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Guide to Pro Bono publication 2014

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Page 1: Guide to Pro Bono
Page 2: Guide to Pro Bono

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Page 3: Guide to Pro Bono

ContentsQuick reference grid .....................................................................................4

How to use this guide ...................................................................................5

Advice agencies ..............................................................................................6

Bar Pro Bono Unit ...........................................................................................7

Free Representation Unit............................................................................8

LawWorks ..........................................................................................................9

Law schools.....................................................................................................10

Innocence Network UK (INUK) ................................................................11

Personal Support Unit.................................................................................12

Pure Leapfrog ...........................................................................................13

Advocates for International Development (A4ID) ...........................14

Amicus ..............................................................................................................15

ISLP-UK .............................................................................................................16

i-ProBono .........................................................................................................17

TrustLaw Connect ........................................................................................18

Individuals

Civil

Community Groups

Criminal

Cross Profession

International

3

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4 Guide to Pro Bono

Quick reference gridThe grid below indicates which pro bono organisations offer support to individuals in the indicated areas of law.

Area of law

Bar Pro Bono

Unit (pg 7)

FRU (pg 8)

Innocence Network

UK (pg 11)

LawWorks (pg 9)

Consumer rights ü ü

Criminal ü(does assist

(does assistwith tax credits)

victims with criminal injuries compensation)

ü(convicted individuals maintaining innocence)

Employment ü ü üFamily

(including divorce,

custody, and ü

Housing / Landlord

and tenantü ü

Immigration üPersonal injury ü ü

ü

ü

Tax (including

tax credits)ü

ü üWelfare

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How to use this guidePro bono legal services are not, nor can they ever be, a substitute for a properly funded system of legal aid.

However for those falling outside the scope of public funding but without the means to pay for legal help, free advice and representation provided voluntarily by lawyers is often the only means of access to justice.

With solicitors alone donating over £500m worth of pro bono services each year, the added contributions of barristers, Chartered Legal Executives and law students make the collective contribution of the legal profession through free professional help unparalleled.

Pro bono help can be accessed through legal advice clinics, online and by telephone. It supports individuals, community groups, NGOs and social enterprises. It may take the form of initial advice, detailed specialist advice, in-depth casework and representation before a court, tribunal or mediation. It is delivered across England and Wales and to support communities in the developing world.

Where a civil case is won with pro bono help, Section 194 Legal Services Act 2007 enables courts to make “pro bono costs orders” to the Access to Justice Foundation to provide additional funding for pro bono services.

This guide has been produced to help MPs, the Judiciary, advisers and others to identify and access pro bono services which may be of help to their constituents and clients. Due to the huge range of activity and variation at a local level, it cannot and does not seek to provide an exhaustive list of all the organisations involved in delivering pro bono. Instead it provides information about the main agencies operating on a national and international basis which broker pro bono work.

The coloured tabs on the edge of the page indicate the type of support available from each organisation for easy reference with contact details and further information about how to access their services.

The main source of information about pro bono including a calendar of events taking place during National Pro Bono Week and throughout the year is www.nationalprobonocentre.org.uk

In addition to advice and representation, the profession freely gives time to prevent legal problems from occurring and escalating by helping people learn about their rights and responsibilities. Public legal education is delivered through a variety of media from websites and

on this kind of help, visit www.lawforlife.org.uk

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Advice agenciesAdvice agencies, for which the main umbrella bodies are listed below, are vital in ensuring that limited pro bono resources are used to help those who do not qualify for legal aid.

Support• Initial advice and assessment of eligibility for legal aid

• Referrals to pro bono agencies

• Many and various pro bono clinics and voluntary advisers

Advice UK T: 0203 637 1330 W: www.adviceuk.org.uk E: [email protected]

Citizens Advice T: 020 7833 7102 W: www.citizensadvice.org.uk E: [email protected]

Law Centres Network T: 020 7749 9120 W: www.lawcentres.org.uk E: [email protected]

Civi

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CivilCom

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Individuals

Bar Pro Bono UnitSupport• Barristers for:

• Representation in a court or tribunal

• Specialist advice

• Help at mediation

• All legal areas

• All tribunals and courts in England and Wales

• Chartered Legal Executives to support barristers acting pro bono

Not covered• Cases where legal aid is available or a barrister can

be paid for

Application route

• Individuals exclusively by referral from a solicitor, MP or advice agency using referral form available online

• Applications must be submitted at least 3 weeks before help is needed

• Applications from charities, community groups, companies and other organisations via application form available on website.

