A national partnership working together to improve the experience of people facing the legal process alone by improving access to information, practical support, advice and representation.
Partners in the Support Strategy
The four main recipients of MOJ funding under the Support Strategy (PSU, RCJ Advice, LawWorks and Law for Life)
Two other organisations with a significant strategic role in supporting LIPs (Bar Pro Bono Unit and the Access to Justice Foundation)
Regional organisations in receipt of annual grants
What have we achieved so far?
Since 2014 we have worked together to improve the lives of vulnerable people facing court proceedings. Our achievements include providing resources to over a million people via the Advicenow website, providing free legal advice to 53,000 people (per annum) through pro bono advice sessions, and providing practical and emotional support to nearly 50,000 litigants in person (per annum) at court. Last year nearly 10,000 volunteers, many of them legal professionals, donated their time through the strategy and helped to ensure that we maximise our resources to deliver quality and appropriate services to as many people as possible.
How do we plan to increase our impact in the future?
We are looking at new ways of delivering services – providing support by phone and email to reach more people at court, development of pro bono skype clinics to extend services into rural areas, Improving our referral systems to include unbundled and affordable legal advice options. Where people have access to funding whether that is legal aid, legal expenses insurance or private funding, we will refer them onto appropriate providers, ensuring that the already overstretched advice and pro bono sectors are focusing on those people who really need their services. Likewise where litigants in person are able to obtain help through online resources, we will make these resources as accessible and well publicised as possible as well as working to fill any gaps in what is available. We have also set up a network to support professionals working in this sector. You can join via the website: www.lipnetwork.org.uk
We raise funds creatively. And use them to help our most vulnerable citizens.