The National Pro Bono Centre has formally opened at its Chancery Lane headquarters.
Three of the legal profession’s charities—the Bar Pro Bono Unit, LawWorks (the Solicitors’ Pro Bono Group) and the ILEX Pro Bono Forum—have come together to set up the London centre. Des Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society, says: “I believe that the creation of the National Pro Bono Centre is unique in this country and, more than that, is a world first.
“It reaffirms the pro bono community in its rightful place at the heart of the mainstream legal community, and we are naturally proud to endorse it.”
The Law Society has entered into a three-year strategic partnership with the charity, LawWorks, the operating name of the Solicitors Pro Bono Group. LawWorks works with member law firms and teams of in-house counsel, as well as mediators, law students and solicitors, and brokers free legal help for individuals and community groups in need who are ineligible for legal aid.