Winners of the JLD 2008 Pro Bono Awards announced

The outstanding achievements of young lawyers throughout England and Wales were celebrated at the Junior Lawyers Division 10th Anniversary Pro Bono Awards on 13 November. Vera Baird QC, MP for Redcar and Solicitor General, and Dominic Grieve QC MP, presented the awards at a ceremony at the Law Society in London.

The annual awards celebrate the outstanding pro bono work undertaken by LPC students, trainee and newly admitted solicitors and qualified solicitors with up to five years experience. They recognise individual pro bono activities and participation in team projects.

Kevin Poulter, Chair of the JLD Pro Bono Awards Committee, said:

'The winners and all the finalists are excellent examples of dedication and innovation, setting the standard for the rest of the profession. Their hard work has provided access to justice for many hundreds of people who would otherwise have been denied this fundamental human right. Over the past ten years the awards have gone from strength to strength and have achieved their objective of encouraging and publicising pro bono to a level the profession has never seen before.'

Bob Heslett, Vice President of the Law Society, said:

'Judging these awards was a real privilege and all the winners and highly commended should be extremely proud of their achievement. Their commitment to using their professional skills to support individuals and communities with otherwise unmet legal needs is an inspiring example to the entire profession. These individuals have made pro bono an integral part of their career. The Law Society is committed to assisting all those solicitors who want to engage in pro bono work, ensure the values of pro bono are very much part of being a solicitor from day one, and highlight solicitors' work outside the profession.'

Winners

Student Award - Ali Asad Naqvi

Whilst studying for the LPC Ali volunteered his free time on a pro bono basis with Shelter Hertfordshire which provides housing advice and assistance to Hertfordshire residents. As part of their service, they offer free legal advice and representation to anyone facing eviction because of rent or mortgage arrears. Ali was a dedicated volunteer for Shelter and made a significant impact on the functioning and the finances of the organisation.

Student Team Award - The Cardiff Law School NHS Continuing Health Care Advice Scheme team in conjunction with Hugh James solicitors

Cardiff Law School NHS Continuing Healthcare Advice Scheme is a dedicated pro bono team based at Cardiff University. It has been operational since 2007 and has since established links with Age Concern Wales and the Alzheimer's Society both of which make referrals to the unit. This partnership ensures that they were able to deliver a legal service of the highest quality, whilst at the same time exposing students to a unique legal education experience. The pro bono team currently comprises 45 students who are split into five ‘firms’, each having conduct for a particular client.

Trainee Award - Sabrina Mahtani

Sabrina is a trainee at Fisher Meredith in London. Before starting her training contract she worked for the Special Court for Sierra Leone on a defence team in the RUF Trial and the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme. Since 2006 she has been working with female prisoners in Sierra Leone subsequently setting up AdvocAid which aims to improve female prisoners' literacy and also take up their legal issues. Although starting her training contract in 2007 Sabrina continues to devote her free time to the project and on her last trip she carried out training for law students in order to continue the work of AdvocAid.

Trainee Team Award - Gotelee & Goldsmith

The Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality has nominated the trainees at Gotelee & Goldsmith. Through their involvement and commitment they have turned the Law Advice Centre (LAC) into a thriving project which is essential, particularly in an area of low legal aid provision such as Suffolk. Over the past year the trainees have worked together to refresh the centre which was struggling to get support from other law firms and client attendance was low. They have initiated and developed a much closer working relationship with the ISCRE team. The trainees have also worked together outside of office hours to support and promote the LAC.

Solicitor Award - (in memory of solicitor Nick Webber) - Laura Mitchell

Laura is an associate solicitor in the employment team of Clarion solicitors in Leeds. She qualified in September 2007. Laura has worked closely with LawWorks in a number of projects aimed at improving access to justice in her community during the past year, particularly in setting up a legal advice clinic at Harehills and Chapeltown law centre including the recruitment of other volunteers. She now commits a substantial amount of her time to running the clinic and is supported in her endeavours by other volunteers she has recruited from Clarions.

