There is a ‘dire need’ for solicitors to undertake pro bono work, legal aid minister Lord Bach admitted this week.

Addressing Monday’s joint national pro bono conference in London, which kicked off National Pro Bono Week, Bach suggested there should be a ‘professional expectation’ on lawyers to give free legal advice.

He said he was keen to hear the outcome of a Junior Lawyers Division debate this week on whether pro bono should be compulsory. ‘My personal view is that [if there were a professional expectation on lawyers to do pro bono work] that might go some way to increasing the confidence that the general public have in lawyers and the respect with which they are viewed,’ he said.

Bach said pro bono had a vital role to play given the constraints on legal aid. ‘There remains a strong need to make sure we do our upmost to protect the vulnerable. Pro bono is hugely important in this respect. And I go further – there is a dire need for it.’

Former attorney general Lord Goldsmith QC, who chairs the Access to Justice Foundation, told delegates he will target unclaimed client account balances as an additional source of income for the foundation, which this week announced its first-ever round of 14 grants. It has received income from the first three pro bono costs orders, as well as donations.

Meanwhile, Virgin Trains dedicated one carriage of a first-class coach free of charge to transport 40 lawyers between the two pro bono conferences held in London and Manchester this week, enabling lawyers to brainstorm ideas about how to increase pro bono collaboration during the journey.

Other highlights of the week included the launch of ALLIES – a local lawyer in every school – an initiative to promote and support lawyers becoming school governors, and a flagship event at Toynbee Hall in London providing workshops and advice to social entrepreneurs.

The law faculty at Oxford University launched its first pro bono programme alongside local firm Turpin & Miller. Students will be trained to take the first draft of instructions for fixed-fee legal aid cases.

BPP Law School in Manchester set up an employment law telephone advice line in association with LawWorks, to assist solicitors giving free advice. Meanwhile, the Bar Council launched ‘Friends in Law’, a scheme to recognise those chambers which provide financial support and volunteers for charities and pro bono work.