The power of pro bono

In my twenties, at the start of my career as a lawyer, I headed each week to Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre in London’s East End. What I learnt there ‑ helping advise people facing mounting debt, eviction or mouldy homes ‑ was as much part of my legal education as anything I learnt in the lecture hall. 

Pro bono work taught me how to advocate, how to give my clients a voice and how to seek redress. It taught me how to be a lawyer.

The ‘power of pro bono’ is the theme of this year’s Pro Bono Week (PBW). I was proud to launch PBW in a room full of brilliant lawyers who volunteer their time to take on cases that would otherwise go unheard.

The power of pro bono lies in its people. That starts with the clients. This week I heard from individuals, from the small business owner who avoided bankruptcy to the women reconnected with their children in prison, all of whom were represented by dedicated, tenacious, pro bono lawyers.

As the MP for Finchley and Golders Green, I draw on my experience from pro bono work every day. From welfare to immigration cases, being an MP also deals with a range of complex needs that often carry a legal dimension.

That is why I have written to fellow parliamentarians to share a new ‘Guide to Pro Bono and Free Advice in England and Wales’ launched by the Pro Bono Committee, in the hope that it will help MP’s offices point their own constituents to the best legal advice.

The power of pro bono lies not only in the impact lawyers can have in helping their clients. It is also critical to upholding the reputation of the profession and the justice system in the eyes of the public, and particularly those on the margins.

As solicitor general and incoming chair of the Attorney General’s Pro Bono committee, I am committed to championing the brilliant work of the pro bono sector: whether in law school clinics, law centres or leading law firms.

Whilst pro bono can never be a substitute for a properly resourced legal aid system, it will always have a role to play. Though, regrettably one that is needed more than ever.

No one in this government is under any illusions as to the scale of the challenge we face in rebuilding the justice system after 14 years of mismanagement and underfunding. The budget set out how we will fix the foundations and begin to repair the damage.

An additional £1.9bn for the next two years was welcomed by the Ministry of Justice. At the Law Officers' Department, which resources the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office, the attorney general and I have welcomed an annual real terms increase of 7.5%.

When I think back to those early years at Toynbee Hall, I remember not just the clients but the colleagues and friends I made for life, including the late Philip Rueff. Philip had a distinguished career as a criminal barrister and a judge, but never forgot where he came from. Every week, without fail, he would join fellow volunteers at the law centre to use his skills and good judgement to support those who would not otherwise have been able to afford legal help.

It is this ethic that makes me proud as solicitor general to call our legal community the best in the world. Lawyers demonstrating their professionalism and tenacity to fight injustice. That is the power of pro bono.

Sarah Sackman KC is solicitor general