The LawWorks Pro Bono Awards will be presented at the Awards ceremony to be held on Wednesday 4th December.
This guidance contains additional information to help you make a nomination.
- How to nominate
- Changes and new categories for 2024
- Award categories
- Criteria for nominations
- Judging and awards ceremony
- Contact us
Download the 
Pro Bono Awards Guidance.
How to nominate
Any firm, in-house team, organisation, clinic or individual can nominate itself or others for one or more of the categories listed. If you would like to make a nomination for more than one category, please complete a separate form for each nomination.
Nominations must be submitted no later than 11:59pm on Monday 30th September 2024.
To be eligible nominees need to be a member of LawWorks as of close of business on 30th September 2024. Unless otherwise noted the pro bono work does not have to be delivered through a LawWorks project, programme or by a clinic in the LawWorks Clinic Network. The pro bono work of clinics in the LawWorks Clinics Network can also be recognised in the appropriate categories.
If your organisation is not a LawWorks member, you can find out more about LawWorks membership on our website.
To make a nomination please complete the nomination form.
Changes and new categories for 2024
This year we are introducing three new awards to celebrate the pro bono work undertaken by LawWorks members through our pro bono programmes.
The new categories are:
- Best Contribution to LawWorks Not-For-Profits Programme
This award celebrates the exceptional pro bono work undertaken by a volunteer solicitor or team of volunteer solicitors through the LawWorks Not-For-Profits Programme.
- Best Contribution to LawWorks Secondary Specialisation Programme
This award celebrates outstanding achievement by a solicitor to deliver positive outcomes in specific under resourced areas of social welfare law - employment appeal tribunals or families and carers of children with life-limiting and other serious conditions – as part of the LawWorks Secondary Specialisation Programme.
- The Pro Bono Connect Award
The Pro Bono Connect Award recognises engagement, collaboration and celebrate outcomes from pro bono work conducted by solicitors through Pro Bono Connect.
The categories that have their criteria updated for 2024 are (see below for details):
- Best contribution by a Small or Medium Firm
- Best contribution by a Large Firm
- Best Pro Bono Contribution in Wales
Awards categories
Awards will be given to recognise the quality and impact of pro bono legal work.
The Awards judges will consider applications in the following categories:
- Best contribution by a Small or Medium Firm – Sponsored by LEAP
This award is for pro bono work undertaken by a sole practitioner, or a firm with less than 300 fee earners.
- Best contribution by a Large Firm
This award is for pro bono work undertaken by a firm with 301+ fee earners.
- Best Contribution by an In-house Team or an In-house Solicitor
This award recognises the legal pro bono work undertaken by an in-house team or in-house solicitor, based in England & Wales.
- Best Contribution by an Individual
This category includes pro bono coordinators and volunteer/pro bono lawyers (in sole practice, firms and in-house teams), as well as senior partners or general counsel who have championed pro bono legal work in a firm or an in-house team.
- The Best Contribution by a Junior Lawyer
The Best Contribution by a Junior Lawyer Award recognises the pro bono work undertaken by a trainee or qualified solicitor with less than 5 years post qualification experience (current students are not eligible for this award as there are separate awards for students through the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Awards).
- Best Pro Bono Contribution in Wales
This category recognises pro bono legal work undertaken in Wales by a LawWorks member firm, in-house team, clinic that is part of the LawWorks Clinics Network, or by a pro bono solicitor in a LawWorks member firm, in-house team or clinic. The judges may give additional weight where there is evidence of effective partnership working.
- Best contribution by a Pro Bono Clinic
To be eligible the clinic must be registered with the LawWorks Clinics network and providing legal pro bono. The clinic must be run by or in partnership with a member of LawWorks, or where at least one LawWorks member is volunteering with the clinic.
- Best International Pro Bono Award - in partnership with A4ID
This category can include any pro bono project or activity delivered outside England and Wales, for beneficiaries outside England and Wales. Special attention will be given to pro bono projects that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As LawWorks focuses on domestic pro bono, this is a special category that is awarded jointly with Advocates for International Development (A4ID), 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. It is intended to recognise the cross jurisdictional work of members, many of which run a mixed portfolio of domestic and international pro bono projects.
- Best New Pro Bono Activity
This award recognises pro bono activity which commenced after 1st October 2022. The judges will give weight to any innovative aspects of the project or activity.
- Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership
This category can include in-house teams and law firms or individuals working in partnership with clinics, charities and not-for-profit organisations, advice agencies or others.
Additional weight will be given to partnerships which are innovative and/or creative, including (for example) consultation with potential beneficiaries on identifying need or project design.
A nomination can be made for this category if the partnership includes a firm, organisation or individual who is not a member of LawWorks, so long as at least one member of LawWorks is included.
Criteria for nominations
To be eligible, nominees must meet the following requirements
- Nominees are a member of LawWorks (as of 30th September 2024); for the ‘Best contribution by a pro bono clinic’ and ‘Best New Pro Bono Activity’ categories, a clinic registered with the LawWorks Clinics Network can also nominate or be nominated for. Membership of LawWorks includes the partners, associates, trainees, and employees of a LawWorks member organisation.
- Except for the ‘Best International Pro Bono Award’, the legal pro bono work was undertaken for individuals and/or organisations or communities in England and Wales (please note that this is not restricted to participation in a LawWorks project or programme). For the 'Best International Pro Bono Award', we do require that at least one England and Wales lawyer has been involved in the pro bono work (that might, for example, include a pro bono co-ordinator in the relevant firm).
- To be eligible for the Best Contribution to LawWorks Not-For-Profits Programme award, the LawWorks member must have participated in the Not-for-Profits Programme in 2024 by providing pro bono legal advice to a not-for-profit organisation referred to them by LawWorks, or have provided pro bono legal training to not-for-profit organisations in training sessions organised by LawWorks during 2024.
- To be eligible for the Best Contribution to LawWorks Secondary Specialisation Programme award, the LawWorks member must have participated in the Programme in 2024 by providing pro bono legal advice on case referred to them by LawWorks.
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To be eligible for the Pro Bono Connect Award, the nominee must have participated in the Pro Bono Connect programme during 2024 by providing pro bono legal advice on case referred to them by Pro Bono Connect.
- Nominations should include evidence of benefit and impact(s). This can include:
- A description of the pro bono activity undertaken – e.g.,
- the identified need or the presenting problem(s);
- the intended beneficiaries or clients;
- the nature or type of legal work or advice given and/or action taken;
- and
- the outcomes or impact(s) achieved;
- evidence demonstrating improvements for individuals or local communities, such as the number of people who have benefited from the pro bono legal work; and
- A supporting statement(s) – if possible - from a beneficiary or a partner/stakeholder.
If there is any information submitted which you do not wish to see included in a summary in the published awards brochure or would like to approve before inclusion, please mark this clearly on your nomination form.
You can nominate yourself or your own organisation or another individual or organisation.
All nominations will be judged by an independent shortlisting and judging panel, whose decision will be final.
Judging and awards ceremony
Shortlisted nominees will be notified as soon as possible in advance of the Awards ceremony held on Wednesday 4th December.
The judging panel will be announced shortly.
Contact us
If you have a question about the awards, please contact either:
- Sharon Batchelor, Fundraising and Events Officer
- Peter Jackson, Communications Officer
We look forward to receiving your nominations!
Last updated 6/8/2024