Boost for pro bono

The government is to spend 700,000 encouraging lawyers to do voluntary work.

And pro bono work is set to expand into non-contentious areas following last...The government is to spend 700,000 encouraging lawyers to do voluntary work.

And pro bono work is set to expand into non-contentious areas following last weeks unveiling of a scheme Lawworks for Community Groups (LCG) by the Solicitors Pro Bono Group.Based on a successful US project Lawyers Alliance of New York LCG will use commercial and corporate lawyers, and work in association with voluntary groups such as the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Community Voluntary Services.The scheme follows the establishment of Lawworks, which provides advice on generally contentious matters to people through law centres.LCG aims to create a system of referral schemes for pro bono business law advice in the London region, which can then be duplicated throughout the UK, and will target volunteers from City firms.The scheme will be piloted in the London Borough of Southwark before being extended to other parts of London, and will be supervised by a committee chaired by Terence Black, treasurer of BAE systems, and a trustee of the SPBG.It is hoped that 20 schemes will be matched with lawyers during the first year.The announcement came at the first joint solicitors and barristers pro bono conference, which was held at the Law Society in London at the weekend.Attending the conference, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, announced that the government would spend 700,000 over three years developing pro bono work through investment in Lawworks, and a new Web site through which pro bono advice will be given long-distance by City lawyers.He said: I am sure there are many more lawyers willing to do pro bono work.

A more co-ordinated system will make it much easier for them to offer their time.Jeremy Fleming