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Lifesaving lawyering

26 September 2025 / Bea Rossetto
Issue: 8132 / Categories: Features , Profession , Pro Bono , Charities , Training & education , Housing
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Commercial lawyers can make a real impact to those who need legal support the most—no specialist expertise required. Bea Rossetto introduces General Practice Pro Bono
  • General Practice Pro Bono uses everyday legal skills to deliver vital help for people facing housing and social welfare issues.

When people think of pro bono work, they often assume it requires deep subject matter expertise, in areas such as housing, family, immigration, or welfare. Understandably, many lawyers can be hesitant to get involved in cases outside their usual fee-earning practice, whether due to their unfamiliarity with the area of law, or simply not knowing where to start. But the reality is that many of the tasks required don’t demand retraining or niche legal knowledge to make a difference to someone’s case. What they do require are skills you already have: legal analysis and problem solving; drafting and document review; client communication; strategic decision-making; procedural awareness; and legal research.

At the National Pro Bono Centre, we call this ‘General Practice Pro Bono’. It’s about

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

Blake Morgan managing partner appointed chair of CBI South-East Council

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Commercial dispute resolution team welcomes partner in Cambridge

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Firm strengthens international funds capability with senior hire

NEWS
The proposed £11bn redress scheme following the Supreme Court’s motor finance rulings is analysed in this week’s NLJ by Fred Philpott of Gough Square Chambers
In this week's issue, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, surveys another eclectic fortnight in procedure. With humour and humanity, he reminds readers that beneath the procedural dust, the law still changes lives
Generative AI isn’t the villain of the courtroom—it’s the misunderstanding of it that’s dangerous, argues Dr Alan Ma of Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Law Society in this week's NLJ
James Naylor of Naylor Solicitors dissects the government’s plan to outlaw upward-only rent review (UORR) clauses in new commercial leases under Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, in this week's NLJ. The reform, he explains, marks a seismic shift in landlord-tenant power dynamics: rents will no longer rise inexorably, and tenants gain statutory caps and procedural rights
Writing in NLJ this week, James Harrison and Jenna Coad of Penningtons Manches Cooper chart the Privy Council’s demolition of the long-standing ‘shareholder rule’ in Jardine Strategic v Oasis Investments
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