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Press Release: Winners of the 2025 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards announced

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 12:17:00 +0000

LawWorks is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards, kindly sponsored by LexisNexis and supported by the Law Society of England and Wales.

Held on Wednesday 3rd December at the Law Society, the event was hosted by Rosamund Urwin, Media Editor of The Sunday Times, and the awards were presented by Ian Jeffery, Chief Executive of the Law Society of England and Wales

The Awards recognise and celebrate the pro bono commitment of LawWorks members, their charity and corporate partners, and the work of independent clinics in the LawWorks Clinics Network.

Winners were chosen across thirteen categories, reflecting the breadth and range of pro bono activity in England and Wales, internationally and through LawWorks’ own pro bono programmes. Individuals, law firms, in house teams, law schools, students, charities, advice agencies, law centres and many non legal volunteers were represented in this year’s shortlist and award recipients.

Commenting on the awards winners, Rebecca Wilkinson, the Chief Executive of LawWorks, said:

“The LawWorks Pro Bono Awards are always a highlight of our year, a chance to recognise the people whose generosity and skill make such a difference. The stories we heard tonight capture the very best of our profession, people offering their time with compassion and determination so that others are not left to face legal challenges alone. Pro bono changes lives in quiet but powerful ways, made possible by the volunteers, partners and organisations who choose to step forward. We are incredibly proud of everyone recognised this evening, and deeply grateful to all those who make this work possible. Their commitment is a reminder of why access to justice matters, and why we must keep championing and strengthening the pro bono community across England and Wales."

The winners of the 2025 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards are:

Best Contribution by a Small or Medium Firm: Hodge Jones & Allen
Best Contribution by a Large Firm: Eversheds Sutherland (International)
The Jonathan Goldsmith Award for Best Contribution by an In-house Team or an In-house Solicitor: BPP Social Impact Team, BPP Education Group
Best Contribution by a Junior Lawyer: Caolán Duffy, Covington & Burling
The Stephen Denyer Award for Best Contribution by an Individual: Naga Kandiah, MTC Solicitors
Best Pro Bono Contribution in Wales: Bangor University Legal Advice Clinic
Best Contribution by a Pro Bono Clinic: King's Legal Clinic
Best International Pro Bono Award - in partnership with A4ID: UN Human Rights Committee Rulings on Reproductive Rights, Debevoise & Plimpton
Best New Pro Bono Activity: eVisa Guide and Support Sessions Project: Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, Clyde & Co, Dechert, Linklaters and Squire Patton Boggs
Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership: The Young People's Life Café and Farrer & Co
Best Contribution to LawWorks Not-For-Profits Programme: Covington & Burling
Best Contribution to LawWorks Secondary Specialisation Programme: Pallas Partners
The Pro Bono Connect Award – sponsored by One Essex Court: Mayer Brown and Matthew Parfitt of Erskine Chambers

LawWorks is incredibly grateful to this year’s judging panel, which includes:

Clare Carter, Chief Executive of The Access to Justice Foundation
Mark Evans, President of The Law Society of England and Wales
Josh Giddens, Director of Practical Guidance, LexisNexis UK & Ireland
Chris Minnoch, Director of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group
Professor Richard Owen, Chair of the Law Society’s Access to Justice Committee
Paul Rogerson, Editor of the Law Society Gazette
Yasmin Batliwala, Chief Executive of A4ID
Rebecca Wilkie, Chief Executive of Advocate

You can find out more about all those shortlisted and our winners in the 2025 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards programme.

Photographs of the event are available on request.

Shivani Clancy, Communications Officer: shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk

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Press Release: LawWorks announces shortlist for the 2025 Pro Bono Awards

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:49:00 +0000

LawWorks is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2025 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards.

The Awards recognise and celebrate outstanding achievement in legal pro bono by organisations and individuals across England and Wales. They highlight the extraordinary commitment of the legal sector to widening access to justice, and the creativity and collaboration that make pro bono work such a vital part of our shared professional culture.

