1. WINNER
Pro-Bono Initiative of the Year
AVON & BRISTOL LAW CENTRE
Winner: Avon & Bristol Law Centre
Across the country, 59 per cent of people who challenge the Department of
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29 June 2016
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2. Work and Pensions (DWP) on its decision regarding whether they are fit to
work win their case. At the Avon & Bristol Law Centre, this rises to a
staggering 95 per cent.
Three years ago centre head Andy King established a process by which
student volunteers from the nearby University of Law campus and the
University of the West of England (UWE) could represent advise benefits
claimants and represent them at tribunals.
Deluged by student requests for hands-on, client experience, King matched
the needs of both students and clients. Initially working with just two UWE
students, he designed template letters and systems by which the project
could run. The first cohort of students trained their replacements and so the
project’s self-perpetuating system was born.
Taking only the most gifted students, the project recruits from the end of
undergraduates’ first years until graduation and runs on a rotational basis,
with waves of volunteers starting three times a year.
In three years, over 200 clients have been helped, with an average £5,000
per client regained in benefits. All the participating students have gained first
class honours degrees.
“The success rates speak for themselves,” said judges. “This is simply
inspiring work with benefits on all sides: the general public, the students and
society as a whole.”
Second place: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Five years ago, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer established its modern
slavery project. The firm works for individual victims, bringing and enforcing
civil claims against those who have exploited them within the UK.
In particular, it has concentrated of enforcing civil claims – ensuring that the
traffickers are forced to pay redress to their victims when ordered to do so by
the courts. In the last year it recorded over 2,000 hours on five such cases
(plus another 1,200 hours on other modern slavery-related matters), achieving
significant successes on behalf of victims.

3. Judges were particularly impressed by the proactive rather than reactive
nature of the project, and by the close collaboration between the firm, the
frontline charities assisting victims of trafficking, and legal aid practitioners. “It
is excellent in its execution and its focus,” said one. “The firm has a very clear
long-term vision for the project.”
Third place: Linklaters
During the political upheaval and civil wars of 1989 to 2003, Liberia’s legal
system collapsed. Once peace was established Lawyers Without Borders
uncovered a critical need for an index and case digest to be made accessible
to the judiciary.
Over five years, 211 Linklaters lawyers across eight offices have dedicated
more than 5,800 hours to summarising more than 3,700 cases and writing a
key-word index: the very first time such an exercise has been done. The
result: Liberia’s legal foundation has been re-established.
Judges praised the “amazing commitment shown by Linklaters on this
“Herculean” task. “The work is hard and less glamorous than some other pro
bono work,” said one, “which makes the firm’s dedication to it all the more
significant.”
SHORTLISTED
Second place: Linklaters.com
Third place: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
DLA Piper
Sidley Austin
The Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre
The Royal British Legion Solicitors Group
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
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