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London Legal Walk 2023 - The story of a first-time walker
London Legal Walk 2023 –The story of a first-time walker
I have always wanted to attend the London Legal Walk and the thought of walking 10km sounds very daunting, especially if you are not topped up on your fitness. I have somehow always convinced myself that I am not fit enough to take on such a mammoth physical challenge, at least that’s the way it appeared in my lens. However, I made it a personal mission to take the plunge this time around on 13 June 2023. Along with a team from Westminster and Holborn Law Society, I joined the swarms and droves of legal professionals and supporters that descended on London Town in their thousands, in support of the London Legal Support Trust’s (LLST) 19th annual London Legal Walk.
‘There are over 13.4 million people living in poverty in the UK and advice providers like the Law Centres, Citizens Advice services and refugee specialist support services are at a breaking point. Many people cannot afford to pay for legal advice when it is most needed. The London Legal Walk raises those much needed funds ensuring that the most vulnerable in society receives the legal support they need. The London Legal Walk supports over 100 legal advice agencies in London and the South East. These agencies do an excellent job in offering support to the members of the various communities and helps to change lives everyday’.
The London Legal Walk is a highly anticipated event on the legal calendar each year and teams are encouraged to raise funds in support of free legal advice agencies in London and the South East. Our team joined the multitude that temporarily populated the streets of London for the 10km walk, choosing the park route. We set off from the Law Society in Chancery Lane, walked towards Temple Underground, although this leg of the journey felt more like a sprint to me. We then headed through to Whitehall, into St James’ Park out towards Buckingham Palace, up Constitution Hill, then through Hyde Park. By this time the penetrating sun rays planted seeds of doubt in my mind of whether I’ll be able to continue, let alone finish the walk. We next went across the Serpentine bridge to converge on the other side of Hyde Park heading back towards the starting point. As we headed back anyway, I had to now commit to finishing the walk. The team was a major reason my internal battle to abort the mission didn’t last very long. We went from one riveting topic to the other, so I was totally invested and could not dare miss the conclusions, if there even was any.
The highlights from the event for me was firstly, when we came across a keen-eyed artist, meticulously creating a work of art of a Royal Horse Guard as he stoically performed his duty. We bravely posed alongside to have our own photo op, let’s just hope the artist didn’t retain a blur on his artwork from us scurrying out of his line of sight. Next, it was the sea of colours that decorated the streets of London, as over 16,000 legal professionals and supporters gleefully clustered in their teams with the sounds of laughter and chit chat echoing from every direction. It was undoubtedly a sign of unity for juniors, seniors and partners whether support staff, trainees or qualified solicitors that is, every man, woman and quite literally their dogs, came together in support of such a great cause.
Then, a pit stop… or two! Well, why not? After all, I dreaded the thought of the ‘challenge’ before I started, which by the half-way point my hips and knees felt like they were on borrowed time. So, a welcomed break or two was inevitable, as the rest of the team was sympathetic and agreed but after 10 minutes we were all good to move swiftly along. As we drew nearer to the end, we decided on a last minute moral boost in a bottle before we enter the final approach to base.
Lastly, I dare not forget the street party! Well we didn’t actually ‘partied’ on the street, but we were present to hear the Lord Chief Justice and the President of the Law Society’s speech at the end of the walk and believe it or not an impromptu private performance by the stilt walkers. What a treat that was… oh and there were canapés too!
We are delighted to have contributed to the overall donations of, at the time of writing, £860,000 in support of free legal services for the legal advice agencies. We are grateful to those who have contributed and will greatly appreciate further contributions. This was an experience I will always remember, not just for the buzzing atmosphere, the aesthetically pleasing colours splashed around London or the enthusiasm of the walkers and runners, but for being a part of something bigger. Our collective contribution will help to provide the necessary legal support to the most financially vulnerable people in London and the South East. So until next year, let’s raise a virtual glass to exceeding the LLST’s target and counting… for more access to justice and free legal advice.
Our team of walkers included:
President of the Westminster and Holborn Law Society
(WHLS) – Nicola Rubbert
Immediate Past President of WHLS – Matthew Allan
Deputy Treasurer – Timothy Evans
WHLS JLD Committee member – Jesislava Miladinovich
WHLS JLD Committee and Social Media and Publicity Committee member – Nedra Daniel
WHLS member – Shehzad Babar
WHLS member – Wil Rutherford Kaplan
“Donations can still be made to WHLS’s team page, for a limited period https://londonlegalsupporttrust.enthuse.com/pf/ westminster-holborn-law-society-2023
Donations of all sizes will be gratefully received”.
