provide a central resource, enabling LawWorks to assist and co-ordinate law schools and students who wish to extend and/or develop pro bono services.’



The profession’s international pro bono work will be showcased in particular at a reception hosted by the Lord Mayor of London. Mr Napier explains that the Attorney-General’s committee has recently set up an international group which is in touch with counterparts in the US, Canada and Australia. ‘Whether it is in Africa helping on projects, or assisting an emerging nation that does not have the rule of law, such capacity-building is the next frontier,’ he says. Both Advocates for International Development and the International Lawyers Project are on the Attorney-General’s committee.



Another feature of this year’s week is the heavy involvement of ProHelp, the pro bono arm of Business in the Community, whose national chairwoman is Linklaters partner Alexandra Marks. ‘Professional firms working collaboratively to provide pro bono support have an immense impact by working together to serve the needs of their communities,’ she says. ‘The majority of firms don’t publicise their pro bono work, so National Pro Bono Week is essential to help raise awareness of their collaborative work for the benefit of communities across the UK. In turn, we hope to raise awareness among voluntary groups that this support is available to them and, of course, we aim to encourage other professional firms to get involved too.’



The question of publicising pro bono work is an old one which has never truly been settled, and so the research done by the Law Society – which now has its first full-time pro bono co-ordinator – into the activities of individual solicitors is timely in blowing the profession’s collective trumpet, rather than those of particular firms. A few years ago, one top City firm sent journalists a report outlining its pro bono activities, and how much this equated to in fees, but then asked them not to recount it in print.



The research shows that 51% of the 1,001 private practice solicitors surveyed had conducted pro bono work over the past year (up from 45% in 2002). The financial value averaged £8,200 per participant – extrapolated across private practice solicitors, this represents £338 million worth of free advice.



The research also uncovered some concerning figures, such as a drop in the amount of pro bono work that the average solicitor undertook when compared with 2002, while only 26% of solicitors surveyed said it was their firm’s policy to encourage fee-earners to conduct pro bono work.



Nonetheless, Mr Napier is steadfast in his belief that pro bono is best not forced on the profession in an evangelical way. But he points to how National Pro Bono Week has developed, ‘from a few people around a table trying to organise a few events and not sure if it would be repeated’ to the point where there are 27 people around the Attorney-General’s table working together harmoniously.



Mr Gill adds: ‘Every year we are bringing more and more lawyers and non-lawyers into the fold to understand the need for pro bono and to do it in an organised way.’



Mr Napier also believes that long-standing fears of the government viewing pro bono as some kind of substitute for legal aid are dissipating. He says: ‘We’ve achieved step by step and pro bono can now be regarded as mainstream and part of being a lawyer without anyone worrying that it’s bumping up against the debate on provision of legal aid.’



NATIONAL PRO BONO WEEK – see also www.probonouk.net


DATE - EVENT - TIME - VENUE



12 Nov - National Pro Bono Week breakfast launch - 9am - The Reading Room, The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

12 Nov - BPP Streetlaw presentation - 5.45pm - Millwall FC, The Den, Zampa Road, London SE16 3LN

12 Nov - National Pro Bono Week MPs’ reception - 4pm-6pm - Members’ Dining Hall, House of Commons, London SW1A 2TT

12 Nov Asylum justice seminar 5pm-7pm The Law Society, Wales Office, Capital Tower, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff CF10 3AG

12 Nov - First anniversary of pro bono clinic - 6pm-8pm - Chancery Room, The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London for deaf clients

12 Nov - Pro Bono exhibition - All week - Upper Waiting Hall, House of Commons, London SW1A 2TT

12 Nov - Cardiff ProHelp reception - 6pm-7pm - Morgan Cole, Bradley Court, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3DP

13 Nov - London ProHelp Wilton’s Challenge - 8.45am-2pm - Wilton’s Music Hall, Graces Alley, London E1 8JB

13 Nov - ProHelp workshop - 4pm-6pm - Ashfords, Exeter Business Park, Exeter

13 Nov - Liverpool ProHelp networking reception - 6pm-8pm - Atrium, Liverpool Daily Post & Echo, PO Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool L69 3EB

13 Nov - ProHelp business planning workshop - 10am-2.30pm - venue to be confirmed

13 Nov - Amicus LIME Gala Event - 7.30pm-1am - The Dorchester Hotel, London W1

13 Nov - Celebrate, communicate, connect! - 6pm-late - The Malcolm X Community Centre, 141 City Road, St Paul, Bristol BS2 8YH