This year’s finalists reflect the breadth and impact of pro bono in action, from law firms and in-house teams supporting national charities and community organisations, to volunteers at pro bono clinics providing free legal advice to those who would otherwise go without. Their work exemplifies how the law can be a force for fairness, opportunity, and social good.

The winners will be announced at an event at the Law Society of England and Wales, Chancery Lane, London, on Wednesday 3 December. Hosted by hosted by the media editor of The Sunday Times, Rosamund Urwin, the evening will bring together practitioners, partners, and supporters from across the profession to celebrate another remarkable year of commitment and collaboration.

On the announcement of this year’s shortlist, Rebecca Wilkinson, Chief Executive of LawWorks, said:

Congratulations to everyone who’s been shortlisted for this year’s Awards. It’s always such a privilege to see the incredible pro bono work taking place across the profession and the difference it makes to people’s lives. Every nomination tells a story of dedication, collaboration and compassion, and together they show how powerful pro bono can be in creating real change.

These Awards are an important moment to recognise that work, to thank the lawyers, firms and organisations who go above and beyond, and to remind ourselves why access to justice matters. Thank you to our judges for the tough job of choosing the shortlist, and to everyone who took the time to nominate. I’m really looking forward to celebrating with you all on December 3rd.

The shortlisted nominees for 2025 are:

Best Contribution by a Small or Medium Firm

Covington & Burling
Hodge Jones & Allen
Milbank
Pallas Partners

Best Contribution by a Large Firm

A&O Shearman
Brabners
Eversheds Sutherland (International)
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Travers Smith

Best Contribution by an In-house Team or an In-house Solicitor

BPP Social Impact Team, BPP Education Group
In-house legal team, nGAGE Talent Group
The University of Law Pro Bono team
Legal, Ethics and Compliance Team (Europe), Visa

Best Contribution by a Junior Lawyer

Hleb Buziuk, FairGo CIC
Caolán Duffy, Covington & Burling
Catrin Norton, Hogan Lovells International
Nick O’Neal-Kenny, Linklaters
Nik Sharma, Dechert
Jessica Tucker, Pallas Partners

The Stephen Denyer Pro Bono Award (Best Contribution by an Individual

Naga Kandiah, MTC Solicitors
Ben Kerawala, Reed Smith
Emily Lim, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Hannah O'Malley, Linklaters
Hannah Owen, Charles Russell Speechlys

Best Pro Bono Contribution in Wales

Bangor University Legal Advice Clinic
Cardiff Law School Pro Bono Unit

Best Contribution by a Pro Bono Clinic

Employment Legal Advice Service, The Growth Company
Family Law Group
King's College Legal Clinic
Legal Advice Centre, University of East London
Refugee Rights Hub, Sheffield Hallam University

Best International Pro Bono Award - in partnership with A4ID

Legal Response International and Ashurst
AsyLex - Rights in Exile Platform and Covington & Burling
UN Human Rights Committee Rulings on Reproductive Rights, Debevoise & Plimpton
Pallas Partners
Travers Smith

Best New Pro Bono Activity

Ashurst and APPEAL Case Enquiries
Bangor University Legal Advice Clinic
eVisa Guide and Support Sessions Project: Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, Clyde & Co, Dechert, Linklaters and Squire Patton Boggs
Roundhouse Trust and Taylor Wessing
Sheffield Digital Justice, University of Sheffield
University of Southampton Legal Clinic

Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership

Kennedys and Bright Tide
Cardiff University Law Clinic & Support Through Court Partnership
School Exclusion Project, Coram Children's Legal Centre and A&O Shearman
The Chancery Lane Project and Ashurst
The Windrush Legal Initiative
The Young People's Life Café and Farrer & Co

Best Contribution to LawWorks Not-For-Profits Programme

Covington & Burling
HFW

Best Contribution to LawWorks Secondary Specialisation Programme

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Pallas Partners

The Pro Bono Connect Award

Commercial Dispute Resolution Client Team, Charles Russell Speechlys
HFW
Mayer Brown
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

A special thank you to our panel of judges for their time and expertise in reviewing an exceptional range of nominations. Their thoughtful consideration helps ensure the Awards continue to recognise and celebrate the very best of pro bono across the profession:

