LawWorks featured by BBC Watchdog
 Mediation is one method available for consumers to resolve their dispute.
Our Chief Executive, Rebecca HIlsenrath, spoke to BBC Watchdog.
Read the article and view the podcast>>
Annual LawWorks Pro Bono Awards
 The time has come for our prestigious Pro Bono Awards giving the hardworking volunteers who have contributed to our LawWorks projects the opportunity to be recognised for their efforts, and the beneficiaries of pro bono advice a chance to say thank you. The winners will receive their awards at the glamorous LawWorks summer ball in June.
As well as recognising an individual or organisation’s commitment to pro bono work, a LawWorks Award can go a lot further. Ros Brown of Norfolk Community Law Service (a 2009 winner) has told us that the award has given their publicity a big boost, attracted new volunteers (students and lawyers), impressed funders and instilled an even bigger sense of pride across the whole organisation.
Due to popular demand, there are six award categories this year, two more than last year:
• Best Contribution by a Law Firm
• Best Contribution by an In-House Team or other Member Organisation
• Best Contribution by an Individual
• Best Contribution by a Regional Law Firm/Organisation
• Partnership in Pro Bono
• Best Partner Level Engagement in a Law Firm
Nomination forms are available on our website, along with detailed guidance notes about each of the categories. The deadline for nominations is Friday 26 March 2010. Any queries should be directed to ballawards@lawworks.org.uk
LawWorks Walks the Thames
  On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 of February a team of intrepid LawWorks employees and some of their wonderful friends successfully completed the 40 mile 'Walk the Thames' sponsored walk, raising money for LawWorks through the London Legal Support Trust.
Sarah, Alison, Megan, Kathie, Chris, Carl, Jo, Struan, Chris and Steven battled rain, mud and blisters (as well as enjoying some glorious sunshine on Saturday!) from the Thames Barrier on Saturday to make it to the finish line at a pub in Hampton on Sunday. We were damp, tired and sore, but very proud of ourselves and it was definitely worth the pain for all the money we managed to raise.
Thank you so much to everyone who sponsored us – we really appreciate it. If you were thinking of sponsoring but haven’t got around to it yet then there is still plenty of time, just visit our JustGiving page - http://www.justgiving.com/walkfurtherforprobono2010. Martin and some of his friends and family couldn’t join us this weekend but they do still plan to complete the walk so there will be more walkers for your money! We will let you know how they get on.
Thanks also to Bob Nightingale who did an absolutely fantastic job of organising the whole weekend and was there for us at the end of each day with a much needed drink and a smile!
Our next big walk will be the 10k London Legal Walk in May which should be like a piece of cake in comparison (famous last words…).
Clinics Training - Spring Semester
Registration is now open for the Spring Semester of Clinics Training. There are over 20 sessions of CPD accredited free training, running from March to June. Training is open to all lawyers at member firms and volunteers at member clinics.
Sessions this semester include the popular Charity Law session given by the Charity Commission and a new joint session between LawWorks, the Bar Pro Bono Unit and the Free Representation Unit on how to refer clients to these agencies, as well as sessions on Employment, Housing and Consumer Law.
As part of LawWorks for Community Groups, there are also two training sessions on Charity Law, taking place on the 3rd and 10th March. These sessions will be particularly useful to volunteers taking on cases through the Community Groups project.
Please go to http://www.lawworks.org.uk/index.php?id=training_public to see the full list of courses and to book. If you are not yet registered on our website please go to http://www.lawworks.org.uk/?id=lawworks_register first.
If you would like more information about our training programme please contact Megan Pearson for more information.
London Practical Advice Talk
On 11th February, LawWorks for Community Groups held a Practical Advice Talk in London kindly hosted by White & Case. The talk lasted half a day and involved sessions on Employment – Discrimination and Charity Law, given by Christie Hall from McDermott, Will and Emery and Donald Taylor and Sarah Rowley from Charles Russell.
Turnout for the event was excellent with 47 people attending from 44 different charities. All attendees found the talk very interesting and informative and we would like to thank White & Case for all their support for this event and of course to the speakers for providing such excellent talks.
If you are a lawyer experienced in the area of employment, charity, intellectual property or data protection law and would like to assist us with future Practical Advice Talks, please don’t hesitate to contact Megan Pearson for further details
Member Firm of the Month - Muckle LLP
What are the main areas of law practised at this firm?
