Family Law

WED 24/03/2010 - Thousands of lawyers will be walking the streets on the evening of 17 May to raise funds for free legal advice charities.

In London, over a thousand walkers have already registered for the London legal sponsored walk. Sponsored walks are also taking place on the same evening in Birmingham, Nottingham, Guildford and Newbury.

Funds raised from the walks go towards the London Legal Support Trust who support voluntary sector legal agencies that employ solicitors or retain the services of solicitors as volunteers to provide free legal advice to poor or disadvantaged members of the public.

The ten kilometre walk in London starts from the Royal Courts of Justice in London and proceeds along the Thames past the Tate Modern, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament, around St James Park and finishes at the Law Society on Chancery Lane.

Lawyers from all levels and branches of the profession will take part in the walks. Walk leaders include the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the Presidents of the Law Society and ILEX, and the Chair of the Bar Council.

Notable lawyers already registered include the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Official Solicitor, the Recorder of London and the senior partners of Simmons & Simmons, K&L Gates, Irwin Mitchell and Stephens Finers Innocent as well as a large number of judges from the Court of Appeal and High Court.

The walks aim to raise half a million pounds to fund the law centres. London walk organiser, Bob Nightingale says: "The need for legal advice agencies has become even greater with the recession. Housing, debt, employment and benefits advice are all areas of law that have seen a dramatic increase over the past 18 months. The resources for providing that advice haven't grown. So it is wonderful that lawyers from across the profession will turn out to support the advice agencies.

"With 160 teams and well over a thousand walkers at 8 weeks to go we are ahead of last year's build-up to the London walk, which raised £390,000".

For further information visit the London Legal Support Trust's website.