Formed in 1858, the Solicitors Benevolent Association (SBA) aids solicitors and their dependents.

Helping those suffering from ill-health, the effects of accidents and those facing hardship while unemployed, the SBA's current list of beneficiaries numbers more than 400.

A wide cast of characters benefit from the charity.A STEALTHY DISEASE: WAYNE JONESWayne Jones became a solicitor in the early 1970s.

By 1975 he was experiencing symptoms of multiple sclerosis which, being in an early stage, were not recognised.

The disease progressed slowly and a definite diagnosis was not made until the late 1980s.At the time Wayne was working in Mowbray Woodwards solicitors in Bath, handling criminal law, personal injury and civil litigation matters.

'Mowbray Woodwards is an excellent firm and was very supportive of me,' observes Wayne.

When the disease increasingly affected his mobility and energy, he moved to part-time work, then retired in late 1994.Wayne knew of the SBA through its Gazette advertisements and through a fellow practitioner who had received its support.

In early 1998, Wayne asked the association if it could help him acquire some equipment, particularly a voice-activated word processor.

'I had read about voice activation and I knew what I wanted.

I can write but not quickly, so it seemed like the ideal technology for me,' says Wayne.

An SBA director visited Wayne and his request was promptly approved.Wayne began by reading Alice in Wonderland into the computer which is fitted with Dragon Dictate software, until it recognised his voice, a process he says sometimes produced hilarious results.A powerful computer equipped with a printer and screen, it is fixed with a microphone which Wayne wears on his head.

'The machine accepts commands at ordinary dictation speed if you speak clearly.

I always dictated at work so I was used to working this way,' says Wayne.At home, Wayne is now able to dictate letters and other material associated with his various interests including his membership of Amnesty International, and he is considering the possibility of returning one day to part-time employment.SUDDEN INCAPACITY: PAULINE CAVELLPauline Cavell was a divorced woman with two grown daughters when she realised her ambition of becoming a solicitor.

Admitted in 1994, she joined the Gatesh ead Law Centre, and relished her job.

The first symptoms of motor neurone disease, which cripples the nervous system, began to appear in early 1997.

Soon after, Pauline had to leave work and her condition deteriorated rapidly.Pauline's daughter, Anne-Marie, who lives at home, saw an advertisement for the SBA in the Gazette and realising the help that they would need, contacted them.

'Our income was drastically reduced and you need a lot of money just to stay alive,' says Anne-Marie who gave up her studies to care for her mother.

Support was soon forthcoming and included a computer with specialised software which helped Pauline continue to communicate, special kitchen equipment to process food - since Pauline had great difficulty swallowing and was becoming malnourished - a special bed and financial help for paying essential bills.Pauline is now living in a nursing home, the financial support for which is provided by the DSS.

She is visited frequently by her daughter.

'We couldn't have survived without help,' says Anne-Marie.

She emphasises that as well as the financial aid, the emotional support provided by the SBA has been vital and she is in regular contact with the organisation.A PROBLEM WHICH ESCALATED: DENISE'S STORYDenise worked in a solicitors' firm in the Midlands for many years.

After qualifying in he eventually founded her own firm.

A specialist in conveyancing and probate, Denise enjoyed her work and social life to the full.Her excessive social drinking started in the 1970s, she says, and her dependence on alcohol created a destructive spiral.

She became unpredictable at the office, missing appointments, avoiding clients, working overtime to catch up and hiding the extent of her drinking.

She recalls: 'For the last two years before I gave up I thought I was drinking to deal with my problems, but couldn't see that my problems were caused by my drinking'.In 1994 she was forced to give up work.

She then contacted the Lawyer's Support Group - a self-help organisation for people with drinking problems - and also joined Alcoholics Anonymous.

State benefits were not sufficient to meet her considerable expenses, so acting on someone's suggestion, she contacted the SBA.The organisation immediately helped Denise meet her mortgage interest payments which allowed for the postponement of the repossession of the home which Denise shared with her young daughter.

An annual grant helped pay household bills unable to be met by state benefits.

Denise was also helped to move with her daughter into a smaller, rented flat in the same area which has provided stability.

'It's not just financial support but encouragement you get from the SBA,' says Denise.

'When I became panicky they talked me through it.'By 1995, Denise had stopped drinking.

Meanwhile, her health has deteriorated and she has had two heart attacks and surgery.

The SBA has provided financial help for her daughter to take school trips and a youth hostel holiday, and also to enable her daughter to visit Denise and stay with relatives during her stay in hospital.

Because of ill heath, Denise has not been able to return to full-time work but is a volunteer worker in SolCare, a group established two years ago to help solicitors with stress and alcohol problems, and also in her local centre for the elderly.