Welcome to Pro Bono Legal Services UK
Advice and representation in many areas of the law in England and Wales
Welcome to Pro Bono Legal Services UK
Advice and representation in many areas of the law in England and Wales
Advice and representation in many areas of the law in England and Wales
Advice and representation in many areas of the law in England and Wales
Pro Bono Legal Services UK is a small unregistered charity which helps to secure pro bono legal assistance from volunteer solicitors, leaders and junior barristers in all matters which include both criminal and civil actions. Pro Bono Legal Services UK is an entirely not – for- profit organisation totally committed and driven to ensuring that justice is served, particularly where there is evidence in place of a miscarriage of justice. We also draw on many other resources with a broad range of expertise.
Pro bono legal assistance is only available to those persons who do not have the means to pay and who are unable to obtain public funding.
Our organisation are able to provide legal advice, case preparation and advocacy in tribunal cases for those who are unable to obtain legal support, for want of financial means. To provide this service we are able to draw from a wide range of resources which includes volunteer law students and legal professionals in the initial stages of their career. All of our case workers are volunteers who are trained by our organisation and work under the supervision of a senior case worker
We provide representation for:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/24/woman-jailed-10-years-false-rape-claims-jemma-beale
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-46235634
In a recent successful claim against an offshore property giant (Abacus Land 4 Ltd) our team assisted in the issue of a claim in the County Court on behalf of clients following the exercise of their statutory right to enfranchise their leases. Abacus Land 4 Ltd unlawfully retained significant funds held in a reserve fund belonging to our clients. The claim was the rarely pleaded one of restitution on the grounds of unjust enrichment. The Defendant quickly settled our clients’ claim in full in addition to costs.
Such is the broken not-fit-for purpose Criminal Cases Review Commission (‘CCRC’) our small pro bono legal service charity with regret can no longer consider applications for assistance and advice from wrongly convicted prisoners. One unpaid case worker volunteer in our organisation who has spent many years investigating the background and quality of evidence brought against a convicted prisoner who has suffered a gross miscarriage of justice assisted him in an application to the CCRC following the imposition of a lengthy prison sentence in which a fraudulent allegation of rape was brought against him which dated almost some 40 years ago. Our organisation have uncovered crucial evidence secretly concealed by the prosecution which had it have been placed before the jury no such conviction could conceivably have resulted. Compelling fresh evidence has been uncovered following our client’s conviction which is fully documented that the complainant persistently lied simply in the vacuous pursuit of financial gain in which her solicitor was fully complicit. Such evidence has been provided in an application to the CCRC which it has been glibly and inexplicably dismissed. Described by one lawyer the CCRC is “an office-bound, moribund organisation that doesn’t actually investigate”.
Documentary evidence has also been placed before the CCRC that the investigating police officer who also served as the disclosure officer lied about the existence of crucial documents. This is a case in which in which the perennial issue of non-disclosure of key documentation was concealed by the prosecution. Documented evidence has also been adduced that prosecution counsel lied to the trial judge. The trial judge also misdirected the jury and clearly from the trial transcripts failed to grasp important facts of the case. A catalogue of fresh evidence thoroughly undermining the reliability of the evidence that led to the conviction of our client has been produced to the CCRC which it has refused/failed to investigate and many observations condescendingly made by the CCRC were appallingly irrational. The CCRC in attempts to persuade our organisation not to bring an application for Judicial Review have belligerently threatened our case worker with costs sanctions.
Under the circumstances, our poorly resourced organisation can no longer fund applications to the CCRC who is in our view a mere ‘lapdog’ for the criminal appeals system sponsered by the Ministry of Justice Any such resources shall in future not be wasted on applications to a quango in which trust and transparency in a target-driven culture which prioritises speed over thoroughness thus compromising an effective and fair investigation. In a nutshell, our organisation is, with dismay, of the view that the CCRC is not the panacea to the problem of miscarriages of justice as it simply is content to leave the innocent languishing in prison unable to overturn their wrongful convictions. The recent case of Andrew Malkinson is just a further case in which the CCRC had an opportunity years ago to exercise their ‘special powers’to investigate but failed to act until in Andrew’s words it was "handed evidence on a platter".
Files coming soon.
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