It is time to lace up those walking shoes and starting to stretch those legs as the Ipswich
Legal Walk is almost upon us! There's still time for you to join: register here. 

We currently have 11 teams signed up and a total of 57 walkers, with our biggest teams coming from Gotelee Solicitors and Kerseys, all raising vital funds to support access to advice for all.

Top of the fundraising table is the wonderful Suffolk Law Advice Centre (ISCRE) team who have so far raised a fantastic £124! This is a fantastic achievement and a hugely important part of making this year’s Ipswich Legal Walk bigger and better than ever before.

So far the Walk has raised just under £340 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 Ipswich Legal Walk help thousands of people every year gain proper 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 two charities walking with us on Monday 27 June, Ipswich Housing Action Group and the Suffolk Law Advice Centre (ISCRE). 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 Ipsiwch Legal Walk.

It looks set to be a fantastic evening with a celebratory drink provided at the finish line by our supporters the Suffolk Law Advice Centre (ISCRE) and the  Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equity. 

A big thank you also to our wonderful sponsors Birketts, Nick Barber Architects
and the Suffolk and North Essex Law Society, 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 Eastern Legal Support Trust.

It is time to lace up those walking shoes as the Chelmsford Legal Walk is fast approaching. If you would like to take part, there is still time for you to join us by registering here.

We currently have 11 teams signed up and a total of 75 walkers, with our biggest teams coming from Essex Legal Services and Trinity Chambers, all raising vital funds to support access to advice for all. 

Top of the fundraising table is the wonderful Trinity Chambers team who have so far raised a fantastic £220! This is a fantastic achievement and a hugely important part of making this year's Chelmsford Legal Walk bigger and better than ever before. 

So far, the walk has raised just over £360 altogether. This is a great start but we still need everyone to continue fundraising as much as possible to support local advice charities. This year we want to raise at least £1,500 so there’s still a lot of fundraising work to be done!

The charities supported by the Chelmsford Legal Walk help thousands of people every year gain proper access to justice. These charities are often the last resort for people facing difficult and distressing legal circumstances but without 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 the 20th, Personal Support Unit Chelmsford, Citizens Advice Chelmsford, and the University of Essex Law Clinic. Please help us to continue to support the vital work they do in the local community by raising as much as you can in the Chelmsford Legal Walk. 

It looks set to be a fantastic evening. A reminder that event registration on the day is open from 5 pm with the walk starting at 5:30 pm. A celebratory drink will be waiting for you at the finish line. 

A big thank you to our wonderful sponsors Fisher Jones Greenwood Solicitors 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 Eastern Legal Support Trust.

We are very excited to see all of you on Monday 20 June. The event would not be possible without your contribution.

It was a fantastic sunny day on Monday 18 May for 186 members of the legal profession who embarked on a 10 km challenge and raised funds to support access to justice in Norwich and East Anglia. The route took in the lovely sights the city has to offer, including the less well known parts of the river, and the weather was light and breezy, a perfect spring day to walk and raise money for a vital cause.
 
We had a grand total of 22 teams signed up with the biggest teams on the day coming from UEA Law Society and Norfolk Public Law!
 
A big congratulations goes out to Aviva Legal Services, who topped the fundraising table having raised over £675! This is a huge achievement and we are very grateful to our team who pulled out all the stops to raise as much money as possible to support access to justice.
 
We were joined by two charities, Age UK Norwich and Norwich and Norfolk Community Law Service. These charities are often the last resort for people facing difficult and distressing legal circumstances and find themselves unable to pay for private legal advice. The funds raised by the Norwich Legal Walk, and the ELST as a whole, will go to support these charities and more, throughout the region helping thousands of people every year navigate the complicated legal system.
 
This event was supported by our generous sponsors, Olsen Recruitment and Norfolk and Norwich Law Society, who along with Aviva, sponsored the welcoming finish line reception at the Marble Hall. It was a perfect end to a great walk and the drinks were very well received by our thirsty walkers.
 
The walk has broken all previous records, raising over £5,600 so far. Without your contribution the Norwich Legal Walk and the work of the ELST would not be possible.
 
Please continue to fundraise and ensure that we can help more vital services than ever before.

​It is time to lace up those walking shoes as the Cambridge Legal Walk is fast approaching. If you would like to take part, there is still time for you to join us by registering here.

We currently have 15 teams signed up and a total of 122 walkers, with our biggest teams coming from Taylor Vinters and Hewitsons, all raising vital funds to support access to advice for all. 

Top of the fundraising table is the wonderful Taylor Vinters team who have so far raised a fantastic £238! This is a fantastic achievement and a hugely important part of making this year's Cambridge Legal Walk bigger and better than ever before. 

