Advocate (the Bar’s pro bono charity) brokers free legal assistance from volunteer barristers. It matches members of the public who need free legal help because they are unable to obtain legal aid and cannot afford to pay with barristers who are willing to donate their time and expertise to deserving cases.
Barristers can sign up to the panel from their second six onwards to take on discrete pieces of work that involve advice, drafting or representation. All work has been triaged by an Advocate caseworker and a volunteer reviewer, who is a senior barrister. Work is available in all areas of law and for all levels of call and mentoring is available to junior barristers just starting out.
Employed barristers can also volunteer with Advocate. Further information in the Guide to Pro Bono for Employed Barristers can be found on the In-house lawyers page.
Advocate also has a page listing its fourteen partner schemes, which focus on particular areas of law such as Chancery, Insolvency and Employment and include on-the-day duty schemes providing free representation.
They have also produced an extensive guide for pupils and supervisors undertaking pro bono, which can be accessed here.