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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

DWF—David Abbott & Claire Keat

DWF—David Abbott & Claire Keat

Senior appointments in insurance services and commercial services announced

Clyde & Co—Nick Roberts

Clyde & Co—Nick Roberts

Aviation disputes practice strengthened by London partner hire

Ellisons—Marion Knocker

Ellisons—Marion Knocker

Residential property lawyer promoted to partnership

NEWS
Prosecutors will speed up preparations for charging hate crimes, under Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance issued in response to the surge in antisemitic incidents
Improvements to courts, tribunals and the wider justice system in the north are being held back by a lack of national and local collaboration, according to thinktank JUSTICE North
A family judge has criticised the prison authorities for mistakenly freeing a father who abducted his own son
The Law Society has renewed its calls for compensation for legal aid firms affected by the cyber-attack on the Legal Aid Agency (LAA)
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured a £10m penalty plus £4.8m in costs from manufacturer Ultra Electronics Holdings, under the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) for failure to prevent bribery
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