Nominations wanted for Pro Bono Awards

The much anticipated Young Lawyer Pro Bono Awards 2007 have been launched.

The awards recognise projects supported by students and young lawyers, including participation in law centres and Citizens Advice Bureaux.

LPC students, trainee and junior solicitors are eligible to enter the awards. The pro bono work that is entered must have been undertaken between 21 September 2006 and 21 September 2007, which is the closing date for nominations.

The nominations for the awards, now in their ninth year, were opened following an evening of debate at BPP Law School on 7 June.

The title of the Question Time-style debate was The British Legal System in Practice. The panellists were shadow attorney general Dominic Grieve MP, barrister, judge and best-selling auto-biography author Constance Briscoe, Parliamentary under-secretary Bridget Prentice MP and Phillippe Sands QC of Matrix Chambers.

The panellists clashed on several issues, including the threat to legal aid, the Ministry of Justice and whether the UK should introduce a US-style Bill of Rights - a move that is supported by the Tories.