LawWorks is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards, kindly sponsored by LexisNexis, and supported by the Law Society of England and Wales.
Held on Wednesday 4th December at the Law Society, the event was hosted by political commentator Tamara Cohen, and the awards were presented by Mark Evans, Vice President of the Law Society of England and Wales.
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.
Winners were chosen in thirteen categories, each representing the breadth and range of pro bono across England and Wales, internationally and LawWorks pro bono projects, – by individuals, firms, in-house teams, law schools and law students, supported by charities, advice agencies, law centres and many non-legal volunteers.
Commenting on the awards winners, Rebecca Wilkinson, the Chief Executive of LawWorks, said:
"The LawWorks Annual Awards are a highlight of our year; hearing the impact pro bono work makes on people’s lives continues to reaffirm our commitment to developing and supporting solicitors pro bono work within the access to justice ecosystem. We are so proud of the work of our member organisations, and the individual solicitors within them, who give up their time to help others."
The winners of the 2024 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards are:
- Best Contribution by a Small or Medium Firm - Sponsored by LEAP: Ropes & Gray
- Best Contribution by a Large Firm: Dechert
- Best Contribution by an In-house Team or an In-house Solicitor: Omar Madhloom, University of Southampton
- Best Contribution by a Junior Lawyer: Abigail Curry, Baker McKenzie
- The Stephen Denyer Pro Bono Awards for Best Individual Contribution: Thomas Jennings, Herbert Smith Freehills
- Best Pro Bono Contribution in Wales: Veterans Legal Link, Aberystwyth University
- Best Contribution by a Pro Bono Clinic: Dads House Family Law Clinic, Dad’s House
- Best International Pro Bono Award - in partnership with A4ID: Face Equality International in partnership with Reed Smith, Bank of America and Amazon
- Best New Pro Bono Activity: UCL iLAC Form Filling Initiative
- Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership: City Community Legal Advice Centre
- Best Contribution to LawWorks Not-For-Profits Programme: Crowell & Moring U.K. LLP
- Best Contribution to LawWorks Secondary Specialisation Programme: Baker McKenzie
- The Pro Bono Connect Award: Morrison Foerster and Cloisters Chambers
LawWorks are incredibly grateful to our judging panel for our awards this year, they are:
- Mark Evans, Vice President of The Law Society of England and Wales
- James Harper, Executive Sponsor, Rule of Law and CSR for LexisNexis UK & Ireland
- Chris Minnoch, Director of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group
- Professor Richard Owen, Chair of the Law Society’s Access to Justice Committee
- Paul Rogerson, Editor of the Law Society Gazette
- Rebecca Wilkie, Chief Executive of Advocate
You can find out more about all those shortlisted and our winners in the 
2024 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards programme.
Photographs of the event are available on request.
Contact: Peter Jackson: peter.jackson@lawworks.org.uk
--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.
- The LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards event is being held at the Law Society on 4th December (from 6.30pm). For more information, please contact Peter at: peter.jackson@lawworks.org.uk
- Nominees for the LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards must be or include a member of LawWorks or a clinic in the LawWorks Clinics Network. Detail about LawWorks membership is available at: www.lawworks.org.uk/why-pro-bono/lawworks-membership-join-us
- 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
- 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.
- LEAP occupies a unique position in the legal software market as its powerful features expand beyond traditional practice management software and leverages the power of AI; enhancing efficiency, productivity and modernisation within law firms. LEAP is a true cloud solution that revolutionises how you run your practice, organise and manage documents, handle legal accounting and optimise your workflow to make more money. Built with clients in mind, LEAP is suited across all common areas of law and includes powerful tools to help future-proof law firms.