Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards: Dreams of a 'new dawn'

With the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards taking place the day after the election, it was inevitable that the new Labour government would merit several mentions. However, a former human rights lawyer becoming the country’s prime minister could not distract from the ceremony’s main purpose – to celebrate the work of the legal aid community.

The evening began with former Labour MP Karen Buck receiving the Legal Aid Practitioner Group’s ‘special award’, only the sixth time in the LALYs’ 22-year history that it has been handed out. Buck, who stood down as an MP in May, chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid as well as the Westminster Commission on Legal Aid, and was the driving force behind the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation Act) 2018. LAPG co-chair Jenny Beck described Buck as a ‘warrior’ and ‘constant champion for social justice’.

Garden Court Chambers’ Ollie Persey, who has expertise in Equality Act protections owed to marginalised children accessing education, picked up the Legal Aid Newcomer award. Persey was involved in a landmark challenge that could potentially see appeals to school exclusions – an area of education in which children who are black and/or have special educational needs and disabilities are overrepresented – brought within the scope of legal aid.

The award for Legal Aid Support Staffer/Support Team went to AFG Law’s family billing team, who ‘sprung into action’ when the firm stood to lose 3,000 client files after its then IT supplier was the victim of a cyber-attack. The audience heard that the three-strong team worked during weekends and at Christmas to recreate the files to keep the firm afloat.

Community Law Partnership’s Rose Pritchard won the Housing Law award. Asked by ceremony host Symeon Brown what she wanted to see from the new government, Pritchard said getting housing law ‘back into focus’ was essential. ‘Not having a proper home, people cannot have decent lives at all,’ she said.

The Criminal Defence award went to Amy Cox, of Sonn Macmillan Walker Solicitors. A barrister supporter said Cox can ‘pick up a case, identify the important issues and connect with the client in record time’.

'Perhaps tonight is the start of a new dawn for access to justice, where politicians understand, accept and promote legal aid as a true pillar of a decent, fair and democratic society'

Chris Minnoch, LAPG

Legal Aid Barrister winner Mani Singh Basi of 4PB, known for his work on international abduction and stranded spouse cases, was described as ‘a positive force in family law’.

Jenny Newton of TV Edwards received the award for Family Legal Aid Including Children’s Rights. ‘Every family legal aid department needs a Jenny,’ one supporter said.

The award for Disability Rights went to Tam Gill, of Gledhill Gill Solicitors. Gill represents people at mental health tribunals. One client described her as ‘the glue that held me together’.

The winner of the Social Welfare Law award was Islington Law Centre’s Esme Madill, the driving force behind the Breaking the Chains project which supports Albanian children seeking asylum in the UK. One young person said Madill ‘treats all of us young people as if we were her own children. For some, it is the first time they have been prioritised in their lives’.

Public Interest Law Centre won the Legal Aid Firm/Not-For-Profit Agency award. A KC said that by having the law centre by their side, ‘local residents are empowered, emboldened’.

TRP Solicitors was named Regional Legal Aid Firm/Not-For-Profit Agency winner. One client said the Birmingham-based immigration practice ‘saved my case, my life and my daughter’s life’.

The Public Law award went to Bhatt Murphy’s Sophie Naftalin. One KC described her as a ‘trailblazer’ and ‘a force to be reckoned with’ for her work with families of women killed by abusive partners or who have taken their own lives following abuse.

The final award of the night, for outstanding achievement, was presented to Toufique Hossain, director of public law at national firm Duncan Lewis. He played a leading role in successfully challenging the previous government’s Rwanda removals policy.

Urging the new government to ‘be brave’, Hossain said governing without cruelty is possible. ‘Tomorrow, our pre-action letters will be drafted with the same passion as those we represent, just hopefully not as often,’ he said.

With the country ushering in a new political era, ‘perhaps tonight is the start of a new dawn for access to justice, where politicians understand, accept and promote legal aid as a true pillar of a decent, fair and democratic society’, LAPG chief executive Chris Minnoch suggested. We shall see.