Counsel Magazine

Lord Goldsmith QC has expressed concern that budgets for pro bono and voluntary advice sector budgets are falling just as the recession is increasing demand.

Addressing the National Pro Bono Conference, in London in November, he emphasised the need for lawyers to seek pro bono costs
orders, pointing out that they produced a “double win” for pro bono clients by generating new funds to support other pro bono work in the future. Lawyers needed to be “creative” to fi nd other means of funding, such as unclaimed client accounts. “This sector is stretched to capacity, swamped by an ever increasing demand and an ever decreasing budget,” he said.