Time to make Pro Bono Compulsory for Lawyers

Pip Allen is currently a second year Law and Sociology student at the University of Warwick. Pip was inspired to write this blog post after completing the Pro Bono and Social Justice online course, which has tied neatly in with her current work in an Exceptional Case Funding Clinic. Pip hopes to continue this line of work and in the future, go on to pursue a career in social welfare based areas of law. 

With the introduction of LASPO legal aid cuts in 2013, our justice system has become more two tiered than ever before, with the most vulnerable members of our society being the most adversely affected by these changes. According to ‘Support Through Court’⁽¹⁾ the sectors most affected by these cuts are social welfare based, such as immigration and family law where, for example, “funding in family law cases dropped by 60%”⁽²⁾ from 2012-2014. Because of this, people do not always have access to good legal aid which is increasing the number of litigants in person. This creates a huge problem within the justice sector where people are left without legal representation and therefore must represent themselves. The issues presented by this can be seriously detrimental to the cases of those involved; where language barriers and confusion over court proceedings can create misunderstandings, heightening the risk of a serious miscarriage of justice. This indicates that the relationship between legal aid and pro bono work is closely knitted, where legal aid services can be taken on as pro bono work to help some of the most vulnerable members of society. It is for this reason that pro bono work should be made compulsory, with the amount taken on to be decided between firms and the staff themselves, so as to ensure that the legal aid provided is of the highest quality.

The core values of legal aid and pro bono work are very much alike where protecting members of society through ensuring that they have access to legal representation and a fair trial are at the heart of the work being done. This is a human right which would pose a serious risk to the rule of law and undermine the justice system if we were to go without it. Making pro bono work compulsory would help to reduce potential miscarriages of justice that could result from litigants in person, demonstrating how its value cannot be overestimated. Not only would this benefit wider society and uphold the key principle of equality before the law, it would also benefit those taking part in offering legal services by improving professional skills and allowing law students to gain more experience upon entering the industry. It would also ensure that the value of justice and offering legal aid is not lost in the logistics of court proceedings or lengthy documents, but that it remains at the forefront of everyone’s minds as a key factor in why the justice system is so important.

With the cuts to legal aid, pro bono work is more important than ever before particularly as the cuts themselves are the most detrimental in areas such as family, immigration and employment law^(3). The opportunities available to members of society who are already vulnerable are becoming even more limited, whilst other areas of the law continue to thrive that perhaps offer more monetary rewards. It is up to the legal sector and the individual firms to do what they can to ensure that absolutely everyone has the right and access to a fair trial through providing good legal aid, regardless of the background of the individuals. It is clear that this change will not come from government itself and so the responsibility is unfortunately falling on the legal sector to act.

The advantages to both sides are clear, as both wider society and the legal sector can benefit, including students looking to make connections and gain experience. Practical issues that result from this can be easily solved such as having a supervisor to ensure that students offer legal aid of a high quality and oversee the work being done. Therefore, those who oppose pro bono work being made compulsory due to practical issues will find that these are much more easily solved than having to reverse miscarriages of justice resulting from litigants in person. It is time we start seeing people in society as human beings rather than case numbers or documents where individual stories can be forgotten in the details or logistics of a case. This is precisely why pro bono work should not only be compulsory, but highly valued within the legal sector.