Law Society offers pro bono support after terror attack
'We will be here whenever and for as long as we are needed,' says Joe Egan
The Law Society has convened a panel of solicitors firms to advise anyone affected by last week’s terror attack in Parsons Green on a pro bono basis.
Participating law firms have signed up to a protocol guaranteeing ‘consistent, high quality, relevant pro bono legal advice’ for everyone that uses the panel.
Law Society president Joe Egan said: “Anyone who finds they need legal advice as a result of a terror attack in England and Wales can get pro bono legal advice from solicitors on our panel.
“Some people will have complex legal needs arising from a terror attack – some of which may not be immediately apparent. We will be here whenever and for as long as we are needed.”
Victim Support and the Legal Aid Agency are briefed to refer those requiring legal advice to the panel.
Egan added: “The Law Society offers its greatest sympathy to anyone caught up in this terror incident, or those that have occurred in recent months.”
The bomb attack took place on a District Line train as it pulled into the station in the leafy south west London suburb at 8.20am last Friday morning.
The partially detonated bucket bomb was left in a Lidl bag on a carriage and flashed a fire cloud through the packed train.
At least 30 people were left injured following the explosion and resulting stampede as people attempted to evacuate the station.
It is not the first time the Law Society has backed such initiatives. It teamed up with pro bono charity LawWorks and the City of London Law Society to offer pro bono advice to people bereaved and injured in the terror attack at London Bridge in June.
Later that month, a similar pro bono initiative was set up by housing charity Shelter, North Kensington Law Centre, and the Housing Law Practitioners Association in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire.
A Law Society spokesperson told Solicitors Journal that the representative body had been devising the pro bono panel initiative for some time but that the “backroom mechanics” of ensuring the right people benefitted from the system had made it a relatively complicated process.
Law firms wishing to volunteer for the Parsons Green pro bono initiative should email londonprobono@lawsociety.org.uk.
Hannah Gannagé-Stewart, reporter
hannah.gannage-stewart@solicitorsjournal.co.uk