Taking on pro bono work with Advocate
Advocate works with barristers who kindly choose to offer their time, skills and expertise to provide pro bono legal advice, drafting, mediation assistance and representation to those who need it most.
Why and how to take on pro bono work with Advocate
Barristers with a practising certificate, from their second six all the way to KC can sign up to browse pro bono cases with Advocate. Click here to sign up.
This is what you need to know:
- All of our cases have had their merit and need approved by our senior barristers who review the case.
- The cab rank rule does not apply - it is completely your choice what to take and when.
- After you express interest in a case, you have 48 hours to decide whether you would like to take it on. There is no obligation to commit, even once you have reviewed the papers.
- You only take on the piece of work authorised, there is no obligation to continue with the whole case should you not wish to.
- You have the opportunity to work in areas of law outside of your usual practice.
- You operate under Advocate’s direct access licence.
- You can receive mentoring on the cases you work on with Advocate, via our mentoring scheme Collaborate.
Read our stories from the Bar to hear more about some of the barristers who already give back and why they do.
Further information
See our "How to volunteer with Advocate" guide and make sure to check out our useful guides for pro bono work page, which contains useful information tailored for different groups across the Bar on how they can engage and be supported in undertaking pro bono work.
There are a number of schemes available to support barristers in taking on pro bono work, including:
- Collaborate, our case-based mentoring scheme, which barristers can register their interest in when taking on a case with us.
- Pro Bono Connect, a network for matching barristers and solicitors willing to work together on pro bono cases.
- Pro Bono Expert Support, a scheme designed to provide litigation support services to barristers taking on pro bono cases to help in areas including translation (document and interpretation), costs, strategic communications, expert witnesses and investigations free of charge. This scheme is jointly delivered by the National Pro Bono Centre and Pro Bono Connect.
Some pro bono clients may have problems that pro bono barristers cannot help with. Find out more about signposting clients to other help and see our signposting page for a list of organisations and resources that may be useful.
If we have not answered your query here, please do not hesitate to contact our team.
“The judiciary recognises the critical contribution that the Bar makes to access to justice through its pro bono work. It is a huge credit to practitioners that they are willing to give up their time for free to help the most vulnerable members of society”.
Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, The Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill
“You can find yourself working hard. Then devoting yourself to your family. Then being in great demand. And then realise that you left something behind. You left some people out. Vulnerable people. You personally could have made a difference.
Advocate can help you make that difference, to make that promise of shared commitment to devote some of our work to the service of the most vulnerable.
If you make that promise today, you will remember it. It will always celebrate this time. It may bring gratitude from someone you have helped that has a quality you will not experience elsewhere.”
Sir Robin Knowles CBE, Joint President of Advocate
