Lawyers in south Wales mark Pro Bono Week UK 2025 with sector-wide roundtable and showcase.

Cardiff & District Law Society (CDLS), the Pro Bono Committee for Wales and LawWorks Cymru hosted a Pro Bono Week UK 2025 roundtable and showcase event today, bringing together lawyers, pro bono leads, law clinics, and representatives from LawWorks Cymru to discuss the future of pro bono provision and engagement in Wales.

The event took place at Watkins & Gunn’s Cardiff office, and was led by Clive Thomas, founder of the CDLS Cardiff Lawyers Care initiative as part of the Pro Bono Week UK 2025 celebrations (running 3 – 7 November 2025) and events (click for more information).

The session featured speakers:

• Craig Court, Partner at Harding Evans and winner of the CDLS Pro Bono Initiative of the Year 2024.

• Clive Thomas, Managing Partner at Watkins & Gunn, Head of Cardiff Lawyers Care, Council Member for The Law Society (South Wales), and member of the Pro Bono Committee for Wales.

• Suzy McGarrity, LawWorks Cymru and member of the Pro Bono Committee for Wales

• Holly Hale, employment lawyer and Pro Bono Champion at Watkins & Gunn.

Attendees and organisers also welcomed Toby Brown, barrister and Chair of the steering group for the Attorney General’s Pro Bono Committee and Chair of Pro Bono Week UK, who attended the event — the only official Pro Bono Week event held in Wales this year.

Attendees shared their insights on how free legal advice clinics and pro bono activities work in Wales, some of the shared challenges and the work of the newly formed Pro Bono Champion network launched by Cardiff & District Law Society and the Pro Bono Committee for Wales.

The Pro Bono Champions initiative aims to help establish at least one point of contact in every legal organisation and in-house team in South Wales, to help keep pro bono on their organisation’s agenda, to help bust some myths over pro Bono activity and to share success stories back to CDLS and the legal press to collectively celebrate the hard work undertaken by individuals and firms in Wales.

Pro Bono Champions – a voluntary role which doesn’t require an individual to be qualified to undertake pro bono legal advice – will also help to signpost those interested in undertaking pro bono to LawWorks Cymru and to support firms looking to establish their own clinics.

Key discussions from the roundtable focused on:

• The importance of collaboration and charity / trusted partnerships to enable lawyers to work with those with unmet legal need.

• The need for clear, defined roles, expectations and pre-clinic information to get the best outcomes for clients.

• The growing role of Pro Bono Champions within firms to keep momentum and awareness alive.

• Recognition opportunities for Welsh lawyers, including the LawWorks Pro Bono Awards (announced 4 December 2025) and the Pro Bono Recognition List (reopening in January 2026).

• Free training and resources available for firms from LawWorks Cymru, including family, welfare benefits and immigration law training, and templates / memorandums of understanding.

As well as an overview of the work and impact of the award-winning Cardiff Lawyers Care initiative, that grabbed positive headline space in the Big Issue earlier this year, case studies were shared by attendees.

This included law firm Harding Evans’ clinic with Tŷ Hafan and a clinic for its LGBTQ+ family clients, demonstrating how clinics can evolve into long-term, life-changing support, and how setting boundaries, shared expectations and good communication is essential for sustainable pro bono work.

A key theme of the event was that anyone in a legal organisation can be a pro bono champion, whether or not they supervise casework. Internal advocacy, myth-busting, and aligning pro bono with firm values were highlighted as vital to keeping access to justice ‘on the agenda’.

Next steps:

• Firms are encouraged to nominate themselves, other lawyers and students to the Pro Bono Recognition List in January for those who have undertaken a minimum of 25 hours of pro bono work within one year.

• More Welsh lawyers and clinics are urged to enter the LawWorks Pro Bono Awards in 2026. 

• CDLS will continue to work with LawWorks Cymru and the Pro Bono Committee for Wales to support the network of Pro Bono Champions across the region. Please contact admin@cardifflaw.org for more information.

• To view all the events and updates from Pro Bono Week UK 2025, click here.

About Pro Bono Week UK

The 24^th Pro Bono Week (3-7 November 2025) is organised by a committee that includes representatives from the legal professional bodies, pro bono charities, law schools and law firms. It aims to encourage members of the legal profession and law students across the four nations of the UK to volunteer their time, as well as highlighting pro bono work and promoting best practice.