header-logo header-logo

Turning the page on pro bono

27 June 2025 / Bea Rossetto
Issue: 8122 / Categories: Features , Pro Bono , Charities , Profession , Career focus
printer mail-detail
224104
It’s time for a new story on pro bono, says Bea Rossetto: one that grounds it as a vital public service delivering justice for all

We hear it all the time—‘pro bono work has never been more vital’. This is true. But it has also never been more vulnerable to misrepresentation.

From Trump’s recent attacks on pro bono lawyers assisting migrants at the US border to the targeting of immigration solicitors and legal advice centres during the 2024 UK riots, it is clear that the toxic narrative surrounding the justice system is not just rhetoric—it is fuelling real-world hostility and undermining the principle of equal justice.

That’s why the Law Society’s new Reframing Justice toolkit, developed with FrameWorks UK, is a timely resource. At the National Pro Bono Centre, we believe this strategy isn’t just for public affairs teams at law firms. It offers powerful guidance for everyone in the pro bono sector—particularly those of us trying to grow lawyer involvement, build public understanding, and secure

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll