How pro bono work got me into the Court of Appeal: Anirudh Mandagere
“I would never have had the opportunity to be in the Court of Appeal without taking up that pro bono case.”
Anirudh Mandagere of Deka Chambers, called in 2019, specialises in civil and public law. Since 2022, he has taken on more than 10 pieces of pro bono work through Advocate. Anirudh is recognised on the 2026 Pro Bono Recognition List of England and Wales for taking on over 25 hours of pro bono work in the last year.
In the piece below, Anirudh shares how pro bono work allowed him to be instructed in the Court of Appeal. Through Advocate, Anirudh acted for the appellant, and the appeal was allowed. Below he describes how despite the challenges, it was an incredibly fulfilling case to work on. He encourages more barristers to undertake pro bono work through Advocate to expand their professional horizons.
The benefits of pro bono for clients are significant. Even if you cannot afford to invest much time, even an hour here or there – for example to review a witness statement or amend particulars of claim – it can have a hugely positive impact on an unrepresented person. Equally, I have found that pro bono has genuinely helped my practice. It was due to pro bono work that I was instructed in front of the Court of Appeal.
The appeal of Roberts v Jones [2024] EWCA Civ 118 concerned the operation of CPR 71. The focus of appeal related to an order in which the judgment creditor was present. At the hearing below, the debtor admitted her failings to attend and was sentenced for 14 days’ imprisonment for six months. The appellant was given no notice of the fact that the debtor had been arrested and brought to a court pursuant to a bench warrant. The appellant, who was then unrepresented, was granted permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal on four grounds.
I found this case on the pro bono list which is updated on the Advocate website. I took the case, but was immediately struck by the complexity of the case. In light of this, I ended up seeking a leader from chambers. In my experience leaders in chambers are willing to help juniors out for a good cause.
I would never have had the opportunity to be in the Court of Appeal without taking up that pro bono case. I owe an absolute debt of gratitude to my leader, Simon Butler, for allowing me to take one of the grounds and undertake advocacy in the Court of Appeal. It was scary, but it was an experience which (after some time) I ended up enjoying. It was a case which was intellectually challenging. However, because it was an appeal on a discrete point, it was a relatively self-contained piece of work compared to a long trial.
We succeeded in the appeal, and the matter was remitted back to the County Court. The Court of Appeal judgment has since been cited in the commentary to the White Book and was profiled in Civil Procedure News. I’ve found that pro bono has genuinely helped my practice. I do not for one moment claim that I have the perfect balance or the perfect practice. I just think that it has helped me to develop my skills and developed my practice. It allows you to expand your horizons and find interesting work. If you browse through Advocate’s case list, you can see the range of cases and practice areas which may not be prevalent in your chambers. It provides an opportunity to appear in different tribunals and courts and learn different skills and approaches.
- Anirudh Mandagere, Deka Chambers
Find out more about taking on pro bono work through Advocate.