The Access to Justice Foundation (ATJF) was established in 2008 by the Law Society, the Bar Council and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives. Under Legal Services Act 2007 s194, courts are permitted to make awards of costs in cases where one of the parties was represented on a pro bono basis. These costs must be paid to the ATJF and according to Elizabeth Alabaster, a volunteer at the charity, since their introduction in 2008, ‘pro bono costs orders totalling approximately £380,000 have been awarded’.

Alabaster (pictured) believes that while ‘the number of costs awarded has been gradually increasing over time, there is still a lot of unfulfilled potential for orders to be made’. She is asking lawyers who take on pro bono cases not to let ‘the losing party get away without a costs order’ and to seek a costs order under the relevant rule (Civil Procedure Rule 46.7). She also asks that the ATJF is notified of any orders at costs@atjf.org.uk.