What Advocate is#
Advocate has matched people who cannot afford legal help with volunteer barristers since 1996, under the principle that a lack of means should never be a barrier to justice. It is the pro bono charity of the Bar, supported by the Bar Council, with around 5,000 barristers on its volunteer panel and a caseworker on every circuit in England and Wales. Barristers it finds can give advice, draft documents and represent you at a court or tribunal hearing, in any area of law.
Who it can help#
Advocate looks at each case on its means, and says it cannot help:
- people who qualify for legal aid, or who can afford the help they need;
- people whose legal expenses insurance covers the problem;
- cases needing more than three days of a barrister's time;
- deadlines less than three weeks away, unless someone faces prison or removal, losing their home, losing contact with their children or a child being taken into care.
Its volunteers will not prepare your case, lodge papers or write letters for you, and because every barrister is a volunteer, help is never guaranteed.
How to apply#
You can apply yourself; no referral is needed, though Advocate also takes referrals from advice agencies, Law Centres, legal clinics, solicitors and MPs. The apply for help page has an online form and a downloadable version, and you must include the result of GOV.UK's legal aid check. Its FAQs suggest taking the form to Citizens Advice, a Law Centre or a university law clinic if you need help completing it. Reviewing an application takes several weeks, and the decision is final. Email is the best way to make contact; its office does not take visitors.
When a name change becomes a court case#
Advocate publishes nothing about names, and you do not need a barrister to change your own: an adult's deed poll needs no court and nobody's consent (do I need a solicitor to change my name?). The cases that reach a courtroom are about children. GOV.UK says changing a child's name needs the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility, or a court order, and you must try to agree first. A parent may then apply for a specific issue order to allow a change, or a prohibited steps order to prevent one, and the court decides on the child's welfare.
Many parents in those cases represent themselves, and family cases involving contact with children are among the exceptions Advocate makes to its three-week rule. Check legal aid first: GOV.UK says it may cover advice on children if you have been in an abusive relationship, where you have evidence of domestic abuse and cannot afford legal costs. The handbook explains both sides:
- Can I change my child's name without the other parent's consent?
- How to stop a child's name being changed
This page describes what Advocate publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. Advocate has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
