Student stars of pro bono

The annual LawWorks & Attorney General Student Pro Bono awards have been presented by Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC MP, at a ceremony in the House of Commons.

Northumbria University scooped top prize for best contribution by a law school. In 2012, it created the first ever European Network of Clinical Education, which allows students to work in law clinics around the world. Liverpool University’s Hillsborough Team won best contribution by a team of students for their work helping families of Hillsborough victims in their pursuit of justice. The University of Ulster’s Ulster Law Clinic, which provides free advice on social security and employment matters, won best new student pro bono activity.

Strathclyde University’s Jacqueline Wall won best contribution by an individual student for her tireless promotion of the Initial Advice clinic—the second year running that a Strathclyde student has won this prize.

The Attorney General said: “The Student Awards celebrate the commitment and dedication demonstrated by these students to pro bono work at an early stage in their career.’’ 

Christian Fleck, managing director of legal information provider LexisNexis UK & Ireland, which sponsored the awards for the fifth year running, said: “This year the quality of entries has been outstanding.”

The Attorney General also presented the annual Access to Justice Foundation Student Essay Competition Prize to Oliver Low for his article on the importance of pro bono in legal education. The article will be published by NLJ. The runners-up were Kate Parker and Edward Beedham.