The potential for pro bono to build a case for a better funded legal aid system

Developing a pro bono practice is a rare privilege. It has allowed me to reflect on how this type of work is changing across the legal profession, and why creating a practice for a firm like Farrer & Co feels particularly important. If you are new to pro bono work, it broadly means giving free legal advice to individuals and charities who could not otherwise access justice. Its legal focus differs from traditional corporate social responsibility, which centres on philanthropic giving and skills-based volunteering.

Becoming a pro bono solicitor

I joined Farrer & Co in May to become their first Head of Pro Bono and Counsel, following over five years in the excellent pro bono team at Hogan Lovells. I began my career there as a corporate and commercial solicitor after completing my training contract. My start as a corporate lawyer has taught me about the skills and passion that law firm colleagues have for pro bono work, which must be balanced alongside their busy fee-earning practices. After several years of volunteering for as many pro bono initiatives as I could alongside my full-time work, I decided to change my career path. I still wanted to work in a law firm as a solicitor, but I wanted to focus on advocating for human rights.

I became a pro bono solicitor, which has allowed me to work for clients where their human rights have been breached, and for charities. Pro bono lawyers usually supervise the legal work of others in their law firm and encourage them to take on pro bono work to scale their impact. My role has taken me to London and Paris to work on cross-jurisdictional litigation, and I have focused on gaining effective remedies for survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery. I was fortunate to be named as a finalist for the UK in the 2022 United Nations GC SDG Pioneers Award for my work to counter domestic abuse and trafficking. This year, I completed the taught component of a part-time Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford, to strengthen my academic research in this area.

Building a pro bono strategy

On joining Farrer & Co, my first mandate is to work with the Board and the Responsible Business Partner, Ali Hollingshead, on a new, more impactful Pro Bono Strategy. The firm has engaged in pro bono work for many years and my new role is designed to grow the existing impact. To start that process, I have met with as many of my colleagues as possible. The questions I have been asked in my introductory meetings have been forward-thinking and progressive. Those questions have gone right to the heart of understanding why a law firm’s approach to pro bono cannot, and should not, be generic. My colleagues have asked: how can a pro bono strategy contribute to our law firm’s wider purpose? What is the most impact we can have? Finally, a key question has centred on how the pro bono practice can work alongside the existing social value legal teams in the firm, such as safeguarding and charity law.

That final consideration is particularly pertinent when you observe the change in pro bono practices across London. Traditionally, firms with large corporate and commercial practices have been the first to develop pro bono teams. Often those firms were international in reach, so that their UK practices have been influenced by pro bono cultures in jurisdictions like the United States. For example, the New York Bar mandates that new applicants must complete 50 hours of pro bono services to be admitted. Although participation in pro bono work is not mandatory for solicitors in England and Wales, it is widely considered to be a privilege and moral imperative of joining the legal profession. The rise of the responsible business movement (and possibly the growth of ESG as a distinct practice area) have further contributed to the growing numbers of public pro bono commitments made by law firms in London. Increasingly, these firms do not fit the traditional mould of firms with a pro bono practice. They incorporate a wider variety of legal areas that span beyond corporate law to advising individuals too.

Broadening the approach to pro bono legal work

Enter Farrer & Co: a leading London-based law firm which advises individuals, families, businesses, financial services, educational and not-for-profit organisations. Many of its legal practice areas, such as the charity and community team, already have a strong social value impact, and delve into areas of law where pro bono assistance is often sought. On first look, that overlap with fee-earning practices may appear to be a barrier to expanding pro bono at the firm. However, it also poses an opportunity to ask what pro bono could look like and what impact it can have, now that a wider variety of law firms are building these practices. This includes:

• Having existing legal teams who focus on social value necessitates greater transparency about who should be eligible for pro bono assistance. Accordingly, one of my first intentions will be to draft eligibility criteria for the firm’s pro bono services.
• These eligibility criteria and the pro bono work that we take on should contribute to pro bono’s wider purpose. It should complement and strengthen the case for a properly funded legal aid system.
• Finally, our areas of legal specialism provide the opportunity to scale our impact. We may be able to assist other firms who want to work for pro bono clients in areas where they do not have legal teams. Training, knowledge sharing and collaboration could all form worthy parts of a new strategy. In addition to pro bono work, the charity and community team already share knowledge widely through bodies like the Charity Law Association.

We have a chance to build a strategy that furthers the wider intentions of pro bono work: to broaden access to justice. The widening variety of law firms that have started to give pro bono assistance might also lead to innovation. Legal areas, such as private client law, which have not traditionally extended to pro bono work, or legal aid eligibility, may now be open to those who would not ordinarily have been able to access justice. For example, the Farrer & Co private client team have recently created, and continue to administer, a trust for compensation given to a vulnerable survivor of modern slavery. The firm’s Responsible Business Partner, Ali Hollingshead, who led the client work alongside Annabel Spearman and Tom Trower, said, “This bespoke legal advice intends to safeguard the client from further victimisation and provide them with careful financial support for the rest of their life.” This again demonstrates that the increasing variety of firms offering pro bono services can yield different forms of advice and initiatives. Ultimately, this should ensure better access to justice for vulnerable clients.

