A barrister who gave advice relating to the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Istanbul is among the winners of this year’s Bar Pro Bono Awards.  Jennifer Robinson, who was engaged in the Khashoggi case by UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard, shares the award for International Pro Bono Barrister of the Year with Jelia Sane. The joint winners are both tenants at London’s Doughty Street Chambers.

Sane is a legal volunteer with Safe Passage, a charity advising asylum seekers on safe and legal routes to international protection and family reunification in the EU.

With migration as a dominant theme, Pro Bono QC of the Year Anthony Metzer QC of Goldsmith Chambers was recognised for a case involving a Netherlands resident who was refused access to the UK. His success led to amendments to the law, including a change in regulations for unmarried partners of British citizens.

Junior Pro Bono Barrister of the Year, Shu Shin Luh, worked on cases challenging the cuts to weekly subsistence paid to victims of trafficking. Her efforts included securing a reversal of subsistence cuts and obtaining a life-changing back payments.

Chambers of the Year went to Fenners of Cambridge, nominated for its support for Anglia Law Clinic.

Lord Goldsmith QC, chairman of the judging panel and founder and president of the charity Advocate, which runs the awards, said: 'The bar particularly continues to do impressive work at the coal face of pro bono – supporting the most vulnerable in our communities and across the globe. I am continually reminded of how proud I am to be part of a profession that does such important work.’

The awards were conferred at a ceremony last night hosted by the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, at Child & Co on London's Fleet Street. Lexis Nexis were the headline sponsor.

Pictured above: Jennifer Robinson receives her award