Every year, around this time, things get a bit tasty in the legal community. Yes, it’s Great Legal Bake time! This is when budding bakers get together to take part in the Great Legal Bake, hosted by the London Legal Support Trust in partnership with the Access to Justice Foundation. This event encourages those who support access to justice to bake sweet or savoury delights and hold a bake sale at their workplace.
As part of Pro Bono Week (6-10 November), the London Legal Support Trust and Access to Justice Foundation are encouraging you to get yourselves raising funds for free specialist legal advice agencies. Pro Bono Week offers an opportunity to recognise and support the voluntary contribution made by the legal profession across the UK in giving free legal help to those in need.
This year the key themes for Pro Bono Week are:
- Changing lives through pro bono
- Maximising the impact of pro bono
- Pro bono within ESG: from climate to sustainable development
Chair of the Pro Bono Week organising committee, barrister Toby Brown, said: “One of my highlights of Pro Bono Week, amongst the showcasing and discussion of pro bono, are the amazing cakes that get baked across the country as part of the Great Legal Bake! It’s a mixture of having fun baking at home, eating tasty cakes with colleagues, and importantly, raising much needed funds for local advice charities.”
Advice sector organisations are telling us that they are facing a £30million funding gap this year which means that over 40,000 people who are most impacted by the cost of living crisis will potentially go without the advice and assistance they need. With these figures showing how the funding gap has doubled from £15m to £30m in the last year and £10m more than it was in 2020, we know that the cost of living crisis is having a greater impact on the availability of frontline advice than the pandemic.
Last year, bakers showed their zest for the cause and raised over £20,000!
It’s really easy to get involved and every contribution, big or small, makes a real difference.
If you have questions about the bake, please email: signups@llst.org.uk
