Civil rights barrister Michael Mansfield QC received the outstanding achievement accolade at the eighth Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards last week.

Mansfield, who retired from practice last year, was honoured for a career that spanned 40 years, during which he acted in high-profile cases including the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry; the Marchioness disaster; and the defence of members of the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six.

Accepting the award, Mansfield urged practitioners to fight threatened cuts in the legal aid budget.

'There is no sense in government talking about reinstatement of civil rights if at the same time they are not going to provide adequate resources for the public to access those rights,’ he said.

Nine other awards were presented at the ceremony at London’s Globe Theatre.

The criminal defence lawyer of the year award went to Peter Mahy, partner and head of civil liberties at Sheffield firm Howells, whose case before the European Court of Human Rights (S and Marper v UK) established that it is unlawful to retain the DNA of innocent people.

Katherine Craig, assistant at London firm Christian Khan who specialises in actions against the police, won the young legal aid solicitor award.

Adam Straw, barrister at London’s Tooks Chambers and nephew of former Labour justice secretary Jack Straw, won the award for young legal aid barrister for his work representing families at inquests.

The family legal aid lawyer of the year went to David Jockelson, consultant at London firm Miles & Partners, while Kathy Meade, a solicitor at Tower Hamlets Law Centre, won the social welfare award.

The judging panel was chaired by Cherie Booth QC.