60-second interview: Shirley Marsland

What is the initiative all about?

Will Aid is a will-writing partnership between nine popular charities and solicitors all over Britain. The scheme now runs every year in November, but publicity about the need to make a proper, professional will starts many months before.

Solicitors who sign up undertake to draw up basic wills without charging their normal fee. Clients are asked to make a donation to Will Aid instead of paying for the service; a donation of £90 for a basic single will or £135 for a pair of basic mirror wills is suggested. The money raised goes to ActionAid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Sightsavers and Trocaire.

Will Aid clients are also reminded that they can leave a valuable gift or legacy in their will to any charity.

What's in it for solicitors?

Solicitors sign up to the scheme for a mix of reasons. Many are motivated by the idea of raising money for charity while using their skills and knowledge to give something back to their community. Nobody understands better than a solicitor the security and protection that a properly drawn up will brings to people or indeed the problems, stress and potential hardship that can occur when someone dies without a valid will.

Many practitioners are also drawn to the scheme because our publicity drive not only raises awareness of the importance of having a will but also paints a positive picture of the legal profession in general and participating solicitors.

Our 2012 campaign generated a huge amount of positive publicity, which generated 74,000 enquiries. It also featured on Radio 4's Money Box and 19 local radio programmes (many included interviews with solicitors).

How is it helping generate business?

We surveyed 150 participating solicitors and 85 per cent of respondents said they had gained extra fee-earning business. This additional business can include lasting powers of attorney, trusts and inheritance tax advice; discharges of standard securities; probate work; executorships and conveyancing.

Some solicitors reported that Will Aid was bringing them higher than usual numbers of younger clients, often with young families.

Richard Crowther of Grahame Stowe Bateson in Leeds said the scheme was a "very powerful marketing tool", Mark Harman of Newport-based Glanvilles said it was "excellent for raising the profile of the firm", and Andrew Jones of southern firm Mackrell Turner Garrett said signing up "brings in new clients and they have referred friends and family on to us as well".

How successful has the scheme been for charities since it launched in 1988?

It has made a real difference both to the work of the charities we've supported and to the people our participating solicitors have helped to make a will.

The scheme has written more than 250,000 wills and raised £13.6m in charitable donations. In addition, an estimated £95m has been pledged as gifts in wills to the Will Aid charities.

In 2012, the campaign achieved donation income (with Gift Aid) of nearly £2.1m, plus legacy pledges of £10m. The scheme attracted around 24,000 responses (60 per cent of donations are for pairs of wills) into the offices of 1,444 participating solicitors.

How can solicitors get involved?

They can sign up online.

Shirley Marsland is campaign manager at Will Aid

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