New

Guide

Pro bono manual

Explore our practical guide to developing a law firm pro bono programme. Through a mixture of commentary, advice, precedents and background information, the manual provides practical help and advice for law firms, ABS and in-house teams who want to establish, develop or expand their pro bono practices.

03 Nov 2025

5 minutes

The solicitors’ profession in England and Wales has a long history of providing free legal services for both clients in need, and the charitable organisations and NGOs that support them.

The Law Society supports all its members, wherever they practise, to deliver pro bono services.

Solicitors who undertake pro bono work are keen to share knowledge and further the development of pro bono work domestically and internationally.

With their support, we developed a series of resources, including this manual and the:

Historically, legal work provided free of charge for the public good was delivered largely on an ad hoc basis, driven by passionate individuals committed to enabling everyone to get access to justice.

There is now a growing recognition that to maximise the impact of this work – firms, alternative business structures (ABS) and in-house teams must act strategically and collaboratively, to support their solicitors to offer their legal skills free of charge and on a voluntary basis to those who have legal needs that cannot be met in any other way.

The chapters in this manual describe a variety of stages which can develop a pro bono programme that will be sustainable and reliable.

We think it will be particularly useful for those working with other agencies or institutions, whether providing advice, representation or public legal education.

We provide helpful tips, ideas and resources that you can adapt to suit your individual organisation.

We hope that this manual will serve as both a source of practical guidance and inspiration.

About the manual

This manual has been compiled by law firms for law firms, ABS and in-house teams to enhance and support the provision of your pro bono services. This year, the majority of people who helped revise the manual worked in the law school clinic environment.

It draws on the success of the Australian Pro Bono Manual. Like its sister book, it is designed as a practical ‘how to’ guide for the establishment and development of a law firm pro bono programme.

Through a mixture of commentary, advice, precedents and background information, the manual provides practical help and advice for law firms, ABS and in-house teams who want to establish, develop or expand their pro bono practices.

It is your responsibility to follow all Codes of Conduct and regulatory rules and particularly to check that any work that potentially involves a reserved legal activity will only be carried out:

by an authorised person, or
under the supervision of an authorised person, or
by a person who is exempt from the requirement

This is in light of Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] EWHC 2341.

Explore:

While the manual is primarily directed at mid-sized law firms, the largest part in the UK legal sector, we hope these resources will also be of use to smaller firms, individuals, ABS, in-house teams and to large law firms as a best practice reference.

The precedents have generally been rendered anonymous and are included as illustrations and guides. You should adapt or modify these to suit your own requirements.

This manual is complementary to the Pro Bono Guide for In-house Solicitors but includes a section for in-house solicitors, and most of the chapters are applicable to in-house teams.

Topics have, for the most part, been dealt with as stand-alone modules that will be helpful to different firms at different stages of your programmes.

We anticipate that you’ll dip into sections of the manual that are of value and interest to you at various times.

Structure of the manual

Part one

Part one outlines the issues that firms and pro bono coordinators should consider when planning, developing and maintaining a programme.

For example, different models of pro bono work, and how to identify needs related to and sources of work.

Part two

Part two addresses the procedure and practice issues that firms and pro bono coordinators should consider in relation to the management and delivery of pro bono legal services.

For example, casework procedures and risk management.

Part three

Part three contains several helpful precedents that firms can use as a guideline in the development of your own pro bono precedents.

Firms should adapt or modify these to suit your own requirements and to match the parameters of your matter management systems.

Part four

Part four provides further information and resources regarding services and organisations relevant to pro bono work.

The manual should be viewed as a dynamic document. It is not meant to be exhaustive or prescriptive. We are committed to developing it over time.

We encourage users to provide feedback, information and resources so that we can share your experiences with other firms and organisations in updates to this manual.

Unless otherwise stated, the policy and law in this manual are correct as at November 2025.

Abbreviations and glossary

CAB – Citizens Advice Bureau; the former operating name of Citizens Advice.

CFA – conditional fee agreement. A legal funding arrangement where a client only pays for their solicitor’s work on the condition that their case is won and they receive compensation.

Citizens Advice – Citizens Advice (formerly known as Citizens Advice Bureau). A network of independent charities that gives free, confidential information and advice to assist people with money, legal, consumer and other problems.

The UK Collaborative Plan – The UK Collaborative Plan for pro bono (the Collaborative Plan). A profession-led initiative, founded in 2014, in which member firms collaborate with each other in order to improve access to justice through pro bono in the UK.

CPR – civil procedure rules.

CSR – corporate social responsibility.

GC100 – GC100 is the voice of general counsel and company secretaries working in FTSE 100 companies.

LAA – Legal Aid Agency.

Large firms – for the purpose of this resource, a large law firm is considered to be one with more than 25 partners.

LASPO – Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Law centre – a law centre is a not-for-profit legal practice which assists people who cannot afford a lawyer. Law Centres are independent charities that are members of the Law Centres Network.

LCN – Law Centres Network. Law centres are members of the Law Centres Network (trading name of the Law Centres Federation).

Mid-sized law firm – for the purpose of this resource, a mid-sized law firm is considered to be one with between 5-25 partners.

MOU – memorandum of understanding.

NFP/Not-for-profit organisation – a not-for-profit organisation is one that does not operate for the profit, personal gain or other benefit of particular people.

NGO – non-governmental organisation.

The Joint Pro Bono Protocol – The Joint Pro Bono Protocol (the protocol) is a key pro bono definition relevant to firms in the UK, developed under the auspices of the attorney general’s Pro Bono Coordinating Committee.

It is the definition of pro bono that is used throughout this resource. The protocol also sets the standard for pro bono work.

PLE – Public Legal Education. Provides people with awareness, knowledge and understanding of rights and legal issues, together with the confidence and skills they need to deal with disputes and gain access to justice.

It helps people recognise when they may need support, what sort of advice is available and how to go about getting it.

PLE has a further key role in helping citizens to better understand everyday life issues, making better decisions and anticipating and avoiding problems.

Small firm – for the purpose of this resource, a small law firm is considered to be one with fewer than four partners.

Acknowledgements

This manual has been substantially written and compiled by several individuals from law firms, pro bono charities, law schools and other interested bodies.

We are most grateful to the Australian Pro Bono Resource Centre for allowing us to use content and information from their Australian Pro Bono Manual.

Without their support, this manual would not have come into being.

Thanks also to other firms, people and organisations with whom we’ve consulted and who provided ideas and information as the manual developed.