T: 020 7092 3960 W: www.barprobono.org.uk E: [email protected]

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CivilIndividuals

Free Representation Unit (FRU)Support• Representation in tribunals and pre-hearing settlement

negotiations in:

• Employment

• Social security benefits

• Criminal injuries compensation

Not covered• Cases without a date for a tribunal hearing

• Tribunal venues more than one hour from London or Nottingham

Application routeExclusively by referral from partner advice agencies as listed on website.

T: 020 7611 9555 W: www.thefru.org.uk E: [email protected]

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Comm

unity Groups

CivilIndividuals

LawWorksLawWorks supports lawyers to volunteer their professional skills to assistindividuals and community groups who cannot afford to pay for legal helpand who are unable to access legal aid or other forms of financial assistance.

Free legal advice clinics network throughout England and Wales providinginitial advice on various areas of law. Details can be found on the website - www.lawworks.org.uk/clinics

Small not for profit organisations, including social enterprises, can applyfor assistance with legal problems and support setting up viahttp://www.lawworks.org.uk/community-groups.

Support

Clinics

Support for Community Groups

Application routeW: www.lawworks.org.uk

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CivilCom

munity G

roupsIndividuals

Law schoolsMore than 70% of law schools in England and Wales have pro bono programmes. Many of them involve clinical legal education, enabling students to learn about the law while responding to real legal needs under supervision.

Support (depending on individual institution)• Legal advice clinics

• Innocence Projects (see Innocence Network UK)

• Provision of information about legal rights and responsibilities through interactive Streetlaw presentations

• Telephone helplines

• Tribunal and court representation

Application routeFind out which pro bono services are offered by individual law schools using the searchable database at the website below.

T: 020 7092 3954W: www.studentprobono.net E: [email protected]

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Criminal

Individuals

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Innocence Network UK (INUK)

Support• Research into cases of convicted individuals maintaining innocence

• Applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission and Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

• Royal Prerogative of Mercy cases that have evidence of factual innocence but no legal grounds for appeal

Not covered• Cases involving allegations of technical miscarriages of justice

(eg: that murder convictions should have been manslaughter)

Application routePreliminary questionnaire downloaded from website and sent to:

School of Law University of Bristol Wills Memorial Building Queens Road Bristol BS8 1RJ

W: www.innocencenetwork.org.uk E: [email protected]

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Personal Support Unit (PSU)Support• Practical and emotional support for people without representation

• Signposting to relevant agencies and resources online

Not covered• Legal advice or representation

Application route•

in advance by telephone or email.

W: www.thepsu.org.uk

See website for telephone, address and email details for individual

• Birmingham Civil Justice Centre• Bristol Civil and Family Justice Centre

• Canolfany Llygoedd Gifil Caendydd / Cardiff Civil Justice Centre• Leeds Combined Court

• Liverpool Civil and Family Court

• Manchester Civil Justice Centre

• London Central Family Court

• London Royal Courts of Justice (base)

• Wandsworth County Court

CivilIndividuals

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in civil and family proceedings in courts and court offices

PSU offices in major court centres. Sheffield opening planned for

• Attending court with LIPs.

October 2014, and possibly more in 2014 and 2015.

also

(Phone to book a volunteer to go to a hearing)

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Individuals Com

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Pure Leapfrog

Support

• UK Based carbon reduction projects

• UK Based low carbon entrepreneurs

• International carbon reduction projects

Multi-disciplinary professional advice: legal; accountancy, business communications, environmental engineering and consultancy

Affordable finance for UK Based community energy projects

Application routeBy email. Full details of eligibility criteria on website.

Pure Leapfrog is the leading provider of social investment and professionalsupport to community energy projects in the UK.

Our mission is to ensure that community energy becomes a significant partof the sustainable energy mix in the UK.

