Pro bono work builds momentum across UK

The week’s events showcase the breadth of pro bono support across the UK, with events taking place in Belfast, Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Sheffield, Southampton and online. 

This year brought notable progress in national initiatives, together with seeing inspiring case studies of all types of pro bono, including:

• The newly-established Scottish Pro Bono Roundtable which brings together the Faculty of Advocates, the Law Society of Scotland, government, universities, charities and law firms to coordinate legal pro bono across Scotland.
• LawWorks, the solicitor’s pro bono charity, last month announced that the Domestic Abuse Response Alliance (DARA) placed its 300th pro bono case. The collaborative initiative brings together 11 law firms with specialist support to help victims of domestic abuse to obtain protective injunctions.
• Advocate, the pro bono charity for English & Welsh barristers, has seen its panel of volunteers increase to over 4,500 in 2025. Demand for help from the public continues to grow, with Advocate now reporting that it received 5,300 applications for help in the last year alone, with 50 per cent of these requests relating to family and employment matters.
• The International Lawyers Project (ILP), in partnership with leading legal experts, conducted a training programme to Sri Lankan prosecutors and investigators on deferred prosecution agreements. The role that UK lawyers can have internationally was further highlighted by Advocates for International Development (A4ID) which facilitated pro bono to JUST One Tree, an NGO combating deforestation.
• The In House Pro Bono Group’s momentum is accelerating, with 22 corporations having signed up to the In House Pro Bono Pledge which was launched last year, and the In House Pro Bono Day in June seeing 150 lawyers from 50+ corporates volunteer their time.
• In Northern Ireland, the Pro Bono Register initiative, coordinated by Public Interest Litigation Support (PILS), continues to create creative pro bono collaborations, with 2025 seeing the first NI-specific guide on the Know Your Rights to Protest published in partnership with a number of organisations.

Neil Mackenzie KC, convenor of the Free Legal Services Unit at the Faculty of Advocates said: “The purpose of the new Scottish Pro Bono Roundtable is to identify and direct the voluntary efforts of those who provide or support pro bono legal services towards those most in need of them: helping individuals and organisations who could not otherwise afford legal advice or representation.

“By sharing information, identifying gaps and linking with UK counterparts, the Roundtable promotes a collaborative and effective approach to access to justice.”