Law firms' proudest pro bono moments of 2012

National Pro Bono Week is upon us once again. The annual campaign, sponsored by the Bar Council, the Law Society, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, and the College of Law, kicked off with a Law Society debate on Monday titled, "Is something always better than nothing?" A good question.

"Pro bono should not, in a modern, democratic society which values the rule of law, be a replacement for a properly funded legal system," John Wotton, former Law Society president, said earlier this year, shortly after the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (Laspo) was passed. "But there should always be a place for the provision of legal skills and services on a pro bono basis to ensure that all members of that society have recourse to the law, should they need it."