News

We are delighted to announce that Duncan Lewis Solicitors has been shortlisted for four awards at the LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2018.

The Awards recognise and celebrate achievement in legal pro bono work carried out by organisations and individuals over the course of the last twelve months. Our nominations include:

• Best contribution by a firm with an English head office

We are extremely proud of the work carried out by our Pro Bono Committee which has impacted on countless individuals who, due to the cuts to legal aid, would otherwise be unable to access mainstream legal services. We also target communities where language and cultural barriers prevent clients from accessing the high-quality legal advice that they so desperately seek. Our Pro Bono Chairperson, Emine Mehmet, has worked closely with the Romford Autism Hub, even taking on additional training to ensure that she and her team are able to best communicate our services to those on the autism spectrum. We have also collaborated with Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) clinics, Turkish Cypriot Women’s Project advice surgery, Citizens Advice surgeries and many others to ensure that everybody has access to justice.

• The LawWorks Cymru Award

Duncan Lewis Solicitors’ Cardiff office is involved in numerous pro bono projects, assisting the most vulnerable clients who may not possess the means, awareness and/or mental capacity to access justice. The housing department currently operates three pro bono projects, running clinics across the city and surrounding area, whilst the Immigration department provides essential pro bono advice to those affected by the Windrush scandal.

• Best contribution by an individual – Lynda Reid

Housing solicitor, Lynda Reid, is not only an integral part of the Cardiff team’s pro bono projects but also goes the extra mile by carrying out a considerable amount of pro bono work on an individual basis. She has established two additional pro bono surgeries with Caerphilly Citizens Advice, taking place in the Risca and Blaenau Gwent areas, extending her support some 30 miles outside of Cardiff. The surgeries are vital to clients living in these areas where quality legal advice is in short supply.

• Junior Lawyers Division Pro Bono Award – Marios Kontos

Trainee solicitor in the Immigration and Public Law departments, Marios Kontos’ pro bono activities are intricately linked to his role as a member of the Duncan Lewis Pro Bono Committee and the Executive Committee of Refugee Legal Support (RLS), a pro bono law clinic in Athens, where asylum seekers can seek free legal assistance in order to get reunited with their families elsewhere in Europe, including the UK. Marios has undertaken pro bono activities which aim to help asylum seekers and migrants navigate the legal maze allowing them to regularise their status and get reunited with their families as early as possible. The work Marios and the rest of the public law department has done for RLS cumulated in RLS winning the Pro Bono Award at the 2018 LexisNexis Awards, a success we are proud to have contributed to.

The LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2018 will take place on Monday 3rd December at the Law Society in London and will be hosted by the BBC’s Legal Correspondent, Clive Coleman.

We are thrilled with our nominations and extend huge congratulations to all of our nominees.