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27 March 2026
Issue: 8155 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Pro Bono , Charities
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NLJ this week: Finding innovative ways to fund the justice gap

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When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ

The Foundation provides legal advice centres with much-needed grants, and Bhatt explains how innovative methods, such as using pro bono cost orders and unclaimed collective action damages, are helping to plug the gap.

Also in this issue of NLJ, the National Pro Bono Centre's Bea Rossetto explains why volunteering pro bono is a golden opportunity for retired lawyers and offers encouragement and advice for those considering it. Rossetto speaks to one retired lawyer who confidently expected to slow down after leaving her legal career—-and ended up setting up a family law clinic.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Womble Bond Dickinson—Paula Myers

Womble Bond Dickinson—Paula Myers

Womble Bond Dickinson appoints Paula Myers to private capital team in Leeds

mfg Solicitors—five promotions

mfg Solicitors—five promotions

Law firm mfg Solicitors announces five promotions at Birmingham office

Brabners—six promotions

Brabners—six promotions

Brabners adds six to partnership in record year for partner promotions

NEWS
Calls to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 have been renewed, with the Bar Council arguing the current threshold criminalises children too early and risks pushing them towards lifelong offending
The legal profession's AI challenge extends far beyond fabricated case citations, according to a warning about the next phase of technological risk
Law firms should use the transition period before the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumes anti-money laundering (AML) supervision to strengthen governance and compliance, experts have warned
Cross-border disputes increasingly demand creative approaches to gathering evidence, with litigators needing to look beyond traditional letters of request
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified the distinction between contracts of 'indefinite' and 'perpetual' duration, with potentially significant implications for commercial drafting
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