13 Nov - Sonali Gardens Legal Advice Service launch - 6pm-8pm - London Sonali Gardens Day Centre, 79 Tarling Street, Stepney

13 Nov - ProHelp community advice seminar - 2pm-5pm - PricewaterhouseCoopers, Donnington Court, Pegasus Business Park, Castle Donnington, East Midlands DE74 2UZ

13 Nov - Pro Bono protocol signing - 10am-5pm - Leeds City Library, Municipal Buildings, Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 3AB

13 Nov - Joint event with LawWorks – keynote speech and a visit to street law project in the Chinese community - midday - University of Manchester, The Christie Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL

13 Nov - Presentation of the Rift Valley Newcastle Justice Project working with children in Kenya- 6pm - Durham University Law Department, Durham University

14 Nov - BPP Streetlaw presentation on immigration, family, employment and drugs law - 1pm-2pm - Penrose Housing Association, Focus Project, 2B Fairmount Road, Brixton, London SW2 2BL

14 Nov - ProHelp drop-in surgery - 10am-1pm - Leicestershire Cares, 42 Tower Street, Leicester LE2 6WT

14 Nov - Help a Nottinghamshire child - 6pm-8pm - NCCL Galleries of Justice, High Pavement, Lace Market, Nottingham, NG1 1HN

14 Nov - International pro bono - 6.30pm - Queen Mary College, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS

14 Nov - Young lawyers’ awards - 6.15pm-8.45pm - The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London

14 Nov - The real value of pro bono work: using the law to protect the environment - 5.15pm-6.45pm - Chancery Room, The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London

14 Nov - Pro bono speed dating - 4pm-6pm - Gotelee & Goldsmith, 31-41 Elm Street, Ipswich IP1 2AY

15 Nov - Age discrimination and harassment at work - 1.30pm-5.30pm - Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus (off Wallisdown Road)

15 Nov - Professional services advice seminar - 9.30am-2pm - Birmingham Central Library, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ

15 Nov - Essex ProHelp reception - 6pm-8pm - Fisher Jones Greenwood, Newcomen Way, Severalls Business Park, Colchester CO4 9YA

15 Nov - ProHelp recruitment dinner - 6pm-8pm - DLA Piper, Prince’s Exchange, Prince’s Square, Leeds LS1 4BY

15 Nov - ProHelp open day - 11am-3pm - Buckles, 101 Bourges Boulevard, Peterborough PE1 1NG

15 Nov - ProHelp breakfast - 8.30am-10am -Tughan & Co, Marlborough House, 30 Victoria Street, Belfast BT13GS

15 Nov - Networking reception hosted by the Lord Mayor - 6pm-7.30pm - Mansion House, Walbrook, London EC4N 8BH

15 Nov - Pro Bono Lecture 2007 delivered by Sir Henry Brooke - 5.30pm-8.30pm School of Law, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD

15 Nov - Guildford Employment Rights Advice to Line Direct - be confirmed - The College of Law, Braboeuf Manor, St Catherines, Portsmouth Road, Guildford, Surrey GU3 1HA

15 Nov - Free Representation Unit mock tribunal - 4pm-5pm - Mansion House, Walbrook, London EC4N 8BH

15 Nov - Pro bono lunch meeting - 12.30pm-2pm - Cornwallcpd, Poldice & Polberro Training Room, Berlewen Building, Trevenson Road, Redruth TR15 3PL

15 Nov - College of Law pro bono student of the year - 12.30pm-2pm - The College of Law, Store Street, 14 Store Street, London WC1E 7DE

16 Nov - BPP Streetlaw presentation - 2pm-4pm - BPP Law School, 137 Stamford Street, Waterloo, London SE1 9NN

16 Nov - Hull ProHelp legal and accountancy workshop - 10am-4pm - Ings Resource Centre, Arthur Richardson Building, Savoy Road, Hull HU8 OTX

16 Nov - Pro Bono best practice breakfast - 8.30am-10am - Bank of England, 11-15 Dix’s Field, Exeter EX1 1QA

16 Nov - Joint National Pro Bono Conference reception hosted by the Law Society, the Bar Council and the Institute of Legal Executives - 6pm-8pm - The Reading Room, The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London

17 Nov - Joint National Pro Bono Conference - 8am-5pm - The QE11 Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE

TBC - Launch of student volunteering project - tbc - Sheffield University

TBC - Working with law student volunteers - tbc - University of Birmingham