Baroness Scotland speaks at the fifth birthday celebrations of the LLST. Picture © Elizabeth Woodroffe

The London Legal Support Trust (LLST) celebrated five years of existence at a reception attended by senior judiciary and other supporters last week. The LLST raises funds to support specialist legal services in London. Over the past five years, it has helped keep the doors of several advice centres open, including some Law Centres® facing funding problems.

One of the LLST’s main sources of income is an annual sponsored walk around the centre of London. This has now been replicated across the country. Walks were held this year in various places including Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle.

Speaking at the reception, Baroness Scotland, the Attorney-General, said: ‘This year on the London walk, 4,100 walkers raised over £380,000.’ She also paid tribute to the efforts of the Trust founders and the legal profession in: ‘ … raising money to support services providing access to justice for the poorest in our society’.

Some of the Law Centres which the LLST has supported have got into financial difficulties because of the change to fixed fees in the legal aid system. Until October 2008, most not-for-profit organisations were paid for blocks of work while solicitors’ firms were paid hourly rates. All legal aid providers are now paid a fixed fee. Some have gained from the change, while agencies like Law Centres, which tend to take on more complex cases, have found it difficult to adapt. In London, at least they have the LLST to fall back on, but it is finding it difficult to keep up with the demand for grants.

Tags: barristers, Law Centres, legal services, London Legal Support Trust, solicitors