Obiter is a great fan of the London Legal Walk (especially the bibulous street party at the end) so we’re delighted to announce that the next one will take place on Tuesday 18 June. It’s the 20th anniversary of the event, so it promises to be something special.

For newcomers, the walk, organised by the London Legal Support Trust, is a 10-kilometre stroll (or jog) over a choice of scenic routes in central London. Last year an astonishing 16,000 lawyers took part, raising a record £950,000.

A brilliant effort – or is it? The organisers are much too diplomatic to say so, but we can’t help noticing that some walkers seem to have lost sight of the purpose of the event: to raise funds for organisations offering free legal support at a time it is so badly needed.

As bar chair Sam Townend KC pointed out last week, £950,000 ‘is a good sum but I can’t help but notice that it amounts to less than £60 per participant’. Townend said he agreed with Law Society president Nick Emmerson that the professions – ‘particularly large commercial law firms and chambers’ – must do better to get the sum raised above £1m for the first time.

Let’s go for it: sign up for this year’s walk here.

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