Clare Carter, Chief Executive of The Access to Justice Foundation
Mark Evans, President of The Law Society of England and Wales
Josh Giddens, Director of Practical Guidance, LexisNexis UK & Ireland
Chris Minnoch, Director of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group
Professor Richard Owen, Chair of the Law Society’s Access to Justice Committee
Paul Rogerson, Editor of the Law Society Gazette
Yasmin Batliwala, Chief Executive of A4ID
Rebecca Wilkie, Chief Executive of Advocate

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How LawWorks Can Support MPs to Develop Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinics

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 09:19:00 +0000

We are pleased to share How LawWorks Can Support MPs to Develop Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinics: A Practical Guide for Parliamentarians in England and Wales.

Download the guide: How LawWorks Can Support MPs to Develop Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinics

This new guide provides practical, step-by-step advice for MPs interested in helping to establish pro bono legal clinics in their constituencies. It sets out how LawWorks can support this process, from connecting MPs with local solicitors, advice agencies and community organisations, to offering consultancy on clinic set-up, volunteer recruitment, and long-term sustainability.

Across the UK, many people face legal problems but cannot afford advice, while cuts to legal aid have left growing gaps in provision. For many constituents, this means that everyday issues such as housing disputes, employment rights, and family matters can go unresolved, often with serious consequences. Pro bono clinics help bridge that divide by providing free legal advice to those who need it most, and by strengthening the fabric of local communities.

LawWorks has long supported a network of over 300 pro bono clinics across England and Wales. By sharing our experience through this guide, we hope to make it easier for MPs to take practical local action that extends access to justice and builds new partnerships between the legal profession and community organisations.

At a time when the need for accessible legal advice continues to grow, collaboration between parliamentarians, legal professionals and the voluntary sector is vital. This guide is an invitation for MPs to be part of that effort and to help ensure that no one is left without a voice or recourse in the legal system.

Download the guide: How LawWorks Can Support MPs to Develop Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinics

If you would like a physical copy of the guide, please contact Shivani.Clancy@lawworks.org.uk.

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The Culture of Pro Bono: in conversation with Andrew Barton, Norton Rose Fulbright

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 14:18:00 +0000

Pro bono is often described in terms of time: hours given, cases closed, clients helped. But its real strength lies in its culture. A culture of pro bono is what turns professional duty into a shared purpose.

It connects lawyers, firms and communities through a common belief that the law should serve everyone, not only those who can afford it. At LawWorks, that culture comes to life every day through the partnerships we build and the people who give their time to make access to justice possible.

One firm that has embedded this ethos deeply into its work is Norton Rose Fulbright LLP. For Andrew Barton, the firm’s Pro Bono Counsel, pro bono is not an add-on to legal practice but a reflection of its core values.

Pro bono has always been part of being a lawyer. When firms were smaller, it was enough to pick up requests on an ad hoc basis. Now that firms operate internationally with hundreds of lawyers, it is right that pro bono grows and professionalises alongside that. It reflects a culture, and it helps to build one too.

At Norton Rose Fulbright, the firm encourages lawyers at every level to contribute, believing that pro bono should be part of a lawyer’s professional identity throughout their career. When it is introduced early, it shapes both skill and outlook.

Starting pro bono work early shapes the kind of lawyer you become - it builds empathy, independence and confidence. You see first-hand the challenge for someone facing a legal problem without the ability to access support, and the privileged position you are in to be able to steer them with proper advice.

The firm’s pro bono programme, like that at many firms, reaches from local charities to international projects, supporting access to justice, as well as humanitarian and environmental goals. Each initiative reinforces the same principle: that pro bono is a professional responsibility and should be treated like any other legal matter.

Through its long-standing LawWorks membership, Norton Rose Fulbright is part of a network that sustains and strengthens that culture. Working with LawWorks connects the firm to opportunities where expertise meets need, from governance advice for small charities to support for social welfare organisations. Projects such as the Not-for-Profits Programme and Secondary Specialisation have allowed Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers to contribute to the broader system of legal support that underpins the voluntary sector.

