Lord Neuberger, the Master of the Rolls, has joined former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith in calling for greater use of pro bono costs orders.
Speaking at an Access to Justice Foundation (ATJF) event at the Supreme Court last month, Lord Neuberger said: “A very important development which all should be aware of is that costs can now be awarded to lawyers appearing pro bono.”
Lord Goldsmith, chairman of the ATJF, said: “The number of costs orders obtained started modestly and has seen a promising increase during 2010. However, it has by no means reached its full potential. We need to increase awareness of pro bono costs and also increase the number of orders being sought. If lawyers don’t know about pro bono costs, they can’t obtain them, and too many lawyers still don’t know about them.”
The orders require a losing party to proceedings to pay costs even where the successful party is represented by a pro bono lawyer. The costs awarded reflect the financial value of the free legal help provided and are paid to a “prescribed charity”, which under the Act is the ATJF. Funds are then distributed by the ATJF to regional and local organisations, which provide support networks for further pro bono work and initiatives. They were introduced by s 194 of the Legal Services Act 2007 and have existed since October 2008 but have yet to gain traction in the legal profession.
Lord Goldsmith said a recent survey carried out by the ATJF, the Law Society, the Bar Council and Ilex showed 72% of the legal profession did not know they could obtain pro bono costs on winning a civil case.
