Newsletter – November 2021

From the CEO

This week, we celebrate the 20th annual Pro Bono Week in the UK. We are encouraging all Costs Lawyers to celebrate pro bono successes and join in with events, as well as considering what more you can do to share your unique knowledge and skills with the pro bono community.

The National Pro Bono Centre’s Guide to Pro Bono reminds us that the Latin term “pro bono”, when used in the legal context, usually refers to the provision of legal services on a free basis to those who can’t afford to pay and where public means of funding are not available.

Access to legal advice and representation is central to upholding the rule of law in our society, and lawyers are in the privileged position of being able to serve the public by facilitating that access. A commitment to justice is an important part of what it means to be a trusted, authorised legal professional.

We know that many of the charities and community groups that provide free legal advice to citizens are under-resourced generally, let alone in the specialist area of legal costs. Anecdotally, we also know that people can find themselves facing large adverse costs awards, often where they have represented themselves in substantive proceedings, and not knowing where to turn. In some cases, the fear of legal costs causes individuals not to engage with the legal system at all. Costs Lawyers are uniquely positioned to share their costs expertise with these members of society and help people make informed choices.

Pro Bono Week is run by LawWorks, a charity working across England and Wales to enable access to justice through pro bono legal advice. LawWorks promotes and supports pro bono, helps connect people needing legal advice with pro bono volunteers, and advocates for policy change.

LawWorks also operates the Pro Bono Portal UK, which aims to create a national “one stop shop” for remote and online pro bono volunteering. This is open to all lawyers, including Costs Lawyers, regardless of whether you are a LawWorks member.

This newsletter contains more information and resources to help you think about how to begin or further your pro bono journey. If you have any ideas or case studies to share with the profession, please get in touch.

Kate Wellington

CEO

Regulatory News

Did you get your PC renewal email?

Earlier this week you should have received an email containing a link to your personalised practising certificate renewal form. If you didn’t, please let us know straight away. The deadline for applications is 30 November.

If you have any questions about renewing your practising certificate, there are helpful FAQs on our website, or you can contact us at any time.

Get involved in Pro Bono Week activities

There is a wide variety of free online events taking place during this Pro Bono Week, many of which are open to Costs Lawyers. If an event is relevant to your CPD objectives for 2021, it will also qualify for CPD points.

You can access the full list of Pro Bono Week activities here. Use the link in the specific event page to sign up. The Access to Justice Foundation is also hosting the Great Legal Bake to raise funds for local advice clinics this week. You can register here.

New pro bono guidance

To support you in thinking about pro bono this week and beyond, we have published a new guidance note on pro bono work. It provides suggestions for linking up with other people and organisations, signposting to resources, and information about pro bono costs orders.

Updated guidance on vulnerable consumers

To complement our new pro bono guidance, we have updated our guidance note on vulnerable consumers. The guidance draws together advice from the Legal Services Consumer Panel, information about legal obligations relating to vulnerability, and current good practice standards. It also includes links to external resources for more information.

Publication of this guidance concludes our review of all the CLSB’s guidance notes that we have been working on since 2019. All our current guidance notes can be found in the Costs Lawyer Handbook.

Spotlight on… the benefits of pro bono work

In this newsletter, we turn our spotlight on the benefits of pro bono. Chris Owen, National Pro Bono Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Australia, shares his path into pro bono and the advantages that pro bono work can bring.

“I spent six months of my legal training on secondment to the Mary Ward Legal Advice Centre – a legal advice clinic based in Holborn. This was, and remains, perhaps the most eye-opening and satisfying experience of my entire legal career. Being able to provide advice to people who in many cases had spent years fighting the system, with no one in their corner, was incredibly satisfying.”

Read More

Up and Coming…

Expect more from us shortly on:

  • CLSB’s new Supervision Policy
  • The outcome of our Competency Statement consultation
back to newsletters