LawWorks sits at the heart of the UK’s pro bono landscape. It connects firms, charities and communities in ways that make our work more impactful. When firms work through LawWorks, they do not just help one organisation; they become part of a wider effort to make justice accessible.

That network embodies the culture that Andrew describes: one built on collaboration, generosity and shared responsibility. It is a living system that depends on shared purpose and the belief that legal expertise can be a force for change.

At its heart, that is what LawWorks exists to nurture. A culture of pro bono is not just a professional ideal but a collective practice, sustained by the people who choose to make the law a tool for justice.

To learn more about LawWorks membership, or how your organisation can take part in building this culture of pro bono, visit our website. To support the growing culture of pro bono, please consider making a donation to LawWorks, and join the cause.

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Domestic Abuse Response Alliance reaches 300 cases

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 12:53:00 +0000

LawWorks is proud to announce that the multi-award-winning Domestic Abuse Response Alliance (DARA), founded by Travers Smith and supported by LawWorks since its inception, has placed its 300th case.

DARA’s network continues to grow. When founded by Travers Smith Partner and Head of Pro Bono, Sam Cottman, in 2022, it began as an alliance of seven firms. With the recent addition of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, it now comprises 11 firms, with its reach extending beyond London into cities across England. As well as providing court advocacy and legal support, DARA has trained over 350 lawyers on how best to represent survivors of domestic abuse in a trauma-informed and culturally sensitive manner.

DARA operates collaboratively with LawWorks, Beck Fitzgerald, the The National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) and FLOWS | Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors.

This milestone comes at a time of growing demand for family and domestic abuse-related legal advice across England and Wales. The latest LawWorks Clinics Network Report found that family law now accounts for 37% of all cases across our clinics, a 7.3% increase from 2023. Many clients are presenting in crisis and with multiple, interrelated legal issues, reflecting the urgent need for coordinated pro bono support. DARA’s impact demonstrates what is possible when firms and charities work together to meet that need.

Rebecca Wilkinson, Chief Executive of LawWorks says:

Reaching the 300th case is an incredible milestone for DARA and a testament to the dedication of all those involved. At a time of rising demand for family law support, this Alliance shows what collaboration across the legal sector can achieve in helping survivors access justice and rebuild their lives.

Sam Cottman, Head of Pro Bono and founder of DARA comments:

A few years ago, DARA was just an idea. To have reached 300 cases and have 11 amazing law firms representing these clients up and down the country is a very significant milestone on our journey. We are living through an unprecedented surge in violence and aggression in domestic relationships, particularly against young women. This is fuelled by a toxic online culture and new forms of digital abuse like message monitoring, social media stalking, and non-consensual image sharing. For many of these clients, DARA’s pro bono support, and that of other organisations in this sector, is not just help - it’s their only lifeline. We are proud to be able to support them and determined to continue to stand up against domestic abuse.

Jenny Beck KC says:

Protection from domestic abuse should be everybody’s right, yet restrictions on legal aid have left huge numbers of victim survivors at real risk. DARA provides a vital service. Clients can secure support and legal representation to apply for protection orders that would otherwise be unaffordable. The DARA team showcases how effective collaboration can make a real difference to people’s lives.

The DARA law firms are:

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Gibson Dunn, Latham & Watkins, Debevoise & Plimpton, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Reed Smith LLP, DLA Piper, Slaughter and May, Eversheds Sutherland, Hogan Lovells, and Travers Smith.

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Breaking Ground in a Legal Desert: West Cornwall Legal Advice Centre

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:23:00 +0000

Legal deserts are one of the most urgent justice challenges of our time. Across England and Wales, whole regions are left without free legal advice, leaving families unable to defend their homes, livelihoods and security.

Cornwall has long been one of the clearest examples of this crisis. Despite its natural beauty, it is among the most deprived regions in England, and for years there was no local provision of free legal advice. In Penzance especially, communities facing poverty and isolation had nowhere to turn.

Seeing this need, Barrister John Gallagher decided something had to change. Determined to challenge Cornwall’s legal desert, he set out to create a new pro bono service rooted in the community. He partnered with Trelya Community Centre, a hub that already supports families with food, housing and social needs, making it the natural home for a clinic linking people to legal advice and wider help.

