LawWorks announces shortlist for Student Pro Bono Awards 2024

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LawWorks has announced the shortlist for its upcoming award ceremony, which aims to celebrate the best pro bono activities undertaken by UK students and law schools.

The LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards, which is sponsored by LexisNexis, will take place at the House of Lords on Thursday 9 May with the attorney general, the Rt Hon. Victoria Prentis KC MP.

This year, judges for the awards are:

• Nick Emmerson, president, the Law Society of England and Wales;
• Peter Farr, head of civil law policy, Ministry of Justice;
• James Harper, executive sponsor, Rule of Law and CSR for LexisNexis UK & Ireland;
• Olivia Partridge, content manager, LawCareers.Net;
• Samantha Singer, joint chair of the bar council pro bono & social responsibility committee; and
• Deborah Smith, executive director and senior counsel, Goldman Sachs and LawWorks Trustee.

Chair of LawWorks, Alasdair Douglas, said: “It has been 18 years since LawWorks began celebrating the significant contribution made by students and law schools from across the UK and it is a real privilege to see the nominations we receive each year – all the nominees deserve wider recognition for their brilliant work.”

This year, LawWorks received more than 50 nominations from 32 law schools and education institutions across a range of awards, including best new pro bono activity.

Executive sponsor for Rule of Law and CSR at LexisNexis, James Harper, said: “The nominees are the embodiment of all that is great about our profession, holding an unshakeable belief in the importance of access to justice and the Rule of Law.”

The shortlisted nominees are below.

Best new pro bono activity:

• Reach out to Survivors: Domestic Abuse, University of Chester
• City Community Legal Advice Centre Housing and PIP Service, The City Law School, City, University of London
• Exceptional Case Funding Clinic, Liverpool John Moores University
• Special Educational Needs Judicial Review Project, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool
• Welfare Law Clinic, University of Plymouth

Best contribution by an individual student:

• Sushant Agarwal, City Community Legal Advice Centre
• Jekaterina Bodnarchuk, Hertfordshire Law School
• Simrit Brar, University of Leicester Legal Advice Clinic
• Sophia-Ada Hamdan, University of Southampton Legal Clinic
• Ella Heilman, SOAS, University of London
• Adam Samji, The City Law School, City, University of London
• Laurent Sammouri, Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London

Best contribution by a Law School (undergraduate and postgraduate):

• Birmingham City University Law Clinic, Birmingham City University
• University of Bristol Law School, University of Bristol
• Law In Real Life, The City Law School, City, University of London
• Derby Law School, University of Derby Student Legal Advice Centre
• UEA Law Clinic, University of East Anglia School of Law
• University of Plymouth Law Clinic, University of Plymouth
• Grampian Community Law Centre, Robert Gordon University

Best contribution by a team of students:

• Justice Bus Project, University of Hertfordshire
• King's College London Environmental Law Clinic, King's College London
• Justice for Windrush Project, University of Leicester Legal Advice Clinic
• Legal Advocacy Support Project, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Greater Manchester Law Centre
• The Student Support Team, Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre, Queen Mary University of London
• Streetlaw Team, Sussex Legal Clinics, University of Sussex Law School

In addition to announcing the nominations, LawWorks also recognised the winners of the Advocate and LawWorks Law School Challenge 2023/2024. The Law School Challenge is a fundraising initiative created to raise awareness of pro bono and to raise money for free legal advice. This year, teams taking part in the challenge raised more than £5,000. The top three teams were University of Huddersfield, University of Sunderland and University of York.

For further information on the Student Pro Bono Awards, visit: www.lawworks.org.uk/student-awards