It was the perfect autumn evening on Monday 3 October, when over 90 members of the legal profession embarked on a 10km challenge to raise funds in support of access to justice in the South West. Walkers followed the route which meandered across several parks and through the town’s sights, giving them the perfect opportunity to enjoy a lovely evening whilst showing their support for local legal advice services.
 
We had a grand total of 13 teams sign up with the biggest team coming from Citizens Advice Plymouth.
 
A big congratulations also goes out to Blight Skinnard Solicitors, who are topping the fundraising table at the moment, raising over £500, with Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support closely behind, with over £400. This is a huge achievement and we are very grateful to these teams for pulling out all the stops to raise as much money as possible to support access to justice.
 
We had several charities who joined the walk in order to fundraise for their organisation, including Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support, the Bar Pro Bono Unit, the CAB and CASS+. Free legal advice services are often the last resort for local people facing difficult and distressing legal circumstances without the means to pay for private legal advice. The funds raised by the Plymouth Legal Walk, and the SWLST as a whole, will go to support these four charities in the incredible services which they provide, as well as other organisations that work throughout the region and help thousands of people every year navigate the complicated legal system.
 
The walk has broken all previous records, raising over £1,300 so far. Without your contribution the Plymouth Legal Walk, the work of the SWLST would not be possible.
 
Please continue to fundraise and ensure that we can help more vital services than ever before.

The Great Legal Quiz cannot come fast enough and as the days speed by, the number of quizzers continues to grow! We currently have 1 team in the South West of England committed to quizzing to support local advice agencies in their mission to ensure access to justice for all, but they can’t do it alone!
 
The Quiz is completely self-run: we supply the questions and advertisement posters, all you need to do Is sign up and prepare to get quizzing!
                                                                                                                    
Are you an advice organisation and not too sure about signing up? As an advice organisation, you are able to use the Great Legal Quiz to fundraise 100% for your own organisation. Alternatively, if you are not an advice organisation, you can choose to split the funds, 50% for the SWLST and 50% to the charity of your choice!
 
Please do spread the word and get as many people involved as possible! The questions will not be law-focused so anyone with any general knowledge is invited to participate!

It was the perfect autumn evening on Monday 26 September, when over 259 members of the legal profession embarked on a 10km challenge to raise funds in support of access to justice in Bristol and the South West. Walkers followed the route which followed the River Avon, giving them the perfect opportunity to enjoy a lovely, sunny evening whilst showing their support for local legal advice services.
 
We had a grand total of 51 teams sign up with the biggest team on the day coming from Bristol CAB. 
 
A big congratulations also goes out to Bristol CAB, who topped the fundraising table, each raising over £1,410. This is a huge achievement and we are very grateful to this team for pulling out all the stops to raise as much money as possible to support access to justice.
 
Free legal advice services are often the last resort for local people facing difficult and distressing legal circumstances without the means to pay for private legal advice. The funds raised by the Bristol Legal Walk, and the SWLST as a whole will support organisations that work throughout the region and help thousands of people every year navigate the complicated legal system.
 
This event was kindly sponsored by bSquared Costs Law and Irwin Mitchell. It was also supported by the Bristol Law Society.
 
The walk has broken all previous records, raising over £11,790 so far. Without your contribution the Bristol Legal Walk, the work of the SWLST would not be possible.
 
Please continue to fundraise and ensure that we can help more vital services than ever before.

We are really excited about the Great Legal Quiz coming up in just over one month on Wednesday 9 November. We already have 30 teams signed up for the self-run, nationwide quiz, all ready to raise funds to support access to advice for all as part of National Pro Bono Week. We will supply the questions, and posters for you to use to advertise your quiz night wherever you want; in a local pub, your office, the charity where you volunteer, or just at home- all you need to do is sign up!
 
If you were hoping to take part on behalf of a charity, you also have the option to use the Great Legal Quiz to fundraise 100% for the charity of your choice, or split the funds you raise 50% with the South West Legal Support Trust!
 
The South West Legal Support Trust was established to support the provision of free legal advice in Bristol and the South West in 2010 and the Great Legal Quiz is an important part of our fundraising activities. The organisations we support make a huge difference to the lives of many people, supporting the most vulnerable by funding organisations such as Avon & Bristol Law Centre, Bournemouth & Poole Pro Bono and Refugee Action, Bristol. Since the recent cuts to legal aid have come into force, the number of Law Centres has decreased by 20%, and reduced household income for many working families has increased demand for free access to specialist legal advice. It is more important than ever that the poorest and most vulnerable people in our community have access to such support.
 
We would like to get as many people involved as possible, so gather your co-workers, friends and family (you don’t need a legal brain to participate) to join us for an evening of quizzing and fun while raising vital funds for legal advice agencies!

It is time to lace up those walking shoes and start stretching as the Plymouth Legal Walk is almost upon us! There's still time for you to join and you can register here. 

We currently have 11 teams signed up and a total of 63 walkers, with our biggest team coming from University of Plymouth Student Law Society, all hopefully raising vital funds to support access to advice for all.

Top of the fundraising table is the wonderful Blight Skinnard Solicitors team who have so far raised £327.5! Keep up the good work.

So far the Walk has raised just under £666.25 altogether. This is a good start but we still need everyone to continue (or start!) fundraising as much as possible to support local advice charities.

