If you were to enter the Dickensian rooms on the left hand side of the main entrance hall to the Royal Courts of Justice you would discover an unusual hive of legal activity.Here is to be found the citizens advice bureau, Royal Courts of Justice branch, where litigants in person, involved in pending or current litigation, seek and obtain urgent advice in cases ranging across the breadth of the civil law spectrum from possession and bankruptcy actions to employment, family and other legal disputes.The bureau differs from others in that more than three-quarters of its work concerns actual litigation.The bureau was opened in 1978 at the instigation of the Lord Chancellor who recognised a pressing need for the assistance of litigants in person.

Many of these were then, and still are, just beyond the legal aid financial limit, being unable to afford the services of solicitors and counsel.The bureau dealt with more than 18,000 enquiries in the last financial year and most of them were directly related to assisting its clients through the maze of High Court litigation.As the availability of legal aid diminishes and legal problems become ever more complex, so the demands for our services continue to increase.

Those who have worked in the courts know only too well how many of those involved in litigation in person are frequently bemused, intimidated and depressed; they know neither what to do nor where to go in order to pursue or to defend their rights.This often results in long delays and wasted time for all involved, including the judges and masters.

Indeed, two hours spent with the bureau has often saved days of expensive litigation.There is no duty solicitor scheme in operation at the Royal Courts of Justice, and judges and masters more and more frequently refer the litigant in person to our offices.

We listen, advice is given and a negotiated settlement may be reached.

Altern atively, the litigant will be helped to put his or her case more concisely and comprehensively to the judge or master.More often than not court time is saved and the litigant goes away with a greater sense of justice having been done than would otherwise have been the case.Yet, despite the ever increasing demands upon our services, we face the all too familiar funding problems.

At the moment we are open from 10am to 3.30pm, Monday to Thursday inclusive.

The bureau is shut on Fridays because we just do not have the funds to provide the necessary staff.Most of our work is stressful - if you doubt this just contemplate advising a litigant who comes in with a pile of unsorted papers and who in a few hours is likely to be put out of his home or made redundant.Continuity of staff is essential and much of the work is complex so we employ a core of regular paid advisers.

Currently we have a bureau manager and seven part-time or voluntary workers.

Our main core funding, upon which we depend and which is our very lifeblood, comes from the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB) and the London Borough Grants Scheme.In the current climate the trend is towards reducing rather than increasing such grants; unfortunately our bureau is no exception.

This year we are operating on a core funding reduced to about £82,000 - a pretty small figure in the light of those 18,000 or more enquiries with which we will be dealing during 1994.We believe that the very least that the CAB/RCJ must provide is a service during all regular court sitting hours from Monday to Friday inclusive.

And there is an urgent need, confirmed by the senior district judge, for an adviser to sit and be available regularly at Somerset House.Government cuts mean that we are going to have to bear greater administrative costs through NACAB in the future, further reducing our ability to pay staff.In order to provide further and better services we need to increase our present staff by five workers, with a consequent increase in overheads.

Our overall annual expenditure would then rise to about £150,000 - a modest figure when set against the services which we provide to a high standard.The CAB/RCJ committee is satisfied that work carried out by the bureau is complementary to solicitors' work and does not compete with any work that could, would or should be carried out by solicitors, even if fully remunerated on legal aid.We meet the needs of a disadvantaged section of the community for whom no state or other provision exists.

Our appeal fund is a charity; to continue to provide these services and to extend them to meet the essential demands made of us (and even then we would still have to turn some prospective clients away) we are faced with the need to raise new money urgently in order to safeguard our future.We are shortly to launch a major appeal for additional funding.

We hope that when notice of this appeal comes your way you will feel that a donation to CAB/RCJ represents value for money, in helping those in dire straits to establish their legal rights.

We are under threat - please help us to assist others.