I read with interest your leader.

You are right to point out that reducing and, in some cases, removing public funding from legal services may create a pro bono default position.

That said, the educational and social justice agendas involved in law schools having a commitment to pro bono work are too important to be dismissed, even though the political significance remains as you suggest.

On 15 and 16 June, a workshop will be held at the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham at which law schools, private legal practice and the not-for-profit sector will come together to discuss how law school pro bono activity can best be used to improve access to justice in the context of legal aid cuts.

The government has also been invited to contribute.

Your readers would be most welcome to attend (although numbers are limited).

Richard Grimes, Director of clinical programmes, York Law School, University of York