T: 020 7825 3479E: [email protected]: www.pureleapfrog.org

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Advocates for International Development (A4ID)

Support• NGOs, Inter-governmental Organisations, developing country

governments and social enterprises

• Advice and assistance for organisations working towards global poverty eradication or sustainable development in any part of the world

• All areas of law - from commercial legal needs, to legal research,

Application routeBy telephone or email.

T: 020 3116 2798 W: www.a4id.org E: [email protected]

Comm

unity Groups

InternationalCivil

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advocacy and training

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Amicus

Support• Individuals awaiting capital trial and punishment in the US

• Drafting of amicus curiae briefs to be presented to US courts

• Applications to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in Washington about breaches of the American Declaration of Human Rights in death penalty trials

• Trained trial observers to report on individual cases

Trained UK interns to assist in capital investigation and trial/ appeal assistance

Training for UK lawyers and students in capital legal processes

Application routeBy email.

T: 020 7072 5603W: www.amicus-alj.org E: [email protected]

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Comm

unity Groups

InternationalCivil

ISLP-UK

Support• NGOs, Bar Associations, Law Societies, Institutes of Education

and others

• Provision of experienced senior lawyers

• Training programmes on contentious and commercial areas of law, negotiation, mediation, arbitration and advocacy skills and a wide range of commercial and corporate topics

Application routeBy email.

T: 020 7006 4910W: www.islp-uk.org E: [email protected]

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iProbono

Support• Charities, NGOs, advocacy organisations, social enterprises,

• All areas of law, legal research and internships

Application routeThrough website.

W: www.i-probono.com E: [email protected]

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Comm

unity Groups

InternationalCivil

TrustLaw

Support•

government agencies and community groups

• All areas of law and legal research

Not covered• Individuals• Private litigation matters and disputes• Full eligibility criteria on website

Application routeOnline or by referral from a partner organisations as listed on website.

T: 020 7542 0240W: www.trustlaw.trust.org E: [email protected]

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PILnet: The global network for Public Interest LawPILnet runs five pro bono clearinghouses matching the legal needs of NGOSwith pro bono lawyers. We do this through our domestic clearinghouses inRussia, China, Hungary and Hong Kong, and through our international, crossborder Global Pro Bono Clearinghouse.

Charities, NGOs, non-for-profit organisations, social enterprises and community groups

Support

Application route

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Local and international legal research, advice, training and representation•

All areas of law including employment, contracts, tax, human rights, equality and public law

Application form available on our website: www.pilnet.org

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Centre for Criminal AppealsQuick Reference Grid

Criminal law (Prisoners seeking to overturn unsafe conviction)

The Centre for Criminal Appeals is a new “access to justice” initiative, currently in its pilot phase, which will work to:

Until such time as CCA registers with the SRA and is able to successfully bid for its own Legal Aid contract, the solicitors who working on the launch of CCA, Sophie Walker and Emily Bolton, are working as consultants with the law firm SCOMO, under its Legal Aid contract.

Support

Overturn unsafe convictions by providing investigation and legal advice and advocacy on criminal appeal cases in England and Wales, on a non-profit basis

• Share the lessons learned from this casework with criminal justice policy makers, the legal profession and the public, in order to improve the accuracy of the criminal justice system

Application routePlease write a letter outlining reasons why the conviction is unsafe and send to:

Emily BoltonScott-Moncrieff & Associates Ltd Office 7,19 Greenwood Place London, NW5 1LB

[email protected]

W:

http://www.criminalappeals.org.uk

E:

[email protected]

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Criminal

Individuals

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Legal Aid

Where do I get help?

If you need help with paying for legal advice, you may be able to get legal aid. By 'legal aid', we mean publically funded legal assistance, available through the Legal Aid Agency.

The scope of legal aid has been reduced over the past few years; however, it is still available for certain civil and criminal cases.

Legal aid is dependent on your financial position, the area of law for which you require assistance, and the strength of your case. As the legal aid system is complicated and constantly changing you should always speak to an advisor first. You can find out more at:

www.lawsociety.org.uk/legalaid

www.gov.uk./civil-legal-advice

or by ringing 0845 345 4345

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Notes

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