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15 May 2024
Issue: 8071 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Pro Bono , Training & education
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Next-generation pro bono award-winners

A project for domestic abuse survivors and a volunteer-run ‘justice bus’ are among the winners of the 2024 LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards, sponsored by LexisNexis

The awards were presented at a ceremony in the House of Lords last week.

Chester University won ‘best new pro bono activity’ for its student-led project partnering with local agencies to assist domestic abuse survivors. The ‘team of students’ award was jointly won by Hertfordshire Law School’s Justice Bus mobile clinic and King’s College London’s rights of nature toolkit, a practical legal guide on protecting rivers.

Hertfordshire Justice Bus volunteer Jekaterina Bodnarchuk also took home the ‘best individual’ prize. Bristol Law School won ‘best contribution for a law school’ for its work securing a £17,000 back payment in a benefit appeal, assistance with a community cinema, and more.

Attorney General Victoria Prentis said: ‘Congratulations to all the nominees who were put forward in some excellent entries—the future of the profession is in safe hands.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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