Case Study: RCJ Advice Bureau

The Citizens Advice Bureau ("CAB") at the Royal Courts of Justice ("RCJ") offers free legal advice to litigants-in-person on a session-by-session basis. Most of the clients who attend for advice are already involved in the legal process and often require advice on procedure and grounds for appeal on a wide variety of legal issues. Advisers provide legal advice and practical support during the sessions and may also place clients in touch with legal aid law firms or other pro bono schemes for further assistance.

We join several other law firms in providing a rota of qualified volunteer lawyers known as Honorary Legal Advisers to work alongside the CAB's staff and advisers. Our volunteers are drawn from our Dispute Resolution group.

This work can be challenging but our volunteers find the CAB a rewarding experience; it is an opportunity to help individuals, who would otherwise find it impossible to obtain legal advice, to protect their legal rights. Judges are very appreciative of the service offered by the CAB in ensuring that litigants-in-person have advice on how the legal system operates and how to present their cases.

Our commitment to the RCJ Advice Bureau is underpinned by the involvement of Sarah Lee, one of our Dispute Resolution partners, as an RCJ Advice Bureau trustee, and by the annual donation we offer to help cover the costs of this important work. We have also extended our volunteer involvement to include ad hoc support from our Costs department, to help litigants resolve issues relating to costs awards made during their litigation.