Nottingham Law School Legal Advice Centre adds national Pro Bono award to its accolades
Published: 17/05/2021
Nottingham Law School Legal Advice Centre has added another award to it’s trophy cabinet after receiving the Best Contribution by a Law School accolade at the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards 2021.
The award, which was presented at an online ceremony, recognises the important work of the Centre in offering free and affordable legal advice to the local community. The Centre’s team of lawyers and student volunteers have continued to support their clients throughout the pandemic after adapting quickly to online working.
Last academic year, 340 students worked with the Centre and secured more £730,000 for their clients across seven different service areas. This work led to the Centre passing the £5 million mark in benefits and compensation awarded to its clients. The Welfare Benefits service alone secured in excess of £680,000 in benefits for clients despite a 33% reduction in cases experienced due to the impact of the pandemic. Students represented 34 individuals before the Social Security Tribunal and achieved a success rate of 82%.
The Centre is committed to improving equality and diversity and in the last academic year, 34% of student volunteers were from disadvantaged backgrounds; 27% declared a disability and 29% were from ethnic minorities. It has won a string of awards, most recently including the Contribution to the Community Award 2020 from the Nottinghamshire Law Society and ABS of the Year in the Modern Law Awards 2020.
This award recognises the important work of our team of dedicated lawyers and student volunteers, who are committed to providing access to justice for members of the local community. Despite the constraints of the past year, we have been able to continue to offer a valued and high-quality service to clients, as well as expanding and developing our offering in some areas.
Laura Pinkney, Head of the Legal Advice Centre