Providing free legal representation for the public
and advocacy experience for junior lawyers
FRU held its AGM on Thursday 16th October. We are pleased to announce the new committee members are Andrew Watson as Chair of the committee, James Quelch as Secretary and Liam Sabec as Treasurer. The general committee members are Charlotte Bull, Allison Crabtree, Jessica Harris and Adam Ross.
The 13th annual National Pro Bono Week (NPBW), sponsored by the Law Society, the Bar Council and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx), will take place between 3 - 7 November 2014. The aim of the week is to celebrate the breadth and impact of pro bono work undertaken by the legal profession across the year.
Matthew Sellwood, one of our seven management committee members, is currently walking across Britain from Land’s End to John O' Groats to raise money for FRU.
Matthew hopes to have completed the 1100 miles by the end of August.
We are very grateful to Matthew for taking on this epic task on behalf of FRU.
Please support Matthew in his journey here https://www.justgiving.com/MattWalksBritain/.
A big thank you to all 8,000 lawyers who turned out for the London Legal Walk on 19 May. FRU’s team was just one of over 500 teams who walked the 10km circuit, and raised more than £500,000 for the London Legal Support Trust.
The funds raised are distributed to advice providers across London and the South East, including FRU. We’re very grateful for the support.
Donations can still be made, and you can still get involved in a range of fundraising activities which will take place across the South East over the year: check out their excellent website for more details: http://londonlegalsupporttrust.org.uk/our-events/
This is one of a network of Trusts operating across England and Wales, supporting pro bono and advice services more generally. More information can be found from the Access to Justice Foundation who work with all of the Trusts. Many of FRU’s volunteers are based outside London and the South East: if you would like to get involved in raising funds in your region, you can find out more here: http://www.accesstojusticefoundation.org.uk/regional-trusts/
A big thank you to our 5 marathon runners who together raised over £5,500 for FRU.
Running 26.2 miles in the blistering heat is no mean feat – walking half that distance is a big deal in FRU’s book – so we are deeply impressed by our runners’ achievement. And while it’s not about the winning, but the taking part, particular congratulations are due to Ben Cooper who broke the 4 hour mark and completed the race in a very speedy 3 hours and 47 minutes (and a few seconds).
A big thank you also, to all who supported and encouraged our runners. All donations meant a great deal to the runners, and to us.
First Up: Sean Jones QC of 11KBW (Completed in 4hr 58min 52sec)
A trustee of FRU, this is Sean’s 10th Marathon, and in his own words “What has got me out onto the streets again is FRU. At a time when access to representation and, therefore, access to justice is getting harder, the Unit helps those who most need it whilst helping to train the professional advocates of the future.”
http://www.justgiving.com/FlabbyQC
Second Up: Adam Ohringer of Cloisters Chambers (Completed in 4hr 31min 28sec)
In the the words of Michael Reed “Adam is an ex-FRU volunteer, current barrister and all around good egg.” Adam says that he is running for FRU because “If FRU wasn't there, countless of individuals would be going to court on their own without advice, representation or even some help to carry the files. Think of that as the legal equivalent of removing your own appendix. It can be done but.....”
http://www.justgiving.com/Adam-Ohringer
Third Up: Michael Reed of FRU (Completed in 5hr 21 min 45sec)
FRU’s trusted Employment law Principal Legal Officer, this will be Michael’s 5th or 6th or possibly 7th marathon for FRU...
http://www.justgiving.com/Reed14
Fourth Up: Elizabeth Forrester of Birnberg Peirce & Partners (Completed in 4hr 45min 27sec)
According to Elizabeth: "I worked at FRU for a year as assistant legal officer from 20011-2012 and volunteered before and since then. While I was there I was talked into doing the marathon by a trusted principal legal officer (employment) who will remain nameless and it was so much fun that I did it again last year. This year will make it a hatrick- and any encouragement in the form of donations or cheering are very welcome."
http://www.justgiving.com/Elizabeth-Forrester1
Please support them with your words of encouragement and any donation you can give!
Last Up: Ben Cooper of Old Square Chambers (Completed in 3hr 47min 45sec)