On Wednesday 9 September, six of our team – Lou, Toby, Penelope, Dan, Sam and Will – swapped our desks for the seafront to take part in the Brighton Legal Walk: a 10km sponsored walk from the Law Courts in Kemptown to Hove Town Hall, alongside law firms, barristers’ chambers, advice agencies and court staff from across the city.
We went along to get our steps in, meet some fellow walkers and support a cause we believe in. We came back with slightly achy legs, a few new contacts and a timely reminder of why events like this matter so much to the legal community…
What the Brighton Legal Walk is
The walk is organised by the London Legal Support Trust (LLST), an independent charity that raises money for free legal advice services across London and the South East. This year’s Brighton walk was led by HHJ Christine Henson KC, and 100% of the money raised goes directly to four local advice agencies: BHT Sussex, Citizens Advice Brighton & Hove, Possability People and Money Advice Plus.
Between them, these organisations provide free advice on housing, debt, benefits and employment to people who would otherwise have nowhere to turn. That might be someone facing eviction, a family struggling with problem debt, or a person who simply doesn’t know what they’re entitled to. Demand for that kind of help has risen sharply over the past few years, and the agencies providing it rely on fundraising like this to keep their doors open.
Why access to justice matters to us
We’re not lawyers, and nobody’s life is going to change because of a well-timed LinkedIn post, however, we spend every working day alongside law firms and professional services businesses, and we see, through our clients, the difference that good legal advice makes to people at some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
We also see that not everyone can afford that advice, and that the gap between those who can and those who can’t is growing. Legal aid doesn’t stretch as far as it once did, and local advice agencies are often the only thing standing between someone and a very bad outcome. For the people these agencies support, access to justice is as simple as getting help with a housing problem before it turns into a homelessness problem.
The legal sector gets a hard time sometimes, but its charitable side is one of its most underrated qualities. Watching solicitors, barristers, judges, advisers and court staff walk shoulder to shoulder for the same cause is the profession at its best, and it’s something we’re proud to be a small part of!
A great day out by the sea (and a few aching calves)
The route started in Kemptown by the Law Courts, along the seafront past the pier and the i360, and on to Hove Town Hall, where LLST laid on a well-earned drinks reception. The weather behaved and a handful of dogs joined in for good measure (Toby’s dog Mylo included, who arguably coped with the distance better than some of us did!).
What stood out most was the scale of this years’ event. The walk was noticeably bigger than last year’s, with more walkers and 21 fundraisers taking part from across the Brighton legal community. At the time of writing, the combined total stands at £4,850 from 191 donors, against a target of £6,000. That’s already ahead of where things stood at the same point in 2025, and within touching distance of last year’s final total of around £5,000.
Given how much the advice agencies are being asked to do, seeing that figure climb year on year is exactly the direction of travel we’d hope for.
Our contribution, and how you can help
We’ve raised £365 so far, and we’re grateful to everyone who has supported us. There’s still time to help the walk push past its £6,000 target. If you’d like to donate, you can do so via our fundraising page.
Thank you to LLST for organising, to the four advice agencies for the work they do all year round, and to everyone who walked alongside us. If your firm hasn’t taken part in a Legal Walk before, we’d thoroughly recommend it. It’s a genuinely enjoyable morning, a good team-building exercise, and, more importantly, a practical way to support the people in your community who need it most.
See you on the seafront next year!