The obstacles were immense, from funding to logistics to the specialist knowledge needed for a sustainable service. John turned to LawWorks, and from the outset Richard Lynch, Clinic Support and Development Officer for the South West, provided guidance and resources to lay the foundations.

“LawWorks’ support has been encouraging throughout, and the practical help has made a real difference. Richard, thank you for all your input and for standing with us. Without LawWorks we may not have even seen this past the first year of planning, so thank you, we truly appreciate all that you have done."

After more than two years of persistence and planning, the vision became reality. The West Cornwall Legal Advice Centre (WCLAC) opened in Penzance, the first time free legal advice has been available in Cornwall. On 25 September, it held its first advisory day, giving local people the access they had long been waiting for: advice close to home in a place that understands their needs.

The opening of WCLAC does not end Cornwall’s legal desert, but it marks the first breaking of ground in a landscape barren for too long. It proves what is possible when local determination is matched with the right support. This is what the LawWorks Clinics Network exists to achieve, supporting over 300 free legal advice clinics with resources, training and a community of practice that helps local leaders and volunteers create and sustain services like WCLAC.

At LawWorks we are committed to tackling legal deserts, because access to justice cannot be left to geography or chance. If it can be done in Penzance, it can be done elsewhere. Ending legal deserts will take time, but with courage, collaboration and commitment the gaps can be bridged.

If you would like to support LawWorks’ mission to break ground in legal deserts, you can donate today or fundraise to help expand access to justice.

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Case Story: Building a Future for Women’s Football in Caddington

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 10:09:00 +0000

"It really was a match made in heaven. LawWorks brought together exactly the skills we needed, just when we needed them. I can’t thank them enough for making this dream possible." - Mark Sutton, Caddington Sports Club

Across the country, opportunities for girls to play sport at a grassroots level are still far too limited. Safe, dedicated spaces for women’s teams remain hard to access, and small community clubs often struggle to provide the facilities needed for female players to stay in the game as they grow older. In the village of Caddington, Bedfordshire, Mark Sutton has been determined to change that. A lifelong supporter of the local sports club, Caddington Recreational Association, Mark has helped build it from its earliest days and watched a group of girls grow from five-year-old beginners into a tight-knit team of teenagers. Now, as they prepare to step into adult leagues, he is fighting to make sure they have a place to play.

I’ve been here since the beginning, helping to get the club off the ground. It means so much to me, and I wanted the girls to have the same opportunities and memories that I had.

But the barriers were formidable. To allow the girls to compete in adult leagues, the club needed modern changing rooms and a proper legal structure that met Football Association standards. That meant incorporating three separate entities, the charity, the clubhouse bar and the football club, and transferring a decades-old lease. For months Mark worked to find a way forward, but each route led to costs the club simply couldn’t meet. He was close to giving up when a late-night Google search changed everything. He discovered LawWorks and read about the Not-for-Profits Programme, which connects small charities and community groups with volunteer lawyers who provide free legal advice.

The legal costs were terrifying for a volunteer-run club. I tried to start the process myself, but it was just too complicated and too expensive for a small village sports club like ours. When I found LawWorks, I thought it was a long shot, but I gave it a go – and I’m so pleased I did.

Through the Not-for-Profits Programme, Mark was connected with three leading firms, Milbank LLP, Ropes & Gray LLP and Faegre Drinker, all of whom donated their time and expertise to the club. Together they helped Mark untangle decades of governance problems, trace historical trustees, and create the solid legal foundation needed to apply for funding.

The lawyers treated us like paying clients. They were professional, responsive and incredibly reassuring. It was a huge help. We simply couldn’t have done this without them.

That legal foundation unlocked the opportunity the club had been working toward. In August 2025, the Football Foundation confirmed an offer of up to £247,382 in funding towards the extension and refurbishment of the pavilion. The grant will help deliver the new changing facilities the girls need, provided the club meets key pre-construction conditions, including finalising a long-term lease with the parish council. With the offer in place and planning underway, Caddington can finally move from hoping for better facilities, to preparing to build them.

