A band of lawyers are putting their heads together to help the world's least developed countries understand the impact of UN talks. Sofia Lind reports

In early December 2011 representatives from almost 200 countries converged on the South African city of Durban as part of the United Nation's (UN's) ongoing attempts to deal with the impact of climate change and cut worldwide carbon emissions. After several years of faltering talks, the two-week Durban UN Climate Change Conference is seen to have delivered a breakthrough, with a decision to adopt a legal agreement on climate change no later than 2015.

Meanwhile, on a smaller scale back in London, a group of City lawyers were also contributing to the cause, working around the clock to give free legal advice to less developed countries on a pro bono basis. Working from Simmons & Simmons' London headquarters, both in-house counsel and lawyers from a range of City firms came together to help under-represented developing countries and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with key legal advice to make use of during negotiations. Dubbed the Legal Response Initiative (LRI), during the Durban talks the group set up a situation room to act as "a type of citizen's advice bureau for less developed countries".