Advocate launches new three-year strategy

As the demand for free legal assistance rises, Advocate launches a new strategy to map out three years of growth and development.

Thirty years ago, Advocate began with a part-time administrator and 350 volunteer barristers willing to give their time and expertise for free. We have grown every year since, with our panel of volunteer barristers now standing at over 5,000, and our team of caseworkers spanning every circuit across England and Wales. Recognition of that commitment has grown alongside it, with the number of barristers recognised on the national Pro Bono Recognition List rising by 47% since its formation in 2024.

That growth has been matched, and increasingly outpaced, by need. Since 2021, applications for help with housing law have risen 21%, and applications relating to employment law have risen 48%, as the decline of legal aid, court backlogs from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis combine to push more people further from affordable legal support.

To meet that rising demand, we have launched The Next Chapter: Our Three-Year Strategy 2026–2029. The strategy sets three aims: helping more people move through the legal system with confidence, helping more barristers engage with pro bono, and building an organisation resilient enough to meet the demands of the next three decades. It follows a research period drawing on staff insight, casework data, and conversations with partners, including the Bar Council and LawWorks.

Leading us through this next chapter is our new chief executive, Christopher Stacey, who succeeds Rebecca Wilkie, who led Advocate for a total of 12 years across two separate periods. Christopher joins from Prisoners Abroad, where he was chief executive for three years, and previously held senior roles at both Clinks and Unlock, focused on criminal justice and social exclusion. He will lead the delivery of the new strategy, working to ensure we continue to grow our support for those who need it most as demand for free legal assistance continues to rise.

Christopher Stacey, Chief Executive of Advocate, said:

"Advocate's 30th anniversary is an opportunity not only to celebrate three decades of achievement, but also to look ahead. Demand for help continues to grow, while too many people still struggle to access legal support when they need it most.

Our new strategy, The Next Chapter, sets out a vision for how Advocate can respond to that challenge: supporting more applicants, engaging more barristers in pro bono work, and building an organisation ready for the future.

It is a privilege to join Advocate as chief executive at such an important moment in its history. I look forward to working with our volunteer barristers, partners and supporters across England and Wales to strengthen access to justice and ensure that Advocate continues to make a difference for decades to come."

To mark the milestone, we have also published Advocate and the Bar: celebrating 30 years of access to justice – a brochure charting our history from 1996 to today, bringing together reflections from across the Bar and the judiciary.

The Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, The Right Honourable the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, said:

“As Advocate celebrates 30 years of service, the judiciary recognises the vital contribution that the Bar has made to access to justice through its pro bono work. It is a huge credit to practitioners that, over three decades, they have given up their time freely to support the most vulnerable members of society in need of Advocate’s services.”