Advocate hold sold out Christmas Carol Concert fundraiser with LawWorks for pro bono

Hundreds of people joined Advocate and LawWorks for our eighth annual Christmas Carol Concert, Carols for Pro Bono.

(Pictured: Sharif A. Shivji KC, Advocate Chairman, giving the opening address)

The event has long been a festive highlight for the legal community to come together to end the Michaelmas term and get ready for the Christmas break. This year was no exception, with tickets selling out over a month in advance of the event.  

 Thanks to the generosity of our 500+ guests, over £24,000 was raised. These funds will be split equally between the two pro bono charities, enabling us to continue our work connecting people who are experiencing legal crises with barristers and solicitors who give up their time for free. 

We are very grateful for our line-up of celebrity guests giving readings including the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lady Carr, who read two Christmas excerpts from Jane Austen’s work.

(Pictured: The Lady Chief Justice, The Right Honourable the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill)

We were also pleased to have humorous readings by radio presenter and lead singer of Elbow Guy Garvey, and BBC legal drama actor Neil Stuke. Guy read Nativity by a Primary School Inspector, and Neil read Remembrance of Christmas Past by Judith Viorst. 

(Pictured: Singer, songwriter and radio presenter Guy Garvey performing his reading)

(Pictured: Actor Neil Stuke, performing his reading)

We were delighted to have musical performances from Chamber choir Collegium Musicum, as well as unique flute and piano pair Duo Melus, who ended the evening with a beautiful rendition of Walking in the Air. 

Sharif A. Shivji KC, our Chairman, and Lord Peter Goldsmith KC, Chair of Trustees at LawWorks and Advocate Founder, spoke on the importance of giving through the profession this Christmas. Sharif cited some of the life-changing cases that Advocate have assisted on this year, noting: “The cases that our volunteer barristers act in may not be front page news, but they are the main story for the people involved. They may well make the difference between keeping or losing a home, ensuring that parents can see their children, or making sure that an employer pays the wage that they agreed to pay.” 

(Pictured: Sharif A.Shivji KC, Advocate Chairman, giving his address)

Thank you to our headline sponsors Hewetson & Co, Opus 2 and Harbour Underwriting, and to Temple Church and Temple Music Foundation for making this event possible for another year. Finally, thank you to everyone who came along to support the gift of pro bono this Christmas!