Pro Bono Charter

The Pro Bono Charter is a public statement that we invite law firms, in-house teams and alternative business structures to sign. Signing the charter shows your practice is committed to improving access to justice.

See our list of signatories

Benefits of signing the charter

• Invitations to our pro bono forums where you’ll have the opportunity to help shape the pro bono agenda
• A three-month trial membership of LawWorks, including access to their online information and resources
• Eligibility for nomination for our award for Excellence in Pro Bono

How to sign the charter

You can sign the Pro Bono Charter using the form below. You’ll need to nominate someone at your firm to be your pro bono contact.

Eligibility

You can sign the charter if you’re working for a Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)-regulated organisation, or your organisation employs a practising, SRA-regulated individual who's managing your pro bono programme.

By signing the charter, your organisation agrees it:

• is (or will be) developing a pro bono programme
• has endorsed the joint pro bono protocol, and
• will provide a contact responsible for pro bono

If you’re not sure if your organisation qualifies to join, contact our pro bono policy adviser, Valerie Robertson.

Statement of commitment to the Pro Bono Charter

We believe that a commitment to access to justice is at the heart of the legal profession and that pro bono work, as one method of achieving this, is an integral part of the working lives of solicitors.

Pro bono legal work is always only an adjunct to, and not a substitute for, a proper system of publicly funded legal services. Pro bono acts as an adjunct to state funded services, which provides an exceptionally important contribution to society, helping many vulnerable people, families on lower incomes, charities and international communities, whose legal needs would otherwise be left unmet.

We recognise that at all stages throughout their career, solicitors have the capacity to use their professional expertise to help those with legal needs and we will strive to encourage a commitment to pro bono throughout the solicitor profession.

Accordingly, we will:

• strive to achieve best practice in our pro bono work, for individuals and organisations, who require legal advice in order to access justice but who cannot afford it
• support the development of best practice in pro bono by sharing examples of practical activities and advice, as appropriate
• work with other Charter signatories to develop and adopt future protocols and best practice guidance that support the practical implementation of the aims of this Pro Bono Charter
• endeavour to contribute a biennial report on pro bono – for example, providing data and/or case studies – the content of the report and form of data to be decided following consultation with Charter signatories
• take responsibility for meeting our Pro Bono Charter commitments

As a minimum sign of commitment to pro bono, we agree that we have (or are developing):

• a pro bono policy
• an identified person or committee responsible for pro bono work
• endorsed the joint pro bono protocol

Signing up to the Pro Bono Charter is easy and applications can be made using the form below. You'll need to supply details of a pro bono identified contact.

For enquiries about the charter, please contact our pro bono policy advisor, Valerie Robertson.