Well-trodden path

I welcome Edward Grayson's recent letter (see [2001] Gazette, 22 March, 16).

The Solicitors Pro Bono Group exists in part to celebrate the work which has always been done by many thousands of lawyers all over the country.

This proud tradition - shared by the Bar - goes back to the earliest days of the profession.

While that has always been the case, our main day-to-day task (as with the Bar Pro Bono Unit, with which we work closely) is to make it easier for more lawyers to follow that path and easier for those who need help to know how to obtain it.

If that is a 'messianic revelation' I am delighted to plead guilty.

On one point I should correct Mr Grayson: the pro bono conference held on 17 March was organised not by the Law Society and the Bar Council but by our two independent charities, the Solicitors Pro Bono Group and the Bar Pro Bono Unit.

The fact that the conference was a sell-out is a tribute to all those involved in its planning.

Tony Willis, chairman, Solicitors Pro Bono Group