A focus on empowerment, not vulnerability

With the possibility for increased innovation in the variety of pro bono assistance being given by firms, this is a crucial juncture for pro bono work to move away from its sometimes old-fashioned and paternalistic reputation. My colleagues in the UK Collaborative Plan, a network of pro bono lawyers, have been advocating for modern and progressive pro bono initiatives for many years.

Accordingly, the pro bono strategy should not focus on vulnerability. Instead, it must be driven by need, and where necessary for individuals, it should be trauma-informed and survivor-led. This has informed one of my first steps in my new role, as I am liaising closely with the firm’s safeguarding team. I am also organising training on working in a trauma-informed way for volunteers, which will be led by clinical psychologists. The benefits of a trauma-informed practice will be felt by volunteers when working for pro bono clients, in their fee-earning work and, hopefully, in their lives beyond the office too. Our focus on empowerment has also influenced the pro bono work that we have undertaken. For example, we have assisted empowerHER UK, a charity which seeks to empower, support and connect girls and young women who have experienced the loss of a mother. The charity has recently set up in the UK and pro bono volunteers (David Smellie, Annisa Khan and Siobhan Murray) have assisted with drafting a safeguarding policy.

The value of pro bono to law firms

The example above demonstrates how the skills learnt in pro bono work can benefit the client, whilst also making better lawyers overall. This does not only extend to trauma-informed practice, which encompasses self-care, as well as empathy when working with clients. It also spans to building important skills, while creating a working culture that people want to be part of and that retains talent.

Many of the firm’s trainee solicitors assist at the general law and employment law clinics at Mary Ward Legal Centre. This long-running initiative ensures that trainee solicitors are paired with an experienced solicitor who gives general rights-based advice to members of the public. For Emmeline Downer and Scott McGrory, who have assisted with project managing the Mary Ward initiative throughout their training contracts, their experience of the employment law clinic has contributed to an ambition to qualify into the firm’s employment team. This ambition was realised for both trainee solicitors just a few weeks ago when they qualified with the firm. Emmeline has noted how being able to explain clients’ rights in a complex situation is a skill which is central to her new role as an employment associate.

Trainee involvement in pro bono is crucial, but it is important that pro bono work is not solely concentrated on the junior colleagues in the firm and that the commitment to pro bono endures. The firm’s Senior Partner, Jeremy Gordon, has noted that, “Our staff retention rate continues to be amongst the highest in the legal sector”. This is very clear to me as a new joiner to Farrer & Co, because many of my colleagues have always worked here and take pride in the firm. This longevity will become increasingly important when building a pro bono culture here. A strong retention rate and collegiate atmosphere means that people will continue to be involved in pro bono from their training contract and as they advance in their careers. For example, in the Mary Ward Legal Clinic, a Senior Associate in the employment team, Alice Kendle, has been paired with more junior volunteers, such as Emmeline and Scott, to give advice to the public. Alice has been a long-term supporter of the Mary Ward Legal Clinic since she was a trainee herself. The longevity of volunteering for the clinic shows that pro bono can contribute to a culture of employee retention, where colleagues continue to champion pro bono as they progress in seniority.

A commitment to 25 hours of pro bono work counting towards chargeable hours targets

The support of Farrer & Co’s senior leadership towards pro bono was made clear in 2023, when the Board announced that 25 hours of pro bono work will count towards the firm’s chargeable hours targets. Board member, Laurie Horwood, stated, “The ‘25 hours policy’ demonstrates the firm’s commitment to pro bono work at all levels. But it is not a mandate. It ensures that those who give their time and skills on a pro bono basis are credited and supported in doing so by the firm’s management. We hope that this initiative will grow our impact as a responsible business.”

These are all strands of growing a culture of pro bono in the firm, which must be a cornerstone of any pro bono strategy. That culture needs to be led from the top, with the opportunity to include colleagues meaningfully at all stages of their career progression. There should be an understanding that pro bono benefits law firms as well as their clients: it can strengthen the skills of solicitors in their fee-earning practice and build a powerful retention tool. The talent, specialist knowledge and resources within a firm like Farrer & Co mean that it can have real impact for individual and charity pro bono clients. As more firms with a greater variety of practice areas start to commit to doing pro bono work, we may see innovative initiatives in new legal areas. Ideally, we may begin to see closer links between pro bono building a case for a better funded legal aid system.