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About
pro bono
"Pro
bono" is the term for free legal help that provides
access to justice for someone who cannot afford to pay for
legal assistance and is not entitled to legal aid. For more
information on pro bono generally visit www.probonouk.net.
The
role that pro bono plays is exemplified by the following
case studies.
Bar
Pro Bono Unit Case Study 1:
The
Unit's applicant, Mr Peter Baker, applied for assistance
with his Employment Tribunal (ET) claim against National
Airtraffic Services Limited (NATS). Mr Baker's claim related
to NATS' practice of refusing to consider any potential
airtraffic controller recruit over the age of 35. Mr Baker
had applied to NATS shortly after his 50th birthday but
his application was automatically rejected on the grounds
of his age. Neither his qualifications nor his long-standing
interest in the aviation industry were taken onto account.
Panel member Yvette Budé of Devereux Chambers accepted
last minute instructions from the Unit. She spent the weekend
before what was scheduled to be a three day final hearing
working on the case, and in doing so reached the conclusion
that an adjournment was necessary. The case was relisted
for 10 days, with the adjournment allowing Yvette time to
assemble a pro bono team that included Robin Allen QC and
Baker & McKenzie. Yvette was also able to persuade an
expert psychologist to provide evidence on a pro bono basis
to the tribunal via a remote video link from Australia.
Yvette continued to work on the case for a number of months,
ultimately causing the ET to declare the practice unlawful
at the final hearing. As a result of the case, NATS has
removed the age bar and Baker v NATS is recognised as one
of the most significant cases under the Age Discrimination
Regulations to date.
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Bar
Pro Bono Unit Case Study 2:
Community
Action for Savernake Hospital (CASH) applied to the Unit
for assistance when their local Primary Care Trust announced
proposals to close several departments within the local
hospital. Unit panel members were involved throughout a
lengthy legal campaign by CASH and the local community of
East Wiltshire to resist closure, offering a total of more
than £150,000 of billing hours. The case involved
many stages, with panel members providing representation
at numerous hearings over the course of 2 years. The case
culminated in a 5 day Judicial Review hearing which many
supporters travelled from Wiltshire to attend. The decision
unfortunately went against CASH, however the enthusiasm
and commitment of the legal team hugely impressed the local
community with one supporter commenting "the whole
of Marlborough will be grateful that, if nothing else, we
made the PCT think twice and drew the whole community together".
In collaboration with the Public Law Project, the team also
succeeded in setting a precedent in what became a leading
test case on the use of Protective Costs Orders in judicial
review claims. This development significantly strengthens
the right of smaller groups to challenge the decisions of
large organisations.
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LawWorks
for Community Groups: COAP
Children
of Addicted Parents and People (COAP) is an online peer-led
support network, where young people share their experiences
of growing up affected by someone else's addiction to drugs,
alcohol or some other form of addictive behaviour.
In
late 2009 the group approached LawWorks when they needed
some assistance with adopting an appropriate charitable
corporate structure, after realising that this would be
essential in order to access further types of funding. LawWorks
successfully brokered free legal assistance, through the
Community Groups Project and COAP commented on the service
they received:
"Having
free legal advice has meant we can focus our resources,
time and efforts where they are neededmost; responding to
young people's messages for support and training new mentors
to support our young people. Our lawyer has been fantastic
and very supportive right from the word go. What LawWorks
has done for us is wonderful - thank you for the great work
you do!"
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LawWorks
Individuals Casework: Applicants S and F
S
and F were pensioners on the committee of a members club
which ran into financial difficulties and subsequently closed.
S and F had previously accepted a £12,000 loan in
the club's name from a major brewery, and were surprised
to receive a statutory demand to enforce a judgment obtained
against them by the brewery for £21,000 four years
later. S and F applied to LawWorks in the hope of overturning
the judgment and their case was placed with a member firm.
The firm worked in collaboration with a barrister appointed
through the Bar Pro Bono Unit, in order to persuade the
brewery to agree to a consent order which had the effect
of setting aside the judgment. S was very relieved, having
feared earlier that he would go without assistance:
"I
dread to think of the outcome, it was all such a worry.
I have nothing but praise for the service provided."
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LawWorks
Mediation: Mr C
This
matter related to a debt incurred by Mr C with a bank on
a credit card. The debt was four years old and amounted
to £15,526.75. A finance house had bought the debt
from the bank. They accepted that there was a mistake on
their ledger and therefore reduced the debt by £3,449.09.
They commenced court proceedings in 2008 in the County Court.
Pleadings were closed and the matter was due to be referred
to a Case Management Conference. The real question was whether
Mr C could afford to pay any of the debt. His circumstances
were very unfortunate. He had not worked since June 2007,
was severely ill and had recently divorced. He had previously
(and inexplicably) admitted that he owed £5,000 worth
of debt but indicated that he intended to withdraw the admission.
He had a degenerative illness and although his desire was
to get back into full time employment it looked unlikely
that he would do so over the next few years. Essentially
he has few assets other than his own home. His pro bono
solicitor, provided by LawWorks, was able to assist in helping
the mediator explain all of the issues in a very simple
and straight forward manner. A deal was reached after three
and a half hours and both parties were highly delighted
with the outcome and were very happy that LawWorks had been
able to assist them at no cost to either.
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LawWorks
Clinics: Polish Legal Centre
The
Polish Legal Centre provides pro bono legal advice through
a weekly evening advice session held at the Polish Social
and Cultural Association in Hammersmith, London. Marcin
Perzanowski, former Project Director of Polish Legal Centre
commented on the assistance received from LawWorks' Clinics
project:
"When
we started the Polish Legal Centre, we only had a vague
idea how to run a law clinic. LawWorks offered us invaluable
help and professional support at the time when we needed
it most. They put us in touch with the Polish speaking students
and the BPP Law School, which allowed us to open a booking
line in Polish and which, as a result, greatly improved
the service offered to our clients. We have also developed
our standard documentation in accordance with LawWorks'
guidelines and using their know-how database."
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