I refer to your recent article on the Islington Legal Advice Centre (ILAC) (see [2004] Gazette, 26 February, 1).

Islington Law Centre, which has no connection with this organisation, wishes to place on record our position concerning pro bono support received from a variety of City law firms and lawyers in terms of volunteering to advise our clients.

The law centre is a member of the Law Centre Federation and has been established in Islington for 32 years.

We provide free advice and casework to low-income clients who live work or study in that area of London.

Since we have been established, we have always had the benefit of support from City firms and local solicitors and their trainees, who give free advice and casework support to our clients.

We have a flourishing relationship with seven City firms, and one large Islington practice, who between them send up to 30 advisers to us each month.

Most of the advice work is conducted under the aegis of the LawWorks scheme, supported by the Solicitors Pro Bono Group.

Last year, our volunteers saw 676 of our clients in advice sessions.

We regard this scheme as a valuable and integral part of the service we offer to Islington residents and we are proud of its existence and of the results we can achieve for clients through it.

We want publicly to acknowledge this partnership and to assure your readers that we have a different experience from ILAC.

Our experience is that there is an enormous amount of willingness in the City to build up its pro bono support to local advice agencies.

Elaine Heslop, legal director, Islington Law Centre