The Solicitors Benevolent Association (SBA), founded in 1858, seems at first glance to be an old fashioned institution.

It is reminiscent of the self-help institutions that were meant to have become redundant in the age of state welfare.

Perhaps because of this, many solicitors assume the SBA exists solely to keep octogenarian solicitors in seaside nursing homes.

In fact, while the case load of the SBA does include some people in residential care, the types of people it has assisted are far more varied than this stereotype would suggest.The SBA is so concerned with its negative image that it recently conducted a review of the way it is perceived by the outside world.

Its research confirmed there was a consensus in the profession that the SBA was 'out of date and out of touch'.

It is now in the process of changing the way it communicates with the profession, introducing a new logo and house style and spending money on advertising.The SBA's past achievements demonstrate its relevant to a broad spectrum of solicitors.

Its assistance has helped those suffering as a result of a completely unexpected and traumatic event.Mary Kirk was a 36-year-old senior assistant when she was diagnosed as having cervical cancer in 1989.

The radiation treatment she received caused severe damage to h er pelvic area, including her bowel and bladder.

She required a long series of complex and difficult operations before she began to recover from the treatment.

Her ill health had forced her to give up work, and, with a young daughter to look after on her own, she began to fall into debt.At the same time, Ms Kirk had launched a legal action against a health authority that had carried out smear tests on her before she was diagnosed.Ms Kirk approached the SBA, doubting they would be able to help her.

'I assumed it was there for doddery old ladies in residential homes,' she says.

The SBA was able to give her an interest-free loan of £7000.

However, the care and attention she received from the SBA's representatives was just as important as the money.

She says: 'Overnight I felt incredibly uplifted.

I had the sense that someone was there to help me.' She pays tribute to the 'tact and sympathy' shown by the SBA.

Another solicitor, who does not want to be named, had an accident which stopped him from practising.

On 1 May 1989 he left a senior position to set up his own practice.

Only 12 days later, he suffered a critical head injury and brain damage when he was thrown from a horse, and spend the next four months in hospital.

The effects on his health made it impossible for him to get his new practice off the ground.

His wife divorced him, winning a substantial settlement, and since the accident he has been on income support.

Last year, the SBA began giving him financial assistance -- a grant of £2000 a year -- and he hopes to resume practising soon.

He says he has 'no end of praise for the SBA.

They are sympathetic and always prepared to listen.

It is a thinking, caring organisation'.There can be many reasons why a solicitor falls into the kind of financial difficulties the SBA can help to alleviate.

The two-partner firm of another solicitor, who also does not want to be named, closed after she broke her ankle -- a particularly serious break.

While she was off work for ten months, her firm's tax debts build up.

As a litigation solicitor, she used to spend much time on her feet in court, work that has become impossible since her injury.

A year after the accident she was 'penniless', and the SBA gave her a grant.

'I was at my wit's end.

I do not know how I would have managed without them,' she says.Despite its success in these cases, the SBA remains hampered in its attempts to reach solicitors and their dependents who would most benefit from financial aid.

Surprisingly, the mere existence of a pot of money waiting to be handed out does not guarantee a flood of claimants.

At the moment, the SBA has to wait for people to come to it for assistance; there is not a well-informed network of carers or counsellors for it to tap into as it attempts to find suitable beneficiaries.The launch last month of SolCare, an advice service for solicitors suffering from addiction, might help.

The SBA is already looking at ways it can work jointly with SolCare, and has nominated a representative to sit on SolCare's board.

The resources that exist to help solicitors in difficulty have developed in a piecemeal way.

The hope is that by working together, organisations such as SolCare and the SBA can help each other to reach more people in need.

If there is any comfort SBA's beneficiaries can give it is that when solicitors are in trouble, help is at hand.The SBA can be contacted on 0181 675 6440.

Donations can be pledged on the same number.