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Nearly 200 firms, chambers and individuals have offered to provide pro bono help to those affected by the Manchester Arena bomb attack.
Following the blast, in which 22 people were killed, Manchester Law Society asked firms to join a pro bono advice and representation rota to help the families of the victims with applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and at inquests, as well as providing legal advice on matters including estate administration, property, insurance, welfare benefits, pensions and other financial issues.
Manchester Law Society chief executive Fran Eccles-Bech, who is co-ordinating the effort, said she had received 187 firm offers from law firms, chambers, individual lawyers and students from Manchester and around the country.
Eccles-Bech said: ‘Like everyone else in the community, we just want to help in any way we can, and offering free legal advice to those affected by the tragedy in Manchester is what we can do best.
‘Since we put out the call to the legal community, the response has been overwhelming. Over a hundred local solicitor firms, law students, barristers and also bigger law firms from the North and farther afield are offering free legal advice to the victims and their families.’
She added: ‘I know ours is a small contribution in the face of the enormity of the impact of the attack on so many people’s lives, but I hope we can help even a little.’