A legal charity is re-positioning its place in the industry to reach out to wills & probate practitioners who are suffering silently within the workplace.
SBA The Solicitors’ Charity has been working since 1858 to help ensure that no solicitor is unsupported during a time of need, providing help for current and former solicitors as well as their families.
Reasons for seeking charitable support from SBA are various, with the causes often stemming from issues on both a professional and personal level. For wills & probate professionals, SBA has seen particular challenges for those retained on a consultancy fee share arrangement.
Commenting on this trend was Sue Ellis, Support Manager at SBA. She said, “Consultancy contracts can be very attractive for colleagues seeking greater flexibility, but they can also be a precarious and insecure way to earn a living, particularly if some unexpected event affects the amount of work billed. There are no safety nets in this situation and SBA is seeing more practitioners finding it harder to cope.”
Last year, SBA awarded a total of £1,443,211 in grants and loans to support 313 lawyers and family members in difficult circumstances. The Charity also mobilised its network of c.80 volunteers across England & Wales to provide confidential peer support to applicants & beneficiaries and to facilitate the application process.
For further information about SBA, how it can help colleagues in need and how you can support the charity – by volunteering your time, making a donation or transferring a residual client balance – please visit www.sba.org.uk, call 020 8675 6440 or email sec@sba.org.uk in strict confidence.
