Press Release – 4 November 2026
From providing grants to struggling Victorian solicitors to helping today's legal professionals navigate mental health, financial and career challenges, The Solicitors’ Charity is sharing the remarkable history of how the profession has supported its own for nearly 170 years.
A new interactive timeline, published by The Solicitors’ Charity, traces its history back to 1858, when the Solicitors’ Benevolent Association was established to support solicitors and their families facing hardship.
Within its first year, almost 200 members had joined and £2,000 had been raised. By 1861, the first grants were being distributed.
The timeline reveals how the Charity's work developed in response to the challenges of each generation. During the First World War, demand for support increased as solicitors joined the armed forces. In 1927, school fee grants were introduced to help families experiencing hardship, while during the Second World War, international support networks provided food parcels to elderly and vulnerable solicitors struggling to access essential supplies.
By its centenary in 1958, the Charity had distributed more than £1 million in financial relief.
Today, the pressures facing solicitors look very different, and so does the help available.
Alongside financial assistance, The Solicitors’ Charity now supports emotional, physical and professional wellbeing, including access to specialist mental health services, money management advice and career coaching.
Its partnership with LawCare, formally established in 2012, marked an important step in broadening support beyond financial hardship and was recognised with the Association of Charitable Organisations' Collaboration of the Year Award in 2025.
Dr I. Stephanie Boyce CBE, Chair of The Solicitors’ Charity, shared: "Behind every solicitor is a person, and that has always been true. Our history is a reminder that however much the profession changes, people will still face challenges in their lives and careers. What matters is knowing they don't have to face them alone."
Nick Gallagher, CEO of The Solicitors’ Charity explained: "When the Charity began, the focus was largely on financial hardship. Today, we recognise that the pressures solicitors experience are often interconnected, which is why our support now extends across four areas of wellbeing.
"The timeline tells an important story about our past, but it's also a reminder of why we need to keep adapting our services to meet the needs of solicitors today."
The publication of the timeline comes as the Charity continues to strengthen its work with organisations across the legal profession, including the recently launched Solicitor Wellbeing Alliance with The Law Society, LawCare, and the Mindful Business Charter.
The Alliance aims to make wellbeing support easier to find, improve collaboration and encourage healthier working practices across the profession. The new interactive timeline brings together the milestones, partnerships and developments that have shaped The Solicitors’ Charity since 1858.
Explore the full timeline: https://www.thesolicitorscharity.org/timeline/
Notes to editors:
More information on The Solicitors’ Charity
The Solicitors’ Charity provides comprehensive support to improve the wellbeing of solicitors, helping them to overcome life’s challenges.
People approach the charity for help for all sorts of reasons – because of struggles with the cost of living and money management, ill health, disability, distress through domestic violence, and anxiety, often caused by work-related stress or life-connected trauma.
Support in the form of regular donations from trusts, foundations, local law societies, firms and individuals, and unclaimed client balances (RCBs) from firms, is needed more than ever by the Charity in these challenging times.
It operates a corporate giving scheme for firms and suppliers in the legal sector called: Firm Friends and businesses are encouraged to regularly donate to the Charity to ensure a sustainable future for support for the profession.
The Solicitors’ Charity works with clients to identify packages of wellbeing support to help them return to being self-sustaining such as:
Emotional/mental support – with providers of psychotherapy, an initial assessment is offered followed by funded sessions with qualified therapists (from One Bright and Lawsight). The Solicitors’ Charity part-funds the mental health and wellbeing charity, LawCare. LawCare is the mental health charity for the legal sector. LawCare provides free, confidential support, peer support, and information to anyone working in law across the UK, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man. LawCare also works to improve mental health practices in legal workplaces through education, training, and research.
Professional/career support – clients may be returning to work after a break or may need to change the sector of the law they practice in. Perhaps they have been made redundant and need support with securing their next job or want help to consider other options like self-employment, a move to a different sector or retirement. The Charity funds career coaching support with partner, Renovo.
Physical support – anyone can experience physical illness or disabilities affecting their ability to work or manage at home. The Solicitors’ Charity provides occupational health assessments which help with adaptations to continue with life, through their partnership with The OT Practice.
Financial support – if individuals are struggling with finances and money management, then CAM and Pennysmart, the Charity’s expert partners help with budgeting and drawing up practical money management plans. Because of increasing demand, the charity signed up money and benefits advice experts, Pennysmart and Cardiff & Vale Citizens Advice, to provide more capacity and expertise for clients to tap into in 2024 and 2025.
Find out more and ‘Play Your Part’ in supporting the charity at: https://www.thesolicitorscharity.org/play-your-part/
Find out more about The Solicitors’ Charity by visiting: thesolicitorscharity.org
For all media enquiries:
Jamie Moran
023 8023 8001