Partner schemes

On 4 December 2013, the Chancery Bar Association, in collaboration with Advocate (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit) and the RCJ Advice Bureau, launched the Chancery Bar Litigant in Person Support Scheme (CLIPS). CLIPS has the strong support of the Chancellor and the Judges of the Chancery Division, and is also works alongside Support Through Court and LawWorks.  It aims to provide “on the day” advice and representation for litigants in person in the Interim Applications Court of the Business and Property Courts. The scheme is intended to assist litigants in presenting their cases to the court, while at the same time assisting the Interim Applications Judge to serve the interests of justice. In this way, members of COMBAR, TECBAR, PBA, ELBA, SAHCA as well as the ChBA can contribute to the Bar’s efforts to ensure that access to justice is not hampered by an individual’s limited financial means.

Members of the above associations with post-pupillage Chancery experience are invited to volunteer to be on duty for a day at a time. The RCJ Advice Bureau may in some cases make papers available to the barrister the day before the hearing but in most cases the volunteer will simply be available outside Court 10 in the Rolls Building, between 10 and 11 am on the day of the hearing itself, and then on call in chambers until 4.30 pm, in case a litigant requires assistance. The volunteer will provide such advice as is possible in the immediate circumstances, and will be ready (if requested and if content that it is professionally appropriate) to appear for the litigant at that day’s hearing. The litigant may also receive non-legal support (for example, from the RCJ Advice Bureau or Support Through Court). Where ongoing assistance is required, the volunteer may refer the litigant to the RCJ Advice Bureau or to Advocate. The volunteer’s own commitment is limited to the day in question.

A similar scheme operates in the Business and Property Lists at the County Court at Central London on Fridays only.

To sign up for the rota in either the High Court or CCCL, or to download the supporting documentation, please go to http://probono.chba.org.uk/.

Advocate and the Chancery Bar Association run a scheme where a volunteer barrister will act as a mediator for free in suitable Chancery and commercial cases, including cases that are proceeding in the County Court at Central London as Business & Property work. In order to qualify for the scheme, one of the parties must be unable to afford to pay for a mediator.

What is mediation?

Mediation is a process in which a person who is neutral (the mediator) helps the parties try to settle their dispute. Mediation is:

• Confidential – nothing said by the parties or the mediator during the mediation process will be revealed to the court
• Voluntary – no one can be forced to take part, and no one can be forced to make an agreement

How does the scheme work?

To apply for the scheme, you will need to send an application to Advocate setting out the details of your case and confirming that all the parties agree to mediation.  

If your case is accepted, we will try to find a barrister to act as a mediator for free. Any unrepresented party might also receive free help from another barrister during the mediation.

You can download the application form here.

If you need help completing the form then you can make an appointment with the RCJ Advice at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL by emailing ChanceryMediation@rcjadvice.org or calling 0203 475 4373.

This scheme commenced in January 2020 providing Pro Bono assistance in the London Circuit Commercial Court, and will be extended to the Commercial Court in October 2020. The scheme has the full backing of the respective judges in charge, HHJ Mark Pelling QC and Teare J, and is to be operated (at least initially) by Combar in conjunction with Advocate (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit) for a pilot period of 18 months. The scheme envisages that litigants in person with an application listed for less than a day will be offered the opportunity to seek pro bono assistance. If the case is approved as suitable for assistance by Advocate and a small panel of Combar Committee members, a summary of it will be circulated to a mailing list of willing Combar members. The case will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis to any Combar member who volunteers in response to that email, who then conducts the hearing under licensed access instruction by Advocate. The papers and guidance in relation to the Scheme role will be provided to the barrister in advance of the hearing. Any further assistance beyond the hearing will fall outside the scope of that engagement and be engaged by further application, if at all. 

This scheme will give good opportunities for advocacy before grateful judges, and joining the list does not itself involve a commitment to take on any cases. The CLIPS scheme in the Chancery Division is similar to the Commercial Court and London Central Commercial Court scheme, but the latter differs in important respects: it offers an opportunity to appear in hearings that may be somewhat more substantial than is common in the Chancery Division Applications Court, with papers provided in advance (albeit potentially at short notice) having been vetted by a Combar panel. There are therefore good reasons to offer your time to both schemes. 

The Scheme Protocol can be found here. The Explanatory Note can be found here. The Q&A for Participants can be found here. 

If you are willing to volunteer, please email Veronica or Alison at admin@combar.com, providing your name, chambers (or other place of practice), email address and a contact telephone number. You can withdraw from the mailing list at any time. https://www.combar.com/members-area/clips-pro-bono-schemes/ 

COIN provides free legal help for litigants in person appearing before the winding up court on Wednesdays. We operate from Consultation Room 17 in the High Court, Rolls Building, Fetter Lane, London.

