It is hard to imagine a more pertinent time for the UK legal industry to be recognising Pro Bono Week, and the abiding importance of providing free legal support to protect the rights of vulnerable people.

The past year has seen an unwelcome preponderance of crises and emergencies which have called for legal professionals to respond urgently to help those affected and ensure access to justice. These have included both global and domestic issues, from the ongoing fallout of the Afghanistan withdrawals;  the Russian invasion of Ukraine; the international climate emergency and migrant crises; and the economic and cost of living crisis at home.

With basic rights under threat from so many sides, the need and scope for lawyers to engage has never appeared greater, and it is heartening that the legal community continues to seek to assist those most in need.

However, this raises the important question of how lawyers can be equipped with the knowledge and skills they require to respond effectively. This is particularly the case at a time when the diversity of challenges is so great, meaning that a correspondingly broad legal skill set is required.

Our own experience as a firm tells us that there is no single solution and that a multi-dimensional approach is the approach most likely to be effective.

Pro bono as part of the fabric

In 2020, Jenner & Block made a five-year pledge to provide $250m (approximately £220m at current exchange rates) in free legal services to those in need of access to justice. This latest pro bono commitment is our most ambitious to date, but it also reflects the core values which drove the firm’s first pro bono programme, delivered by members of the US practice in the 1950s. These same values were inherited by the London office when we opened in 2015 and this commitment to pro bono continues to be part of the firm’s cultural fabric today. All of our lawyers are expected to devote significant time each year to pro bono matters, and this has helped ensure that, over time, many of our people have developed expertise in a range of areas where clients often require assistance on a pro bono basis. For example, in the areas of asylum and immigration law, child protection, the rights of workers overseas and UK state benefits.

So part of the answer can be found in developing a broad pro bono practice in which everyone is invested and plays a role.

Specialist training

Inevitably, however, and whatever experience people might already hold, there will be cases that involve issues or areas of law which are unfamiliar or sometimes completely new to the team. In these situations, there is always the option of referring the client to another lawyer who does have the requisite skill set, and this option should always be considered first as it will often be the best option for the client, particularly in situations where time is of the essence. There are, however, some cases where the necessary skills can be developed as part of working on the matter, subject always to appropriate supervision.

A good example of one such area is the work that our lawyers in London have been doing representing clients whose employment or disability benefits have been reduced or removed. Working with the University House Legal Advice Centre, we regularly help clients prepare appeals and attend tribunal hearings. When we began this work, only one or two of our team had previously handled such appeals. These team members helped train colleagues, working alongside them during the course of appeals, to ensure that more of us could become involved. In addition, we have developed a database of precedent materials and templates that means those who are new to this kind of work do not need to begin with a blank sheet of paper. Today, most of our partners and associates handle benefits appeals, having acquired the necessary experience and skills internally, and most appeals we handle are successful.

Working with others

Whilst collaborating with one another in this way is certainly part of the answer, we also work together with other organisations to combine resources, skill sets and experience where necessary.

For instance, Jenner & Block in London has built relationships with fantastic organisations such as Advocates for International Development, Legal Advice Centre (University House), Lawyers Without Borders, TrustLaw and the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation. In 2023, we hope to initiate new partnerships with two further organisations, helping clients in the fields of immigration and domestic violence. This kind of collaboration and partnership can and should extend to include other law firms, barristers’ chambers, and in-house practitioners where there is the opportunity to combine skillsets and experience to ensure the client receives the best possible collective support.

Over the past year, Jenner & Block has worked in partnership with the remarkable immigration team at Kingsley Napley and barrister Helen Foot of Garden Court Chambers, to provide pro bono assistance to a senior Afghan female judge and her adult son at immediate and serious risk of Taliban retaliation. Last year, we brought applications for our client and her son to relocate to the UK to be reunited with their British family members (including our client’s nephew who works for the British civil service). After a ten-month delay, the Government denied their applications and we have since lodged an appeal on human rights and humanitarian grounds – a process that will take more time, and further collaboration.

Many people in our industry genuinely want to do what they can to help the increasing number of people in our communities who are so less fortunate and whose fundamental needs are not being met. It is often a reason why we become lawyers. What is more, we have seen how, when it works properly, the law can play a significant role in helping protect the most vulnerable and provide them with a voice in the face of opposition, persecution or simply indifference. Today’s myriad crises demand that practitioners take a holistic approach to pro bono, drawing on collective internal and external talent, to ensure that initiatives get to the heart of the matter and deliver specialised advice to achieve an effective and lasting response.

Christian Tuddenham is a partner and co-chair of the pro bono committee at Jenner & Block