Press Release: LawWorks announces shortlist for the 2023 Student Pro Bono Awards

LawWorks is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2023 LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards, kindly sponsored by LexisNexis.

The awards celebrate the best pro bono activities undertaken by law students and law schools from across the UK. The winners of the Advocate and LawWorks Law School Challenge 2022 – 2023 are also recognised.

The Award winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the House of Commons on Thursday 27th April with the Attorney General, the Rt Hon. Victoria Prentis KC MP.

Alasdair Douglas, Chair of LawWorks said:

“Congratulations to all those shortlisted for the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards - it's been clear from the significant range of innovative nominations that pro bono initiatives are flourishing at UK law schools.

I would like to thank the judges for their time - choosing from so many excellent and high-quality nominations is a challenging task. Thank you also to the Attorney General, The Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC MP, for once again supporting the Awards. But, above all, thank you to everyone nominated and shortlisted for their dedication to helping those in need of legal support and increasing access to justice. We are grateful for your efforts."

James Harper, Executive Sponsor for Rule of Law and CSR at LexisNexis, said:

“The Rule of Law is at the heart of everything LexisNexis does – from our content to our software to our work across the legal community. In that, we share something with the nominees for these prestigious awards. All those nominated are making incredible efforts to protect access to justice, ensuring the Rule of Law is not just a concept but a reality for many who would otherwise be left behind. LexisNexis is proud to continue its support for LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards in 2023 and we humbly associate ourselves with the fantastic work spotlighted. Congratulations to all those shortlisted!”

The shortlisted nominees are:

Best New Pro Bono Activity

Ukraine Project Cymru, Cardiff University
City Community Legal Advice Centre, City University of London
The Prisons Project, The Aberdeen Law Project
Open Justice Criminal Justice Clinic, The Open University
Family Advice Midlands, The University of Law
University of Chester and Pregnant Then Screwed partnership
University of Suffolk Legal Advice Centre, University of Suffolk

Best Contribution by an Individual Student

Betsy Board, Cardiff University
Jessica Mathew, The University of Surrey
Benjamin O' Connell, University of Essex
Annabel Priest, University of Chester
Daniel Scrase, BPP University
Amy Woodcock, University of Strathclyde

Best Contribution by a Team of Students

Best Contribution by a Law School (undergraduate and postgraduate)

City Law School, City University of London
Climate Clinic, Grampian Community Law Centre, Robert Gordon University
Ulster University Law Clinic
Leicester Law School, University of Leicester
University of London Refugee Law Clinic
University of Plymouth Law School

The Law School Challenge 2022-23

This year's top three teams of the Law School Challenge are:

University of Law (Bloomsbury Campus)
University of Sunderland
University of Huddersfield

The judges for the 2023 Awards are:

Toby Brown, Chair of National Pro Bono Week and Member of the Pro Bono and Social Responsibility Committee;
Peter Farr, Head of Civil Law Policy, Ministry of Justice;
James Harper, Executive Sponsor, Rule of Law and CSR for LexisNexis UK & Ireland;
Olivia Partridge, Content Manager, LawCareers.Net;
Emma Rehal-Wilde, Senior Pro Bono Associate, Baker & Mackenzie LLP and LawWorks Trustee;
Lubna Shuja, President, The Law Society of England and Wales; and
Deborah Smith, Executive Director and Senior Counsel, Goldman Sachs and LawWorks Trustee.

LawWorks would like to congratulate all the shortlisted nominees and thank everyone who submitted nominations and took the time to celebrate student pro bono. LawWorks would also like to thank the judges for their hard work in drawing up the shortlist from a very impressive list of nominations, and LexisNexis for their continued sponsorship of the Awards.

For further information on the Student Pro Bono Awards, please visit: www.lawworks.org.uk/student-awards

-Ends-

Notes to editors:

LawWorks (the Solicitors Pro Bono Group) is a charity working in England and Wales to connect volunteer lawyers and law students with people in need of legal advice, who are not eligible for legal aid and cannot afford to pay, and with the not for profit organisations that support them and their communities. LawWorks supports a network of independent pro bono advice clinics across England and Wales, and facilitates the provision of free legal advice for smaller charities and not-for-profit organisations. For further information about LawWorks visit: https://www.lawworks.org.uk/
LawWorks is supported by the Law Society of England and Wales, the independent professional body for solicitors.
LawWorks are extremely grateful for the sponsorship of the awards by LexisNexis Legal & Professional. LexisNexis Legal & Professional® provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online and now, with the introduction of Lexis+, is leading the future of legal research. LexisNexis Legal & Professional serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,300 employees worldwide and is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.
For further information about the Awards contact Peter Jackson, Communications Officer, peter.jackson@lawworks.org.uk, 07961 522042

Join the student pro bono conversation on social media #WeDoProBono #StudentProBonoAwards

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