City lawyer calls for smaller firms to do more pro bono work

Commercial lawyers do the majority of pro bono work, and their non-commercial counterparts must catch up to restore the profession's reputation, a leading City lawyer said this week.Christopher Digby-Bell, legal director of Palmer Capital Partners and City member of the Law Society's council, said: 'Much of the voluntary work done by lawyers is done by young solicitors working for City firms.

While City lawyers may earn big money, they also give a lot back through the work they do.'He said it is ironic that those who earn the most do the most.

The Society should 'encourage lawyers at all levels and at all sizes of firm to do more in this field' and help lawyers be seen as caring professionals, he said - if need be, by making it a condition of practising certificates.Sue Bucknall, chairwoman of the Solicitors Pro Bono Group, said many legal aid lawyers regard publicly-funded work as pro bono, and keep working after funding has ceased.The group's Law Works partnering project should see more non-commercial lawyers in similar schemes to commercial counterparts, she said.Jeremy Fleming