National Pro Bono Week: Using legal expertise to strengthen communities

As part of National Pro Bono Week, we're celebrating the impact our people make by providing legal support to organisations working at the heart of their communities.

At Foot Anstey, we're building a stronger culture of pro bono by creating opportunities for our lawyers to use their expertise in ways that benefit charities, social enterprises and community organisations. Over the past year, we've expanded our pro bono activity through partnerships including Pro Bono Connect and the UK Collaborative Plan for Pro Bono, while continuing our support for the West of England Pro Bono Committee.

One recent example is our work with Newham Community Law Project, a newly established organisation dedicated to improving access to legal advice in areas such as immigration, asylum and public law.

As the organisation prepared to open its new premises, our Commercial team provided pro bono advice on its licence arrangements. We reviewed the allocation of health and safety responsibilities between the Law Centre and its landlord and identified a practical solution that provided greater clarity without requiring the wider agreement to be renegotiated.

Working closely with the client, we prepared a side letter setting out each party's responsibilities, which was subsequently agreed by the landlord. The result was a clear framework that will help Newham Community Law Project manage its premises with confidence as it begins delivering services to the local community.

The value of this support is best reflected in the feedback from the organisation itsel 'As a new organisation with limited funds, it was extremely helpful for Newham Community Law Project to be able to access pro bono support from Foot Anstey. Tamzin Robson provided advice on our new office licence agreement and drafted a side letter setting out important health and safety information. This kind of support plays a vital role for the not-for-profit sector.'

Reflecting on the matter, Tamzin Robson, Associate at Foot Anstey, said 'Pro bono work gives us the opportunity to use our specialist experience to support organisations that may not otherwise have access to that advice. In this case, it was particularly rewarding to support a new Law Centre whose own purpose is to improve access to legal advice in an area where there is significant unmet need.'

National Pro Bono Week represents an opportunity to recognise the role that legal expertise can play in strengthening communities and helping organisations achieve their goals. We are proud to have supported Newham Community Law Project at a significant stage in its development and look forward to continuing to use our skills and experience to create positive impact beyond our day-to-day client work.

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