Pro bono lore

The recollection of Reginald Le Pla of Bradford firm Simpson Duxbury Rooley Temple-Milnes that 'most lawyers have done pro bono work over the years' (see...The recollection of Reginald Le Pla of Bradford firm Simpson Duxbury Rooley Temple-Milnes that 'most lawyers have done pro bono work over the years' (see [2001] Gazette, 15 March, 27) was not referred to at last week's joint Law Society-Bar Council conference.If it had been, the enthusiastic attendees would have been surprised to know that what is hailed today as a messianic revelation is in fact the continuation of a great tradition inherited by both branches of the profession.This is evidenced by such long-standing monuments to it as the nation's Citizens' Advice Bureaux and in London, for example, the Mary Ward Settlement in Bloomsbury.

Edward Grayson, barrister, Bell Yard, London