In 2017 the country has been struck by a series of tragedies. A number of terrorist attacks were followed by the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower. The whole country was united in sympathy for those affected by these events.

Hundreds of lawyers came forward to offer their services pro bono, to help those who had been injured, and those who have lost loved ones, to deal with the legal consequences of what has happened, first in Manchester and then in London.

But - as argued by Richard Miller in his recent article National tragedies, local response on the Law Society blog - these terrible events have highlighted the deep injustices and "gaping holes in the state funded system" that have resulted from 18 years of restrictions and cuts to Legal Aid, as well as pointing out the unsustainability of relying on pro bono to plug those gaps.

The full article can be viewed here.