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06 November 2013
Issue: 7583 / Categories: Legal News
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Pro Bono proves its worth

Celebration of 12th annual pro bono week

A “Question Time” panel discussion and free drop-in advice sessions were held across the country this week as lawyers marked the 12th annual National Pro Bono Week (4-8 November). 

Keele University hosted a training conference for legal advisers on working with litigants in person, while East Anglia solicitors, Prettys, Manchester’s Pannone and other firms offered free legal advice at surgeries throughout the week.

A Law Society survey last year found that three out of five solicitors have done pro bono work at some point in their career. The vast majority of pro bono solicitors are in private practice.The average number of pro bono hours worked in one year was 47 hours, and the estimated value across solicitors in private practice was more than £510m (or 2.6% of total turnover). 

Two handbooks, A Guide to Pro Bono and The Pro Bono Yearbook of England and Wales, which seeks to assist MPs and advice agencies in how they can best access pro bono services for their constituents and clients, have been updated to coincide with the week’s acitivities constituents and clients.

Issue: 7583 / Categories: Legal News
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Firm bolsters real estate team with partner hire in Birmingham

NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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