This funding is the breakthrough we needed. Now we can move from dreaming about better facilities to actually planning the build. These players have been together since childhood, and now we can plan for a women’s team right here in Caddington.

The new pavilion will be more than bricks and mortar. It will mean privacy and safety for female players, a place where teenage girls can change and compete with dignity, and a visible sign that women’s football belongs at the heart of village life. For the girls who have trained side by side since primary school, it means they can keep playing together as adults instead of scattering to distant clubs or giving up the sport altogether. For Mark, it means seeing the same community spirit that once built Caddington’s men’s teams finally extended to the next generation of women players.

Caddington’s journey shows how grants and funding can open doors, but without legal support many grassroots organisations cannot even reach the starting line. LawWorks bridges that gap, making sure local ambition is not lost to red tape.

It really was a match made in heaven. LawWorks brought together exactly the skills we needed, just when we needed them. I can’t thank them enough for making this dream possible.

Stories like that of Caddington are just one of many that LawWorks facilitates through its Not-for-Profits Programme, helping community groups across England and Wales overcome legal barriers and secure their right to opportunity and access to justice. Your support ensures that more clubs, clinics and small charities can receive this life-changing help.

Donate today to LawWorks and help the next not-for-profit or small charity secure its future.

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Legacy Giving Guide: Plant the Seed of Justice in Your Will

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 10:16:00 +0000

Leaving a gift to LawWorks in your will is like planting a seed, a seed of justice. With care and attention, that seed can grow into lasting access to legal support for people who would otherwise be left without help. Your legacy will help ensure that the roots of pro bono remain strong, providing free legal advice and support for those who need it most, now and in the future.

Download our Legacy-Giving-Guide.pdf

Across England and Wales, thousands of individuals and small charities face legal problems they cannot afford to resolve. Employment disputes, housing issues and complex family matters can quickly escalate, leaving people at risk of eviction, financial loss or harm. Cuts to legal aid have made these challenges even harder to navigate, and the need for free, high-quality legal advice continues to grow.

LawWorks exists to meet that need. Since 1997, we have been brokering and facilitating pro bono connections between volunteer lawyers, clinics and community organisations. By providing the infrastructure and support that allow pro bono to flourish, we help skilled volunteers give their time and expertise where it can make the greatest impact. Through this network, wages are recovered, homes are protected and families find the legal help they need.

A legacy gift strengthens the foundation of our work by enabling us to train and support more volunteers, expand clinics and reach new communities, ensuring that access to justice is available today and continues to grow for future generations. Each legacy is cared for with the same dedication we bring to everything we do, nurtured so that it can flourish and provide lasting support for those who need it most.

Plant the seed of justice in your will and help LawWorks keep the roots of pro bono strong, so that justice can take hold and thrive for everyone.

To explore how you can remember us in your will and help your gift take root and grow, our Legacy-Giving-Guide offers practical information and inspiration for making a lasting difference.

Download our Legacy-Giving-Guide.pdf

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Press Release: LawWorks announces appointment of Lord Goldsmith KC as incoming Chair

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 10:13:00 +0000

London, 21 July 2025 | The Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith KC, former UK Attorney General and a prominent figure in legal services, will be appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees at legal pro bono charity LawWorks with effect 1 September 2025.

Lord (Peter) Goldsmith KC is London Co-Managing Partner and Chair of European and Asian Litigation at Debevoise & Plimpton. A King’s Counsel, he continues to appear in court in the UK and internationally and has led cases in several jurisdictions. He has served on arbitration panels under institutions including the LCIA, ICC, and SIAC.

He brings with him a lifelong commitment to pro bono. Early in his career, he helped establish a legal advice centre in London’s East End. He later founded the Bar Pro Bono Unit (now Advocate) and chaired the cross-profession Access to Justice Foundation, as well as initiating the Attorney General’s pro bono committees. He remains an active pro bono advocate: past work includes representing 300,000 displaced Nigerian citizens before the African Commission on Human Rights and appearing in the Supreme Court of Belize in a constitutional challenge to anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Founded in 1997, LawWorks is a national charity and membership organisation working with law firms, law students, and in-house legal teams to support access to justice through pro bono. Lord Goldsmith KC will succeed Alasdair Douglas, who has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees since 2016. Over this period, LawWorks has expanded its clinic network from 200 to over 300 and increased the number of volunteers from 4,500 to over 13,000 in 2024. In 2024, LawWorks brokered over 800 legal matters for 270 small charities and not-for-profit organisations, and annual enquiries to clinics now exceed 90,000.

