London to walk for justice

Over 8,000 lawyers, including over 100 judges and magistrates, are set to march in London to raise vital funds for free legal services in London and the South East.

The annual London Legal Walk, organised by the London Legal Support Trust (LLST) and sponsored by the Law Society, is one of several legal charity walks taking place around the country.

The independent charity expects the 2015 London walk to see thousands of legal professionals take to the streets to walk 10km and raise much needed money for free legal advice agencies.

Over 500 teams comprised of solicitors, barristers, legal executives, and thousands of other professionals working in London's legal sector have signed up for the charity walk which will be held on 18 May.

Lead walkers will include Lord Neuberger, the president of the Supreme Court, Lord Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice, and Alison Saunders CB, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

LLST chief executive, Bob Nightingale, said: 'The London Legal Walk is one of the few times of the year when the legal sector, from barristers chambers, to law firms, to legal publishers, judges and anyone with even the slightest link to law in London, come together for one very important cause - to raise funds in unison to help people get access to free specialist legal advice.

Nightingale explained how the LLST has seen first-hand how government austerity measures have impacted on access to justice for ordinary people struggling to find affordable legal advice.

'Legal advice charities, have felt the full brunt of not only legal aid cuts, but also cuts to council funding, which means people looking to voluntary advice agencies for help have fewer options. The money raised by the sponsored 10km walk will go some way to meeting the needs of the most vulnerable of those people,' he said.

Since the first London Legal Walk in 2005 - at which 330 walkers raised £37,000 - the LLST has held events and raised donations totalling more than £4m, all of which has come via the legal profession.

2014 was a record breaking year for the London Legal Walk with participants raising more than £560,000 for more than 80 organisations.

Last year, SJ's editor at large, Kevin Poulter, led a seven-strong SJ team along the 10km-course and raised £771. In 2015 the SJ team will be doing it all again and aim to raise £1,000 for the LLST.

Donations are welcome here.

Follow our live updates on Twitter (#legalwalk) from 5pm on 18 May, and tweet your photos and stories if you're taking part in any of the walks across the UK.