Solicitor Team Award - Lovells LLP Domestic Violence Programme

Since 2006 Lovells has worked in partnership with the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) and the Women’s Trust to provide vital legal assistance to men and women who are victims of domestic abuse but ineligible for legal aid. In the past two years Lovells has advised and represented almost one hundred clients with obtaining an urgent injunction to prevent further harm by the offender. Further they have provided pro bono legal advice to the NCDV, a small charity which has limited resources. The team consider their work an important service which helps to restore dignity to those who feel vulnerable and frightened.

Highly commended

Student - Siobhan Howard-Palmer
Siobhan's interest in pro bono work began while she was working at Chapeltown CAB during her first year at Leeds University. She continued her work at the CAB during her LPC year until she started her training contract with Halliwells in Sheffield earlier this year. Throughout her LPC year she has consistently impressed with her enthusiasm for pro bono work and her keen participation in a wide range of schemes whilst also working at the CAB and doing the LPC full time.

Student team - College of Law, Bloomsbury
The National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) is a pioneering organisation set up to help the sufferers of domestic violence obtain free, fast, legal advice, assistance and advocacy. The NCDV works in partnership with a number of law schools, organisations and private practice, to whom clients are referred if they qualify for legal aid. A team of 29 students form the Bloomsbury centre of the College of Law volunteered with the NCDV from December 2007 to August 2008. During that time they helped over 180 clients suffering from domestic violence.

Trainee - Rupesh Masani
Rupesh has been at Irwin Mitchell solicitors since 2003 when he began in his role as a paralegal in the international travel litigation team in Birmingham. Having secured a training contact with the firm he is currently a second year trainee at the Sheffield office. Rupesh has been involved in community work for a number of years and he has been the driving force behind many projects, including the of setting up of free legal advice 'drop-in' clinics in the Somali, Sikh and Muslim communities in the Birmingham area. He is also in the process of finalising a date for a similar clinic at an Afro-Caribbean community centre in the Sheffield area.

Solicitor team - Northumbria University
The nominees in the Northumbria Student Law Office team are all junior solicitors at Northumbria University School of Law where they and their students represent clients in the School’s ground breaking Student Law Office. They provide a full and representation service to the public as an integrated part of students’ professional legal education. It also provides a valuable community resource in the North East of England and makes a significant contribution to access to justice for local people on a range of matters including employment, education, welfare benefits and crime.

Notes to editors

Entries were judged by:

• Dominic Grieve QC MP, Shadow Home Secretary, Shadow Attorney General and Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield
• Kevin Poulter, Chair of the JLD Pro Bono Awards Committee
• Bob Heslett, Vice President of the Law Society
• Jonathan Djanogly MP, Member of Parliament for Huntingdon and Shadow Solicitor General
• Michael Napier CBE, QC, Pro Bono Envoy to the Attorney General
• Matthew Claxson, Fentons Solicitors LLP and immediate past Chair of the Young Solicitors Group
• Kate Walmsley, Pro Bono Co-ordinator, Law Society.

Digital photographs of winners receiving their Pro Bono Awards will be available from Yvonne Treacy after the event on 020 7320 5794.

Nick Webber was a newly qualified solicitor in the Litigation Department at Ashurst when he tragically lost his life in a car accident in Malawi in 2004. He was working for a human rights organisation at the time and had been a passionate advocate for human rights. He had also been heavily involved with the Ashurst Community Involvement Programme. Ashursts decided to honour Nick's memory and demonstrate their commitment to pro bono by sponsoring the Solicitor Award. This award symbolises everything that Nick believed in but most especially, that one person can make a difference; one person can make their mark on the world and make someone else’s life better in the process, whatever the cost to them personally. We are privileged that once again Nick’s mother, Pauline Webber, has agreed to present this award.

National Pro Bono Week is a nationwide campaign to celebrate the extensive range and impact of free services (pro bono) provided by lawyers, often in collaboration with other professionals.

Further information on the winners can be obtained from the Law Society press office on 020 7320 5902.

Sponsors of the cash awards to the winning projects are:

• Allen & Overy
• Ashurst
• Irwin Mitchell
• University of Westminster.