Rebecca Wilkinson, Chief Executive of LawWorks, said:

We are very pleased to welcome Lord Goldsmith to the Board. He brings a wealth of strategic experience and an outstanding track record in supporting pro bono. His commitment to access to justice and his understanding of the complexities of the legal sector will be invaluable. I also want to thank Alasdair Douglas for his exceptional stewardship of the charity and his unfailing support of our staff, volunteers, and partners.

Lord Goldsmith KC said:

It’s an honour to take on the role of Chair at LawWorks, which plays such an important part in promoting and enabling pro bono. I look forward to working with the team to continue building on its impact and reach and would also like to pay tribute to Alasdair Douglas for his leadership over the past nine years.

Alasdair Douglas said:

Chairing the Board at LawWorks has been both a joy and a privilege. I’ve met countless inspiring volunteers, especially law students who give up their time to support people who would otherwise face legal problems alone. The need for pro bono support has increased as access to legal aid has declined, and the charity has responded with ambition, care, and creativity. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and thrilled that Lord Goldsmith will be taking on the role.

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Reflections on the LawWorks Pro Bono Conference

shivani.clancy@lawworks.org.uk — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 14:37:00 +0000

This week, we were delighted to welcome pro bono clinic and law firm coordinators, volunteers and stakeholders to the LawWorks Pro Bono Conference. The conferences' success was made possible by the commitment and enthusiasm of all those involved.

A sincere thank you goes out to Simmons & Simmons, for their generous hospitality in hosting the event. We would also like to thank all the speakers¹ for sharing their expertise and insights, and a special thank you to Sarah Sackman KC MP, Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services, for opening the conference, her speech setting out a powerful vision for the future of access to justice:

“Access to justice in this country exists if you’re incredibly deprived or incredibly rich. We need to think about what the cost of justice is in this country, and the potential for technology to bear down that cost and truly democratise the right to access to justice. This is about fundamentally improving the rights and lives of working people.”

This vision captured the spirit of this year’s theme; innovation and delivery. The panels and sessions that followed brought this vision to life, together exploring how LegalTech and AI can transform the way we deliver legal support, how to manage risk, build specialisms, and safeguard staff and volunteer wellbeing, all with the aim to strengthen pro bono services and ensure that every client can access the legal help they deserve.

This work has never been more important. In 2024, clinics on the LawWorks Clinics Network supported over 61,000 people, but demand is growing, and clients’ problems are becoming ever more complex due to the cost-of-living crisis, policy changes, and increasing pressures faced by vulnerable communities. By coming together, sharing ideas, building partnerships and inspiring new approaches, conferences like this help us to meet these challenges head on, and, in the words of Sarah Sackman:

“actually realise the promise of access to justice.”

LawWorks is proud to run the LawWorks Pro Bono Conference annually to bring the sector together, showing what is possible when we collaborate. If you are interested, please consider joining our network of 313 clinics, think about becoming a member, or help us by making a donation. Every contribution is a step closer to achieving access to justice.

If you have any suggestions for what you would like to see explored at next year's conference, please get in touch.

¹Speakers: Sophia Adams Bhatti, Martha de la Roche, Catriona Filmer, Josh Giddens, Peter Lee, Eleanor Scarlett, Mary Marvel, Zahra Vasanji, Fatima Bhula, Judith Donnelly, Marion Edge, Alison Klarfeld, Catherine Hudson, Sam Cottman, Michell Elcombe, Emma Rehal-Wilde, Ellen West, Anna Buttimore, Dr Emma Jones, Suzy McGarrity, Rebecca Norris, Rebecca Howell, Max Finney, Amanda Kwagala, Eliza Platts-Mills, Yasmin Waljee, Rebecca Wilkinson.

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