Wednesday 4th June 2025 marked the very first time that Hull’s local solicitors, barristers, judiciary and those working in the legal system joined together to take part in the annual Legal Walk.

The Legal Walk is a 10km walk, to raise money for the Access to Justice Foundation. This was organised by the Hull Incorporated Law Society, with the assistance of Wayne Walker, Head of the Clinical Negligence Department, and Laura Milner from Hull University, sponsored by Wilberforce Chambers.

In attendance alongside local paralegals, solicitors, barristers and the judiciary, were the High Sherif Mike Rice, the Undersherif Hugo Moore, staff from The Bridge Contact Centre, and staff and students from Hull University. The route chosen started at the local Hull Combined Court Centre, with the majority of the walk leading down Freetown Way, Beverley and Cottingham Road, with a short stop for refreshments at Hull University before going back via the same route.

Legal Aid is an essential pillar of any democratic justice system, providing the most disadvantaged, and often disenfranchised, groups in society fair access to justice. It has consistently been affected by government cuts. Legislation such as The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 made drastic and sweeping cuts to access to legal aid in multiple areas of law, disqualifying many people from being eligible almost overnight. This has had a catastrophic impact on access to justice, with the Law Society reporting that, prior to the legislation, 4 in 5 people were eligible for legal aid. Following the enactment of the LASPO Act, new legal aid cases dropped by 30%, and by 2020 only 1 in 4 people were eligible. Since 2012, the number of law firms willing to provide legal aid services has dramatically decreased by 59%.

Charities such as the Access to Justice Foundation works to increase legal funding for free legal advice and support, especially for those most in need, by raising funds and distributing them to relevant organisations.

To find out more about the work of the Access to Justice Foundation, their website can be found here https://atjf.org.uk/

We look forward to the Hull Legal Walk returning in 2026 and we at Williamsons Solicitors will continue to step up and support fair access to justice.