Press Release - LawWorks announces shortlist for Annual Pro Bono Awards

LawWorks is pleased to announce the shortlisted nominees for the Annual Pro Bono Awards.

The Awards recognise and celebrate outstanding achievement in legal pro bono undertaken by organisations and individuals and the dedication and commitment of the legal sector to positively impact individuals and communities.  The finalists chosen represent the breadth and range of pro bono delivery and innovation by LawWorks members across the profession in England and Wales.

The judging panel comprised Mick Antoniw, Counsel General for Wales, Andrea Coomber, Director of JUSTICE, Leanne Maud, Chair of the Junior Lawyers Division of the Law Society, Paul Rogerson, Editor-in-chief, Law Society Gazette and Carol Storer, Director of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Monday 5th December 2016.  The annual Awards lecture will be given by Sir Terence Etherton, Master of the Rolls and the evening will be hosted by Clive Anderson, television and radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister. The event is kindly being hosted by Allen & Overy and is generously supported by Lexis Nexis and the Law Society.

Martin Barnes, Chief Executive, LawWorks said “The LawWorks Pro Bono Awards provide an opportunity to celebrate the legal profession’s dedication to improving lives and enabling access to justice. The judges have been impressed by the quality and range of nominations and we are grateful to all who took the time to nominate. Congratulations to all the finalists. ”. 

The short-listed nominees are (In alphabetical order):

Best Contribution by a Small Firm

  • Curtis Law Solicitors LLP
  • Emma Williams Family Law
  • Family First Solicitors LLP
  • Tyrer Roxburgh Solicitors LLP

Best Contribution by a Firm with an English Regional Head Office

  • Curtis Law Solicitors LLP
  • Shoosmiths LLP

Best Contribution by a Firm with a London Head Office

  • Ashurst LLP
  • Duncan Lewis Solicitors
  • Travers Smith

Best Contribution by an International Firm

  • Dechert LLP
  • Dentons
  • Jones Day
  • Kirkland & Ellis
  • Simmons & Simmons

Best Contribution by an In-House Team

  • Goldman Sachs International
  • RBS Legal 

Best Contribution by an Individual

  • Claire Curtis, Clyde & Co
  • Elaine Nolan, Kirkland & Ellis
  • Emine Mehmet, Duncan Lewis Solicitors
  • Emma Williams, Emma Williams Family Law
  • Neil Powell, The Speakeasy Cardiff Employment Law Clinic

Junior Lawyers Division Pro Bono Award

  • Frankie Boon, Ashurst
  • Gemma O’Boyle, DLA Piper UK LLP
  • Hannah Taylor, DLA Piper UK LLP
  • Helen Vickers , DLA Piper UK LLP

The LawWorks Cymru Award

  • Duncan Lewis Solicitors
  • The Speakeasy, Cardiff Employment Law Clinic
  • Spicketts Battrick Law Practice

Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership

  • Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton LLP and Toynbee Hall
  • Clyde & Co LLP and Together for Short Lives
  • Court of Appeal Permission Application Pro Bono Scheme
  • DLA Piper UK LLP, Ashurst LLP, The National Deaf Children's Society
  • Jones Day and Macmillan Cancer Support
  • K&L Gates LLP and Pause
  • Migrant and Refugee Children's Legal Unit, Allen & Overy, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Mayer Brown, White & Case
  • The Domestic Violence and Family Law Legal Clinic, Tower Hamlets: Shearman & Sterling, Gibson Dunn, Reed Smith and the University House Legal Advice Centre

 

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Notes to editors:

  1.    LawWorks is a Charity working in England and Wales to connect volunteer lawyers both 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.
     
  2.    LawWorks believes in the power of pro bono legal advice to improve the lives of people in need. For further information about LawWorks visit: www.lawworks.org.uk 
     
  3. Nominees for the LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards must be, or include, a member of LawWorks. The Awards recognise legal pro bono work for individuals and/or organisations or communities in England and Wales.  The full list of LawWorks members can be found at: https://www.lawworks.org.uk/about-us/our-members 
     
  4. Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #LawWorksAwards
     
  5. Press Contact: Valerie Hudson t: 0207 092 3952 e: valerie.hudson@lawworks.org.uk

 

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