Student Pro Bono Awards 2023 nominees announced

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The shortlist of students and law schools nominated for the 2023 LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards has been announced.

The awards honour the efforts of law students and law schools to provide access to legal assistance, to those who can’t afford to pay for it themselves through pro bono work. This year’s nominees undertook an extensive array of work, from providing family law and benefits appeals assistance in their local communities, to offering legal advice to refugees from Ukraine.

The Award winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the House of Commons on Thursday 27 April with the attorney general, the Rt Hon. Victoria Prentis KC MP.

If you’re interested in pro bono work, check out our student guide to pro bono followed by this LCN Says on how to find the right scheme for you.

The shortlisted nominees for 2023 are:

Best new pro bono activity

• Ukraine Project Cymru, Cardiff University
• City Community Legal Advice Centre, City University of London
• The Prisons Project, The Aberdeen Law Project
• Open Justice Criminal Justice Clinic, The Open University
• Family Advice Midlands, The University of Law
• University of Chester and Pregnant Then Screwed partnership
• University of Suffolk Legal Advice Centre, University of Suffolk

Best contribution by an individual student

• Betsy Board, Cardiff University
• Jessica Mathew, The University of Surrey
• Benjamin O'Connell, University of Essex
• Annabel Priest, University of Chester
• Daniel Scrase, BPP University
• Amy Woodcock, University of Strathclyde

Best Contribution by a team of students, sponsored by The College of Legal Practice

• Company Insolvency Pro Bono Scheme Student Team, City University of London
• School Exclusion Project, City University of London
• The Representation Team, The Aberdeen Law Project
• The Immigration Project, University of Chester and Eastgate Chambers
• Liverpool Family Advice Project, University of Liverpool
• Immigration and Refugee Law Clinic, University of Plymouth

Best contribution by a law school (undergraduate and postgraduate)

• City Law School, City University of London
• Climate Clinic, Grampian Community Law Centre, Robert Gordon University
• Ulster University Law Clinic
• Leicester Law School, University of Leicester
• University of London Refugee Law Clinic
• University of Plymouth Law School

The law school challenge 2022-23

This year's top three teams of the Law School Challenge are:

• University of Law (Bloomsbury Campus)
• University of Sunderland
• University of Huddersfield

The judges for the 2023 awards are:

• Toby Brown, chair of National Pro Bono Week and member of the Pro Bono and Social Responsibility Committee;
• Peter Farr, head of civil law policy, Ministry of Justice;
• James Harper, executive sponsor, Rule of Law and CSR for LexisNexis UK & Ireland;
• Olivia Partridge, content manager, LawCareers.Net;
• Emma Rehal-Wilde, senior pro bono associate, Baker McKenzie and LawWorks Trustee;
• Lubna Shuja, president, The Law Society of England and Wales; and
• Deborah Smith, executive director and senior counsel, Goldman Sachs and LawWorks Trustee.

Alasdair Douglas, chair of LawWorks commented: “Congratulations to all those shortlisted for the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards – it's been clear from the significant range of innovative nominations that pro bono initiatives are flourishing at UK law schools. I would like to thank the judges for their time – choosing from so many excellent and high-quality nominations is a challenging task. Thank you also to the Attorney General, The Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC MP, for once again supporting the Awards. But, above all, thank you to everyone nominated and shortlisted for their dedication to helping those in need of legal support and increasing access to justice. We are grateful for your efforts."

Good luck to all the nominees!