30 Years of Advocate

Advocate was founded in 1996 by Lord Goldsmith KC as the Bar Pro Bono Unit, with 350 volunteer barristers. 30 years on, over 5,000 legal professionals across England and Wales give their time and expertise to those who need it most.

To mark our 30th anniversary, we asked panel members and reviewers, members of the judiciary, clerks, trustees and friends of Advocate to tell the story of the past three decades in their own words. They look back at the world we began in, and at how Advocate grew from an organisation where documents were posted at the end of the day to one with digitised core processes.

Our panel members share what they’ve gained by taking on Advocate cases, from expanding their areas of practice to appearing in the Supreme Court. Our board of trustees look to Advocate’s future, and to how our new strategy will build the foundations we need to continue delivering high-quality, free legal assistance as the Bar's national pro bono charity.