National Pro Bono Week highlighted the need for urgent action, says Jon Robins
Last week was National Pro Bono Week, that brief time of year allotted for lawyers to put modesty aside and bang the drum for all the good work they do for nothing. It's easy to be cynical. As editor of the 2013 Pro Bono Year Book (published last week), I have the facts and figures to hand—and they are impressive.
Over the last 12 months the solicitors’ pro bono clearing house LawWorks dealt with 2,883 inquiries and the barristers’ equivalent the Bar Pro Bono Unit handled 1,400 cases. The Yearbook collates the considerable and surprisingly diverse achievements of pro bono groups over the last 12 months. This includes the legal not-for-profit sector (Law Centres and Citizens Advice Bureaux), educational charities (Law for Life and the Citizenship Foundation), environmental groups such as Pure Leapfrog which matches professional expertise to carbon reduction projects, as well as international groups promoting human rights in far-flung parts
