The short answer
Advocate is the Bar’s pro bono charity. It matches people who cannot afford a barrister and cannot get legal aid with barristers willing to act for nothing. You usually apply through a referral agency such as a law centre or Citizens Advice rather than directly, and you need to apply weeks ahead of any hearing.
Key points
- Free representation or advice from a practising barrister.
- You normally need a referral agency to help you apply.
- Apply early. Finding a barrister free on the right day takes weeks, not days.
- It works best for a discrete, well-defined question rather than an open-ended case.
- Being turned down is usually about barrister availability, not the strength of your case.
What Advocate can do
Anything from written advice on a specific point, to drafting a document, to representation at a hearing. In family cases, written advice on prospects and representation at a discrete hearing are the most common.
It is a real barrister doing real work to the same professional standard, not a lesser service. What differs is that it is finite: it is a piece of work, not an open retainer for the life of your case.
How to apply
- Go to Advocate and read the current application requirements, because they change.
- Get a referral agency involved. A law centre, Citizens Advice, an MP’s office or a solicitor can all act as one. They help complete the application and confirm your circumstances.
- Set out clearly what you need, by when, and what you have already tried, including your legal aid refusal.
- Send the papers. An organised bundle materially improves your chances, because a barrister deciding whether to take it on is reading it in their own time.
Common and costly mistake
Applying the week before a hearing. Advocate has to find a barrister who practises in the right area, is free on the day, and is willing to take it on unpaid. That takes time, and a late application will usually fail for that reason alone.
If you have a hearing date, apply as soon as you have it, not as it approaches.
Other pro bono routes
- Free Representation Unit, mainly employment and social security, but worth knowing.
- LawWorks, which connects people with solicitors doing pro bono work, and runs clinics.
- Direct access barristers. Not free, but you instruct a barrister without paying for a solicitor as well, which can be substantially cheaper for a discrete piece of work.
Where to go next
- Where to get genuinely free legal advice, including who can act as your referral agency
- Refused legal aid: your options and any right to review
- What to do if you do not qualify