The awards recognise the dedication and commitment of law schools and law students across the country and the contribution of student pro bono in enabling access to legal advice and representation.
The awards ceremony was hosted by High Court Judge Sir Robin Knowles CBE and the event was attended by over 200 guests.
Of over 230 clinics in the LawWork clinics network, two-fifths (40%) operate through law schools. In the year to April 2017, over 3,150 students volunteered in law clinics, dealing with over 18,000 enquiries. Student clinics provide advice in a variety of areas such as family, welfare benefits, employment, housing and small claims.
LawWorks are grateful to LexisNexis, who sponsored the awards for the tenth year running, demonstrating a continued commitment to student pro bono.
Download the Awards programme
The winners are:
Best contribution by a Law School: Plymouth Law School, Plymouth University
Over half of all the law students at Plymouth Law School are involved in pro bono activity. The law school runs a number of clinics – on employment law, family law and welfare benefits. A refugee Family Reunion Clinic is run in partnership with the British Red Cross in which the students help to reunite vulnerable families forcibly separated by conflict and persecution.
The runner up for ‘Best contribution by a Law School’: School of Law, Ulster University.
Best contribution by a team of students: The Birmingham Free Legal Advice Group Coordinators (FLAG), University of Birmingham
This team of nine dedicated student volunteers on the frontline in dealing with all public enquiries in relation to the clinic, processing each enquiry, booking appointments with FLAG’s partner firms and chambers, or signposting the client to alternative sources of assistance. This year the team dealt with over 330 enquiries in just five months – dedicating a minimum of 3 to 5 hours per week each to the project.
The runner up for ‘Best contribution by a team of students’: University of Exeter Access to Justice Clinic Students, University of Exeter Law School.
Best contribution by an individual student: Catherine Ruta - University of Birmingham
Catherine chairs the law school’s Pro Bono Group, and has worked hard to promote pro bono to fellow students. She has - been an excellent ambassador externally, including speaking at events during National Pro Bono week, and at a meeting with the Attorney General. She volunteers at the local Personal Support Unit providing emotional and practical support for litigants in person
The runner up for ‘Best contribution by an individual student’: Rebecca Smith – University of Greenwich.
Best new pro bono activity: The Family Justice Project, Northumbria Law School, Northumbria University
This project provides bespoke family law and domestic violence clinics. Using creative and innovative ways to engage, in particular, members of minority communities, the project includes a drop-in legal advice clinic for Black and Minority ethnic women concerning issues such as female genital mutilation and honour-based violence.
The runners up for ‘Best new pro bono activity’:
- BPP Enterprise Legal Advice Clinic, BPP University.
- Children's Social Care and SEND Clinic, University of Liverpool Law Clinic
The Attorney General also presented Edinburgh University Free Legal Advice Centre with the Access to Justice Foundation Award which recognises the work of individuals and educational bodies in promoting and supporting access to justice and charities which provide pro bono services.
Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University was announced as the winner of the Law School Challenge, a law school led initiative to raise funds for LawWorks and the Bar Pro Bono Unit. The University of Exeter Law School and the University of Huddersfield were also recognised for their efforts as runners up.
The Attorney General, the Right Hon Jeremy Wright QC said
“The Pro Bono Student Awards are a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge the committed and hardworking law students who have put in a huge amount of work to help increase access to justice in their communities.
“This year’s nominees should be extremely proud of their achievements – it is their enthusiasm and generosity which helps preserve the strong pro bono ethos in the UK’s legal profession.”
James Harper, Executive Sponsor, Rule of Law and CSR for LexisNexis UK & Ireland said:
“In our 200th year anniversary, LexisNexis is delighted to be sponsoring the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards for the 10th year running. Advancing the Rule of Law is the fundamental purpose at the heart of our business, and student-led pro bono supports the Rule of Law at a very practical level. We congratulate and thank all those nominated and shortlisted for their valuable contributions and are proud to have stood with them in these Awards.”
LawWorks Chair of Trustees Alasdair Douglas said:
“On behalf of LawWorks, I am hugely grateful to all the Law Schools and students nominated and commend them on their efforts. LawWorks received a high number of excellent nominations – it is clear that student pro bono across the country plays a significant role in free advice for those in need.
It is heartening to see that student pro bono is now embedded and so well supported at many UK Universities, we thank every student, teacher and co-ordinator for their contribution and congratulate all the shortlisted candidates and winners. “
Notes to editors
- The brochure of shortlisted nominations can be found here:link
- The Hon Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC MP, endorses these awards.
- This year’s panel of judges were
- Christina Blacklaws, Vice-president of the Law Society
- Peter Farr, Trustee of CILEx Pro Bono Trust
- James Harper, Executive Sponsor, Rule of Law and CSR for LexisNexis UK & Ireland
- Alison Padfield QC, Co-Chair of the Bar Council Pro Bono Panel
- Josh Richman, Senior editor, LawCareers.Net - The Law School Challenge is an annual national competition to raise funds for and awareness of the pro bono work of LawWorks and the Bar Pro Bono Unit.
- LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of content and technology solutions that enable professionals in legal, corporate, tax, government, academic and non-for -profit organisations to make informed decisions and achieve better business outcomes. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. Today, LexisNexis Legal & Professional harnesses leading-edge technology and world-class content to help professionals work in faster, easier and more effective ways. Through close collaboration with its customers, the company ensures organisations can leverage its solutions to reduce risk, improve productivity, increase profitability and grow their business. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 175 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide, is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries.
Contact:
James Sandbach, Director of Policy & External Affairs – 0207 092 3943 / 07508-327606
Peter Jackson, Communications Officer - 020 7092 3952