The annual LawWorks Pro Bono Awards were held at the Law Society and also livestreamed. The event was hosted by Sangita Myska, an award-winning journalist and BBC presenter. The Awards recognise and celebrate the pro bono commitment of LawWorks members, their charity and corporate partners, and the work of independent clinics in the LawWorks clinics network.
The LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards were kindly sponsored by LexisNexis, the Law Society of England and Wales and Salesforce.
Winners were chosen in nine categories, each representing the breadth and range of pro bono across England and Wales and internationally – by individuals, firms, in-house teams, law schools and law students, supported by charities, advice agencies, law centres and many non-legal volunteers.
LawWorks Chair of Trustees, Alasdair Douglas, said:
“Congratulations to the winners and finalists – all deserve recognition and celebration of their work and the difference they make in enabling access to justice, especially over what was another challenging year. We again received many truly inspiring nominations, all worthy of recognition and demonstrating how pro bono makes a difference to individuals, local communities, charities and not for profit organisations.”
The winners of the 2021 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards are:
- Best contribution by a Small or Medium Firm: Nottingham Law School Legal Advice Centre.
- Best Contribution by a Large Firm: Bates Wells.
- Junior Lawyers Division Pro Bono Award: Lucy Clifford, Travers Smith.
- Best Contribution by an individual: Louise McCarthy, Sidley Austin.
- The LawWorks Cymru Award: Cardiff Lawyers Care Advice Clinic.
- Best Contribution by a Pro Bono Clinic: Whitechapel Legal Advice Clinic.
- Best International Pro Bono Award (in partnership with A4ID): Clifford Chance.
- Best New Pro Bono Activity: Maternity Action Pro Bono Partnership.
- Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership: Pre-action Protocol Project Partnership with DLA Piper, Deighton Pierce Glynn, Care4Calais and Human for Rights Network.
You can find out more about all those shortlisted and the winners in the 2021 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards programme.
The judges of the Awards are:
- Manda Banerji, until recently Chair of the Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division;
- Yasmin Batliwala, Chief Executive of Advocates for International Development (A4ID);
- Clare Carter, Joint Chief Executive of the Access to Justice Foundation;
- Chris Minnoch, Director of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group; and
- Paul Rogerson, Editor of the Law Society Gazette.
Ends
Notes to editors:
- LawWorks (the Solicitors Pro Bono Group) is a charity that promotes, supports and facilitates pro bono legal services that extend access to the law for individuals and communities in need and the organisations that assist them. LawWorks supports a network of over 300 independent pro bono clinics across England and Wales, and facilitates free legal advice for smaller charities and social enterprises through its Not-For-Profits Programme. LawWorks is supported by the Law Society of England and Wales, the independent professional body for solicitors.
- A4ID is a global charity that works in partnership with the world’s leading law firms, providing access to the best legal advice for those engaged in the fight against global poverty, and contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For the new “Best International Pro Bono Award” special attention is given to pro bono projects that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. www.a4id.org
- Awards sponsor LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics that help professional customers make more informed decisions, increase productivity and serve their clients better. 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 organizations 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 global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries.