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The reunion: 50 years on

11 October 2024 / Roger Smith
Issue: 8089 / Categories: Features , Profession , Legal aid focus
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Roger Smith reflects on the radical vision that created law centres & left a lasting legacy

At the end of July, 70 septuagenarians crowded into a room in Gray’s Inn. Nothing very surprising about that. The Inns of Court are, of an evening, full of groups of old lawyers dining over talk of the triumphs and failures of their youth. But this lot were rather unusual. This was a meeting of those who 50 years ago thought of themselves as the spearhead of the popular radicalisation of the law. They were the survivors of the law centres established half a century ago. I was proud to be among them. I joined Camden Law Centre in the autumn of 1973.

Whether you could tell anything of the youth of the attenders by their current demeanour was an interesting question. Some had achieved an eminence of which they could barely have dreamed. I counted the digital or physical presence of three members of the House of Lords and at least half a

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

National Pro Bono Centre—Esther McConnell & Sarah Oliver Scemla

National Pro Bono Centre—Esther McConnell & Sarah Oliver Scemla

Charity strengthens leadership as national Pro Bono Week takes place

Michelman Robinson—Akshay Sewlikar

Michelman Robinson—Akshay Sewlikar

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McDermott Will & Schulte—Karen Butler

McDermott Will & Schulte—Karen Butler

Transactions practice welcomes partner in London office

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