The History of Pro Bono exhibition has been created to mark the 25th anniversary of UK Pro Bono Week, which takes place from 2 to 6 November. It traces the tradition of lawyers volunteering their time to provide free legal help over the centuries.

It is based on months of research led by the chair of UK Pro Bono Week, drawing on historical records and academic scholarship, and brought together with artwork and manuscripts dating to 1300 AD alongside historical photographs. This is the first time that this history has been curated into a visually engaging format.

In addition, more than 50 law firms, charities, universities and individuals from across the UK responded to the Pro Bono Week committee’s call for submissions, contributing photos, videos and articles which have been incorporated into the exhibition.

As well as diving into the little-known history of ancient Roman advocates and the pro bono tradition of ecclesiastical lawyers in England and Scotland, the exhibition features well-known names – from John Lennon, who features as one of the first clients of drug advice charity Release, to future prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, mentioned for his part in the successful 2005 challenge to Uganda’s mandatory death penalty.

Among the landmark cases in the spotlight is the 1772 English case of Somerset v Stewart, where barristers including Francis Hargrave appeared pro bono on behalf of an escaped slave – whose victory helped pave the way for the abolition of the slave trade.

The exhibition was launched in Parliament on Monday by the Solicitor General for England and Wales, Andy Slaughter KC MP, who chairs the Attorney General’s Pro Bono Committee, and Lord Willy Bach, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Access to Justice.

In a joint statement, the heads of the UK’s three judiciaries welcomed the initiative and paid tribute to the thousands of lawyers who undertake pro bono work each year. Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, Dame Siobhan Keegan, Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, and the Lord President, Lord Pentland, said: “It is a longstanding tradition of lawyers to volunteer to provide free legal help to those unable to afford it. Indeed, pro bono must be as old as the legal profession itself. It goes to the heart of what it means to be a lawyer: serving the law and justice.

“As the lady chief justices and lord president, we follow a long tradition ourselves of encouraging the profession to do pro bono, as our predecessors have done for 500 years.

“We therefore welcome for the 25th Pro Bono Week the new exhibition on the History of Pro Bono, which places in historical context the commitment of thousands of lawyers who today give their time freely.

“On behalf of the people and charities helped through pro bono, we express our gratitude to the profession for continuing that historic legacy.”