Helpline: at least 30 firms volunteer to give legal advice on probate and other issues

Several hundred lawyers - many from City firms - have stepped forward to help victims and family members caught in the London bomb blasts earlier this month.


At least 30 firms, including Square Mile firms Lovells, Clifford Chance and Clyde & Co, have volunteered to offer advice through a special helpline set up by the Law Society.


Lawyers will offer pro bono advice on probate matters, inquests, death certificates, technical issues regarding identification, and possible criminal injury compensation. They will also advise on insurance claims, death-in-service benefits, child custody matters, and the disaster fund.


The dedicated helpline will direct victims and their families to the law firms, and will run until the end of August. It has been set up with support from the Department of Culture Media & Sport, the Attorney-General's pro bono envoy Michael Napier, the Solicitors Pro Bono Group (SPBG) and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.


SPBG chairman Paul Newdick said: 'Within an hour of sending round a request for help to our membership, 15 firms had responded. We also had a good response for the helpline we set up to assist victims of the tsunami earlier in the year. Lawyers have responded very quickly and positively. Now it is a case of co-ordinating things to make sure we get the right advice in the right areas.'


Law Society President Kevin Martin added: 'The response from solicitors has been excellent and I praise their commitment to helping people at this difficult time.'


Meanwhile, the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) and the SPBG have set up a panel of 30 law firms across the country to provide pro bono employment advice.


Employment claims will first be assessed by a panel of senior lawyers from firms including City-based international firms Baker & McKenzie and McDermott Will & Emery, national firm Eversheds and Bristol-based Bevan Brittan. The panel will review the merits of the case and the amount of work and level of seniority required, before referring it to a volunteer firm.


Firms offering to represent clients on a pro bono basis include City firms Charles Russell and Mishcon de Reya, Newcastle practice Robert Muckle and Hamers in Hull.


Paul Quain, chairman of the ELA pro bono committee, said: 'There is a very big need for pro bono work in employment, because you cannot get legal aid for employment tribunal work. At present there are a number of disparate groups who arrange pro bono advice. Our aim is to bring them together and become the main system for allocating employment-related pro bono work in the country.'