The charities supported by the Plymouth Legal Walk help thousands of people every year gain access to justice. These charities are often the last resort for people facing difficult and distressing legal circumstances but without the resources to pay for private legal advice. Without this charitable work many vulnerable people would be left alone to navigate the court and justice system without any advice or support. This is a cause which most people can understand and empathise with – which should help you in your fundraising efforts!

Please help us to continue to support this vital work in the local community by raising as much as you can at the Plymouth Legal Walk.

It looks set to be a fantastic evening with a celebratory drink provided at the finish line at the lovely Treasury Bar.

It is time to lace up those walking shoes and start stretching as the Bristol
Legal Walk is almost upon us! There's still time for you to join and you can register here. 

We currently have 50 teams signed up and a total of 187 walkers, with our biggest teams coming from DAC Beachcroft and CMS Cameron McKenna, all raising vital funds to support access to advice for all.

Top of the fundraising table is the wonderful Avon and Bristol Law Centre team who have so far raised £335.00! This is a fantastic achievement and has played an important part of making this year’s Bristol Legal Walk bigger and better than ever before.

So far the Walk has raised £3,408 altogether! This is a great start but we still need everyone to continue fundraising as much as possible to support local advice charities.

The charities supported by the Bristol Legal Walk help thousands of people every year gain access to justice. These charities are often the last resort for people facing difficult and distressing legal circumstances but without the resources to pay for private legal advice. Without this charitable work many vulnerable people would be left alone to navigate the court and justice system without any advice or support.

We’re proud to have several charities walking with us on Monday 26 September, Somerset Community Care Matters, North Bristol Advice Centre, St Paul’s Advice Centre, PSU Bristol, CHAS Bristol, Talking Money, ACFA: The Advice Network, Bristol Child Poverty Action Group, Shelter Bristol, WE Care and Repair, The Wellbeing Partnership C.I.C and the various Citizens Advice offices in and around Bristol. Please help us to continue to support the vital work they do in the local community by raising as much as you can at the Bristol Legal Walk.

It looks set to be a fantastic evening with a celebratory drink provided at the finish line.

A big thank you also to our wonderful sponsors Irwin Mitchell and bSquared Costs Law who are supporting and promoting our event. As we need sponsorship in order to be able to continue running our legal walk events their support is invaluable and key to continuing the work of the South West Legal Support Trust.

The Plymouth Legal Walk cannot come fast enough and as the days speed by the number of walkers continues to grow! We now have 8 teams and over 50 walkers committed to walking, running and sweating to support local advice agencies in their mission to ensure access to justice for all.

So far KBG Chambers is leading in numbers with 9 walkers, if each of their team members raised £55 they would reach their fundraising target of £500 so please do sponsor them.

Blight Skinnard Solicitors must be following our fundraising tips to the letter! They have already raised over £100 and we hope they continue to build on this great start.

We are expecting warm(ish!) autumnal weather on 3 October to keep our walkers happy on their 10 km challenge. And to celebrate there will be a drink for each walker near the finish line, cheers!

We’re very excited to see you all there.

 
The Bristol Legal Walk cannot come fast enough and as the days speed by the number of walkers continues to grow! We now have 26 teams and over 200 walkers committed to walking, running and sweating to support local advice agencies in their mission to ensure access to justice for all.

So far Co-operative Legal Services – Bristol is leading in numbers with 13 walkers, if each of their team members raised £40 they would beat their fundraising target of £500 so please do sponsor them.

Bristol CAB must be following our fundraising tips to the letter! They have already raised £250 and we hope they continue to build on this great start. Avon & Bristol Law Centre are hot on their heels, we’re hoping for some fierce competition for our top fundraiser spot!

Our amazing sponsors bSquared costs law and Irwin Mitchell are helping us all the way, without their support we couldn’t make the Bristol Legal Walk the fantastic success we know it’s going to be this year. bSquared costs law will be handing out water and flapjacks at the start of the event to make sure our walkers are fuelled up for the 10km ahead. Our thanks also to the Bristol Law Society for their support.

We are hoping for a warm and sunny evening on 26 September to keep our walkers happy for their 10 km challenge, but whatever the weather this is already shaping up to be the biggest Bristol Legal Walk ever!

We’re very excited to see you all there!

We are pleased to invite applications for grants of up to £5,000. Full details are here and the Application Form should be quick and easy to complete. That said, please note the closing date for applications is Friday 30 September 2016.

​We are really excited about the Plymouth Legal Walk coming up in just over one month on Monday 3 October. We already have 6 teams signed up, all ready to walk and raise funds to support access to advice for all.
 
The South West Legal Support Trust was established to support the provision of free legal advice in Plymouth and the South West in 2010 and the Plymouth Legal Walk is an important part of our fundraising activities. The organisations we support make a huge difference in the lives of many people. The recent cuts to legal aid and reduced household income for many working families has increased demand for free access to specialist legal advice and it is more important than ever that the poorest and most vulnerable people in our community have access to such support.
 
Registration for the event opens at 5pm and the walk sets off at 5:30pm. The event rounds off with a drinks reception where our lead walkers will say a few words and everyone can rest their feet and have a drink after completing the route.
 
We would like to get as many people involved as possible, so gather your co-workers, friends, family and pets to join us for an evening of walking and fun while raising vital funds for legal advice agencies!