Pro Bono Week 2025: an interview with Natasha Rees and Connor Rutherford
3-7 November is Pro Bono Week: a time to celebrate and reflect on the impact of free legal support for individuals and communities who need it most.
This year’s theme is Pro Bono in Action, with a focus on stories of impact, win-win for professional and business development, and getting involved.
To mark the occasion, Associate and Pro Bono Committee member Connor Rutherford sat down with our Senior Partner Natasha Rees to discuss the value of pro bono work at Forsters, her personal experiences, and why it matters.
Why is pro bono work important to you?
It allows people to access legal advice when they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it – quite often in relation to issues that are seriously affecting their day to day lives. It is therefore incredibly rewarding. In some cases, it can also involve very interesting legal issues that might not otherwise be tested.
Can you give a few highlights of pro bono matters that you have worked on during your career?
One of the first cases I was involved in as a trainee was a pro bono case for a council tenant. It concerned cockroach infestation in the tenant’s flat and whether the landlord was liable in nuisance or negligence for failing to carry out block treatment. The Court held in favour of the landlord and it became a landmark case, but despite this, it gave the tenants their day in Court and an opportunity to have their complaints heard. This captured the attention of the council so that they finally carried out the block treatment required in any event.
I have also dealt with several pro bono cases concerning escalating ground rents. These are cases where leaseholders (often in towns outside London) have been poorly advised when buying their flat and are unaware that the lease contains an escalating ground rent. They find themselves trapped – unable to sell but unable to afford their increasing ground rent. In most cases we have successfully claimed a lease extension which reduces the rent to a peppercorn rent and crystalises the loss. At the same time, we have issued a negligence claim against the leaseholder’s solicitor for failing to advise properly on the escalating ground rent provision in the lease. Ultimately, the insurers will at some point step in and settle the premium and costs. Any costs recovered on these claims has been paid to charity so doubly satisfying.
Tell me how your pro bono clients have benefitted.
As a landlord and tenant lawyer, many of the pro bono cases we deal with in the Real Estate Disputes team relate to possession/rent arrears claims. We are therefore often acting for tenants dealing with their homes and their financial situations. We can usually find a legal route to help them – whether it involves claims that will ultimately reduce their rental liability or finding ways to get out of difficult tenancy agreements or preventing possession claims by agreeing repayment terms. Ultimately, we are just applying the legal tools they need to help solve problems and sometimes it is just the mere assistance with communication that helps.
Do you feel involvement with pro bono work has had a positive impact on your career? Why?
Yes, because it gives you a wide variety of situations to deal with different legal implications and often you feel even more invested in the outcome. It also gives you a different perspective which helps see legal arguments from both sides.
On the basis of your experience, would you recommend pro bono work to other solicitors? Why?
Yes – for the reasons given above. It gives you a broader experience, lots of client contact and is extremely rewarding. It also in some cases might give you the opportunity to test certain legal principles.
Why do you think it is important for Forsters to support pro bono opportunities?
It promotes positivity for those in the firm who are involved in the work and at the same time benefits the wider community. These are central to our firm’s values and the reason why it is essential that we have a proper pro bono programme in place. It also allows us to act on a wide variety of cases, sometimes involving important legal issues.
