'I work longer hours now than I did when I was a solicitor in the City, but I get paid less than a trainee,' says Lawrence Davies, joint head of Lambeth Law Centre.

'And every year I have to live with the possibility that I will be made redundant.'Mr Davies is just one of the many law centre managers worrying about the future.

It is not an unfounded fear; some currently face the possibility of going the same way as Middlesbrough Law Centre, which closed in Augus t owing to financial dire straits, which caused the local council to withdraw funding.And David Mackie QC, head of litigation at City firm Allen & Overy, who has helped at Battersea Law Centre, echoes Mr Davies' concern about law centres closing.

'It is a disgrace.

Most centres are extremely well run and excellent value for money.

They are staffed by people who are often established experts paid salaries that are unacceptably low.

When a centre closes, people in need lose the chance of help that should be their right.'Law centres were pioneered in the UK five years after the US used similar organisations as a tool for the 'war on poverty'.

The first one opened in 1970.

They are designed to be a safety net for people who need help with social welfare problems -- which crop up in areas such as housing, immigration and community care -- and who do not qualify for full public funding, but cannot afford to fund cases themselves; a typical client might be someone earning around £150 per week.And in the wake of the government's restrictions on legal aid, the not-for-profit sector, and law centres in particular, have been put at the heart of the Community Legal Service.'Law centres were originally set up to take on the work that law firms wouldn't do,' explains Mr Davies.

'This can be because the work is complex, grubby, or doesn't attract full legal aid and so is unprofitable for private firms.'However, law centres have not got it easy.

They receive money from a variety of sources, and in some ways this makes their continued existence a lottery.If a council is in financial trouble, for example, the rug can be pulled from under the local law centre's feet because funding is discretionary.Bob Nightingale, head of the Law Centres Federation (LCF), says: 'It's a bit like the pecking order in a bankruptcy.

The VAT man takes priority and we are some poor businessman down the road who supplies the wood and is never going to get his money.'Even the most established law centres are suffering.

North Kensington Law Centre was the first to open in 1970, but current director Ann Lewis is indifferent about describing a golden era from its history.'We have always had to struggle for funding.

We've never been given a huge council grant that would see us through,' Ms Lewis says.

'At least once a year you think: "We won't make it to the end of the 12 months." It is a level of insecurity you get to learn to live with, and that's not a good thing.'This uncertainty prevails despite the fact that in June the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies found that not-for-profit agencies outperformed their private practice counterparts in terms of quality (see [2001] Gazette, 21 June, 1).Mr Davies says he cannot understand why funders are thin on the ground, and that perhaps they should be examining the mathematics of the situation.His law centre receives £100,000 from Lambeth council -- with which he is keen to stress he enjoys a good relationship -- but the borough in turn receives what he says is a service worth £300,000, as well as £200,000 in matched funding from the government.

He says: 'When you think about it, it would not be particularly rational to close us down.'Law centres are also in the position of taking on test cases -- Mr Davies' London Race Discrimination Unit, which comes under the umbrella of his law centre, recently took on a case which revolves around e-mails in the workplace, specifically those sent by solicitors at London law firm Charles Russell (see [2001] Gazette, 13 September, 5).And they have the time to spen d on those who need extra help.

'I recently dealt with a heroin addict who had allowed rent arrears to arise,' Mr Davies says.

'She was struggling to fill in the housing benefit forms and this put her on a fast downward slope.

Now she is back in her home, she's got a social worker, and is in an alcohol recovery programme.

She's got her life back on track, and that's why I do this kind of work.'Law centre staff deal with such clients on a day-to-day basis.

Yet last month, the plug was pulled on the funding for Hackney Law Centre -- recognised as one of the best in the country.

It is ironic, says Mr Nightingale.'Despite the fact that promoting law centres is clearly part of government policy, local authorities are under pressure to cut funding all round,' he complains.

'Hackney council has gone broke, it is virtually bankrupt, and now the very people who are affected by that are going to get cut off.

It's insane.

It's like: "Oh, we don't like this crime wave, let's get rid of all the policemen."'It is hardly surprising that in the midst of a crisis, law centres are looking to private law firms for help.

In the monthly newsletter compiled by LawWorks -- the partnership between the LCF and the Solicitors Pro Bono Group -- there are frequent requests for advisers from the private sector, as well as books, computers and furniture.

Sponsorship and donations are also welcome.Mr Mackie says it is not just the centre that benefits from the arrangement.'We all jump in a cab on a Tuesday night; there will be five or six trainees and two solicitors who supervise,' he explains.

'Complex work is handled by the solicitors or referred to local firms.

Many problems, important to clients, are in legal terms straightforward and trainees can really help.

It also helps the trainees develop client-handling skills and make their own decisions.'Organisation is crucial, having support staff to organise and enforce the rotas.

It is easier for large firms to provide this.

But it is amazing how much small firms manage to achieve.Taking on this kind of pro bono work can also enhance the skills of even the most experienced lawyers and make them feel they are putting something back, Mr Mackie adds.

'There is a professional duty.

It is interesting and rewarding as much for an ageing QC as for a young solicitor.

It helps keep a sense of perspective.'I don't understand how people can make wise litigation judgments without a broad knowledge of how the law works throughout society.'Private firms which subscribe to the law centre philosophy will have ever more opportunities to help as, even in these uncertain times, the movement is branching out.New centres are expected to open soon in areas across the country, from Woking to Wakefield.

At its annual conference next month, the LCF will also launch its fight to be featured on the 'social inclusion agenda'.

This means taking action before the need for legal intervention arises through educating the local community.The LCF would like to see more projects like the one run by Carlisle Law Centre, which benefited recently from Lottery cash to set up its innovative legal education unit.

This has funded two new staff members and a vehicle to help them develop community projects across Cumbria.

This type of project fits in well with the law centre philosophy.'We differ from private practice because we have a public service ethos -- we want to make things better for people in the local area, whether they are clients or not,' explains Ms Lewis.'For example, we run training sessions for parents of children w ith special needs, making sure they know their rights.

We also want to inform people about their rights when it comes to domestic violence and racial harassment, but at the moment the focus is only on funding actual casework.'Despite the problems law centres are suffering, Mr Nightingale is still enthusiastic about taking them forward.

He says his ultimate aim is to have every area of the country covered by a law centre, which is properly staffed and adequately funded to provide educational as well as advice services.He says it is time for the government to intervene to help him fulfil his vision: 'It's got to the point where if the government doesn't do something about it, there is not going to be any free, good quality legal advice.'