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15 May 2024
Issue: 8071 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Pro Bono , Training & education
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Next-generation pro bono award-winners

A project for domestic abuse survivors and a volunteer-run ‘justice bus’ are among the winners of the 2024 LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards, sponsored by LexisNexis

The awards were presented at a ceremony in the House of Lords last week.

Chester University won ‘best new pro bono activity’ for its student-led project partnering with local agencies to assist domestic abuse survivors. The ‘team of students’ award was jointly won by Hertfordshire Law School’s Justice Bus mobile clinic and King’s College London’s rights of nature toolkit, a practical legal guide on protecting rivers.

Hertfordshire Justice Bus volunteer Jekaterina Bodnarchuk also took home the ‘best individual’ prize. Bristol Law School won ‘best contribution for a law school’ for its work securing a £17,000 back payment in a benefit appeal, assistance with a community cinema, and more.

Attorney General Victoria Prentis said: ‘Congratulations to all the nominees who were put forward in some excellent entries—the future of the profession is in safe hands.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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