COIN can assist with the following:

• Advice on the law and procedure in the winding up court.
• How to make or respond to a winding up petition.
• Representation on your behalf before the winding up court.
• What will happen after a winding up order is made.
• How to apply for a validation order, rescission/appeal of a winding up order.
• Provide you with guides on how to make the applications and how to write a witness statement.

Coronavirus Update: Litigants in person can contact us via email at companyinsolvency@city.ac.uk, with brief details of your enquiry. We will arrange a conference with a barrister via Zoom.

The ELAAS scheme provides pro bono representation at some preliminary hearings in the Employment Appeal Tribunal. ELAAS is coordinated and managed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal, with input from the Employment Lawyers Bar Association (ELBA) Committee on behalf of ELAAS representatives (barristers and solicitors) who volunteer their services. 

Barristers and solicitors who specialise in employment law, and have sufficient experience of conducting substantive hearings in the Employment Tribunal and/or the Employment Appeal Tribunal are eligible to apply to be ELAAS representatives. Further information about the eligibility criteria to become an ELAAS representative can be found here.

The ELA Pro Bono Committee and Regional ELIPS Co-ordinators have launched an Employment Tribunal Litigant in Person Support Service (ELIPS) online. ELIPS will host twice-monthly online (Zoom) clinics, on the first and third Thursdays in the month (9am-12noon and 1pm-4pm). Clinics will be available to LIPs from any of the 4 participating Tribunals who have a hearing or case management order within two weeks of the date of the clinic. Clinics will be attended by 2 qualified volunteers who will be available to advise LIPs during sessions of 40 minutes each. (Law school students will also attend remotely to assist). In the current climate we are not able to offer representation at hearings.

As a volunteer, you are able to sign up for a morning or afternoon, or for the full day.  Virtual appointments are booked on the hour, meaning that you will see a maximum of 6 clients in one day. There is no preparatory or follow up work to do following your stint for the clinic.

Barrister volunteers must be tenants at a set of chambers. Both employed and self-employed barristers are able to accept instructions to provide legal services from litigants in person via the Advocate licence. As a result of this, self-employed barristers are covered by their own Bar Mutual Insurance Fund scheme insurance. Employed barristers should check if their employer’s insurance extends to pro bono work. If your employer has insurance that permits you to provide legal services to the public you will be covered. If you are an employed barrister and your employer does not have insurance that permits you to provide legal services to the public then Advocate may be able to offer you insurance but you must contact Advocate before you undertake any pro bono work.

If you are interested in volunteering, please email elips@elaweb.org.uk for further information.

Are you a lawyer without a practising certificate who wants to get involved in pro bono work?Lawyers can use their professional skills to provide much-needed help to front-line agencies in the service they give to their clients: triaging cases, taking statements, marshalling documents, working with a specialist, and following up specialist advice.

Not only is this vital for the client but it is of immense benefit to the court, most especially where there is increasing reliance on virtual hearings. There are many barristers willing to provide this sort of assistance, comprising both those in practice and those who have retired but are still keen to keep in touch with the profession, but it has yet to be properly tapped into.

Working with Pro Bono Community, Advocate will be developing a scheme that will properly exploit this valuable resource. If you want to get involved, sign up here.

PILARS provides advice and/or representation for unrepresented debtors or bankrupts in bankruptcy proceedings who need legal assistance but are not entitled to public funding and cannot afford to pay for assistance. Cases must fall into the following categories:

• A creditor’s bankruptcy petition has been presented against the Applicant at a court in England or Wales; or
• The Applicant has been served with a statutory demand with the local court listed as a court in England or Wales and has applied to set it aside or is considering such an application; or
• The Applicant has been adjudged bankrupt and has applied for annulment or is considering such an application at a court in England or Wales; or
• An appeal in such cases.

The scheme operates by matching volunteer barristers with the particular needs of the unrepresented individual. 

Advocate administers the scheme pursuant to a bespoke manual and volunteer barristers are sourced from Advocate’s panel.

For immediate legal assistance call the RCJ Advice Bureau, National Debtline (0808 808 4000) or Business Debtline (or 0800 197 6026). To receive further assistance through PILARS please fill in your Advocate application form here.

Pro Bono Connect was set up by barrister Jamie Goldsmith and is a scheme that aims to connect barristers with firms of solicitors offering assistance in pro bono cases where such support is needed. When a barrister takes on a case through Advocate and they think solicitor assistance would be useful, we can complete a pro bono connect form and see whether any member firms are willing to assist. Help is available in limited areas of law. For more information, see www.probonoconnect.co.uk