Pioneering diversity scheme scoops diversity award at Halsbury Legal Awards
Bar Placement Week, which aims to boost social mobility within the profession, was won the Award for Diversity and Inclusion at this year's Halsbury Legal Award ceremony held on Wednesday. The scheme, which was launched in London last year, gives high achieving Year 12 students from low-income backgrounds a coveted week’s work experience with a barrister as well as training in advocacy.
The Bar Council initiative, which proved to be highly popular in the capital, has now been extended to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester - almost doubling the number of students involved.
Nicholas Lavender QC, Bar chair, said: “The students are given an important taste of what life at the Bar is like, enabling them to make an informed decision about pursuing it as a career. Initiatives such as the Bar Placement Week also help the legal profession to tap into a wider talent pool, which will have longer term benefits for the future of the legal profession.”
The Bingham Centre, an independent research institute, won the prestigious Rule of Law Award. Presenting the prize, NLJ editor Jan Miller said the Centre had, since launching in 2010, “embarked on several major projects and activities in the UK as well as in a range of countries including Bahrain, Russia, Kenya, Libya, Nepal, Singapore and Burma/Myanmar”. For example, in Myanmar in 2013, it produced a manual on constitutional reform, conducted training in dozens of cities and facilitated more than 500 submissions.
Also at the awards, Lord Judge, the popular former Lord Chief Justice, received the Lifetime Achievement award. Sir Alan Moses, currently chair of the Independent Press Standards Organisation, was awarded Legal Personality of the Year. Virtuoso Legal scooped the Law Firm of the Year award in the under 50 employees’ category, while RPC won the same accolade in the 50 plus employee group. The claims validation team at DAC Beachcroft Claims Ltd picked up the award for Innovation.
Matrix Chambers won the London Chamber of the Year award while Ropewalk Chambers won the regional chambers award. Marc Weller was recognised for his Academic Contribution to the field.
“The Halsbury awards today applaud all those legal professionals who practise law, break new ground, use their expertise and power to further the aims of society in the broadest way possible, teach law and constructively comment on it,” said Christian Fleck, managing director for LexisNexis UK & Ireland, which holds the awards in association with NLJ.