So far, the walk has raised just over £800 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 Cambridge Legal Walk help thousands of people every year gain proper access to justice. These charities are often the last resort for people facing difficult and distressing legal circumstances but without 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 a charity walking with us on Monday the 13th, Cambridge Citizens Advice Bureau. Please help us to continue to support the vital work they do in the local community by raising as much as you can in the Cambridge Legal Walk. 

It looks set to be a fantastic evening. A reminder that event registration on the day is open from 5 pm with the walk starting at 5:30 pm. A celebratory drink will be waiting for you at the finish line. 

We are very excited to see all of you on Monday 13 May. The event would not be possible without your contribution.

The Ipswich Legal Walk cannot come fast enough and as the days speed by, the number of walkers continues to grow! We now have 9 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, Kerseys is leading in numbers with 10 walkers, if each their team members raised £50, they would beat their fundraising target of £500, so please do sponsor them. 

Suffolk Law Advice Centre must be following out fundraising tips to the letter! They have already raised £100, we hope you can continue to keep it rising! Ipswich Housing Action Group and Prettys are hot on their heels; we're hoping for some fierce competition for our top fundraiser spot!
 
 
We are expecting a nice warm weather on June 27th to help our walkers enjoy their 10 km challenge. And to celebrate the finish line, there will be drinks provided for everyone, cheers!

We're very excited to see you all there!

On Monday 18 April, just under 200 lawyers, advisors and other legal professionals joined forces for a sponsored walk around the riverfront sights of Norwich to raise over £5,600 to support free legal advice in Norwich and throughout East Anglia.
 
Under the banner ‘Supporting access to justice in the East’ 22 teams of walkers from law firms, barristers' chambers as well as the voluntary and advice sector came together to raise funds for the Eastern Legal Support Trust (ELST) and other local free legal advice charities. Walkers were joined by the Law Society of England and Wales’s Vice President, Robert Bourns; President of the Norwich & Norfolk Law Society, James Hunter and President of the Norwich & Norfolk JLD, Leon Head.
 
The 10km route took in the lovely river sights the city had to offer, with many walkers remarking they saw a side to the city they hadn’t seen before. The weather was fine and breezy; a perfect spring day to stride out and raise money for a vital cause.
 
Walkers taking part fundraised for the cause by seeking sponsorship and in addition to this the event was supported by sponsors; Olsen Recruitment and Norfolk and Norwich Law Society who, along with Aviva sponsored the welcoming finishing line reception, at the Marble Hall, gratefully received by thirsty walkers.
 
Alongside some well-deserved refreshments walkers were welcomed back by the lead walkers who spoke about the growing importance of continuing free legal advice and support for the free legal advice sector and individuals who rely on their services.
 
Congratulating the walkers on their achievements, Robert Bourns, Vice President of the Law Society of England and Wales said “People have been holding walks for charity in towns and cities right across the country just as they have here in Norwich. It’s just part of the contribution solicitors and our sector make to society – just as we provide advice services, sit on the boards of charities. All these things demonstrate our professional values. Values that show our commitment to our communities, our common interest in ensuring our fellow citizens are advised and represented.”
 
The event is run by the Eastern Legal Support Trust (ELST). The ELST was formed in 2010 to raise and distribute funds to support the provision of free legal advice in Norwich and throughout East Anglia to those who otherwise would not be able to afford it. It is part of a network of Legal Support Trusts, working with the Access to Justice Foundation, to facilitate the access to specialist legal advice for the poorest and most vulnerable people in the community.
 
The organisations supported by the event make a huge difference in the lives of many people. The recent cuts to civil legal aid have not only affected the legal profession, but have also drastically impacted the services provided to members of the public.
 
Norfolk Community Law Service (NCLS) is a local charity which provides a range of free legal advice and support in and around Norwich so some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens who often seek their services as a desperate last resort. In additional to using the Norwich Legal Walk to fundraise directly to support their work, NCLS also benefit from grant funding from the ELST and when services are as stretched and under resourced as they are in the advice sector, every little bit does make a huge difference.
 
Cuts to legal aid and local government funding of advice services means charities such as these are fighting to survive. Some organisations have merged, meaning already tight resources are being stretched over greater distances, but more frequently, others have ceased to provide services altogether.
 
A representative from the ELST said “We are truly delighted that the Norwich Legal Walk has had a record breaking year with more people coming out to support access to justice for the most vulnerable and more funds being raised to support the vital services when help these people in their time of need. Thanks to all our walkers, supporters and sponsors the ELST will be able to make more and larger grants than ever before, ensuring local services benefit from local support.