On Monday 17 June 2019 the Legal Advice Centre (LAC) at Queen Mary University of London took part in the annual London Legal Walk to raise awareness about, and recognise the importance of, access to justice.
The 10km walk started in Carey Street behind the Royal Courts of Justice. Members of both the LAC and qLegal donned their blue t-shirts and made the walk in under three hours.
The purpose of the annual London Legal Walk is to raise funds for various charities, which like the LAC, provide free legal services. Some of the charities for which funds were raised included: A4ID; Access to Justice Foundation; Action Against Medical Accident; and Advice 4 Renters. This year, the Legal Walk broke all records raising a staggering total of a £870,000.
The charities supported by the walk provide a lifeline to people who need legal advice but who do not have the resources to pay for it. In this spirit, we asked our students and fellow colleagues who could not take part to sponsor our walk and we raised a total of £235 the London Legal Support Trust which funds law centres and pro bono agencies in and around London. The donation page is still open for those who would like to contribute.
The LAC would like to thank those who made donations and to the people who gave up their afternoons to walk for justice. A special thanks to Professor of Labour Law Elizabeth Barmes who shared the fundraising pages with friends and colleagues, prompting further donations in the last hour.
The LAC is very proud to have been a part of this initiative and be able to raise awareness about the importance of access to justice!