The firm specialises in general commercial, commercial property and employment work and primarily acts for large private companies and public sector organisations.
When did the organisation start carrying out pro bono work?
2005
How are staff encouraged to become involved in pro bono work?
For several years we have stressed to all our people within the firm that working on a pro bono basis for the benefit of the community is one of our core values and we continue to promote to the voluntary sector our willingness to assist by providing free advice to those community organisations with limited funds, on areas within our expertise. In addition, partners and others in the firm freely give of their time to work as unpaid directors and trustees of a wide variety of voluntary, charitable and/or educational projects.
What type of pro bono work does the organisation carry out?
The firm carries out a range of work across its main practice areas but primarily includes charity law, property and general commercial advice. Pro bono work is considered for all community organisations who do not have funds to access such advice and where the organisation has a community benefit.
Please give details of a case that illustrates your organisation’s success with pro bono work?
We recently advised on the registration of an Industrial & Provident Society and subsequent community share issue. The project involved a group of villagers who had become frustrated at the closure of their local pub, which was a centre point of community life in the village. Without the pub the community lacked a hub where people could meet and take part in social activities. The villagers approached Muckle LLP early in the project and advice was provided on legal structures, property issues in relation to the pub and various ways to seek investment including community investment. Muckle LLP continued to provide support throughout the project the result of which is that the IPS has been registered, the purchase of the pub is moving to completion and a large number of the residents of the village have bought into the IPS. The group did not have funds in the early stages to access advice.
Several members of staff are involved in the community and a list is available here of organisations which staff are involved with such as directors, trustees, members, mentors or volunteers together with details of their particular role and the length of time they have been involved with the organisation.
To read about Joanne Davison, the Pro Bono Coordinator for Muckle LLP, visit our website.
Do you have 8 hours per week to make a difference to a child’s life?
 IPSEA are a national charity providing free legal support to families who have children with SEN and/ or a disability as they progress through the education system.
We have a continuing need for committed volunteers who would be willing to take on all or a combination of the following important tasks we need doing:
• To providing Legal Support to IPSEA volunteers with specialism on SEN appeals to SEND Tribunal
• Development and delivery of legal training programmes
• Drafting and legal review of literature including policy responses to Government consultations, legal submissions
• Identifying and drafting formal complaints to the Secretary of State, local Government Ombudsman and cases for review through the legal system
• Building & updating a specialist legal library
Comprehensive training in this area of law will be given.
If you are legally qualified and would like to use your skills in a new way, we would like to hear from you. Your support can help us continue to change children’s lives. Please browse our web-site at www.ipsea.org.uk
If you think this role might be of interest to you, please contact our Chairman, David Gibbons, on d.gibbons@dsl.pipex.com
Charity number 327691
LawWorks Quiz Corner
We’ve clearly found a limit to our reader’s abilities… There was a staggeringly low response to last month’s photofit quiz and no correct answers! I don’t know whether to put that down to the quality of the prize on offer (surely not?) or the difficulty of the question but prefer to think it was the latter.
So here are the answers:
- Who would have thought that I was separated at birth from Glenn Close?
- No-one spotted that our very own Chief Executive bears a striking resemblance to Sporty Spice/Mel C/Melanie Chisholm.
- And amazingly no-one made the link between Richard Harrison and the welsh diva with the ‘Voice of an Angel’©, Charlotte Church.
Pictures revealed below. No more questions for this month. I’ll let you regroup and revitalise by next month.
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| General Enquiries |
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t: 020-7929-5601 |
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| Chief Executive |
Rebecca Hilsenrath |
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| Administration & Finance |
Alero Arueyingho |
t: 020-7090-7351 |
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| Membership |
Anne Monk |
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Kathie Clark |
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Lorna Heselton |
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Alison Ingram |
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Liz Adebajo |
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Ruth Thompson |
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Tim Atwood |
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| LawWorks Students/Law Schools |
Martin Curtis |
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| LawWorks Training |
Megan Pearson |
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LawWorks was delighted to be featured on the BBC Watchdog website - if you haven’t watched the podcast, please follow the link below. It’s a great opportunity to raise the profile of mediation generally and pro bono mediation in particular, and we hope the word is spreading.