The winners of the annual Law Works & Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards have been announced.
Student involvement in pro bono work is increasing – a recent LawWorks report found that at least 70% of UK law schools are involved in pro bono projects and 45% of clinics in the LawWorks clinics network involve a law school.
In celebration of this, students and law schools gathered for a ceremony in the House of Commons this week. Jeremy Wright QC MP, the attorney-general, presented the awards, sponsored for the seventh year running by LexisNexis, along with LawWorks’ chief executive, Nick Gallagher, LawWorks trustee Lord Willy Bach, and head of legal at LexisNexis, James Harper.
The work by this year’s pro bono champions included valuable research while interning for an anti-trafficking charity, a “transformative” repayment of £7,200 benefits for a client with mental health and addiction problems, and help for clients through a county court triage scheme.
Dale Timson won the annual Access to Justice Foundation Student Essay Competition Prize for his article “Does the legal profession prioritise access to justice for all?” which will be published in NLJ.
The other winners were:
- Best Contribution by a Law School—University of Strathclyde;
- Best Contribution by a Team of Students—University of Huddersfield’s Legal Advice Clinic;
- Best New Student Pro Bono Activity—University of Greenwich; and
- Best Contribution by an Individual Student—Helen Ingram, BPP University (London).
Kings College London was announced winner of the Law School Challenge 2015, after their success in raising funds for pro bono charities LawWorks and the Bar Pro Bono Unit.
James Harper said: “Access to justice for all is a fundamental part of upholding the rule of law in society, a cause which is a central part of LexisNexis’s global corporate objectives.
“The role that pro-bono plays in this cannot be underestimated; and those that give their time to undertake this work should be praised. It is only fitting that we bring some well-deserved attention to the pro-bono projects nominated and celebrate their fantastic efforts.”
Jeremy Wright said the students nominated across the categories had demonstrated “a tremendous amount of skill, initiative and selflessness of spirit”.
