Young People’s Legal Service at Warwickshire wins at Law Society Excellence Awards 2019

The Young People's Legal Service at Warwickshire Legal Services won the Excellence In-House category at the Law Society’s Excellence Awards 2019 this week.

The service, part of Warwickshire County Council, was selected “for their outstanding contribution to society by delivering legal services that help people experiencing significant financial pressure.

“The judges were impressed that they thought about not just a short-term solution at a lower price but considered the entire legal system.”

Elsewhere, Hazel Randall of NHS Digital was highly commended in the Solicitor of the Year – In-house category. The judges said her “inspirational leadership and vision has resulted in a professional, knowledgeable team delivering innovative legal services to NHS Digital”.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Lucy Scott-Moncrieff of Scott-Moncrieff Associates. She is the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards, the Co-Chair of the Legal Aid and Access to Justice Committee of the International Bar Association, and sits as a Tribunal judge, amongst other appointments.

“She has not only built an extremely successful firm from the ground up but has also built her reputation as a mental health and human rights lawyer, and as a promoter and supporter of the profession and its values. She gives a huge amount of her time to the public and the profession,” the judges said.

Harriet Wistrich, of Birnberg Peirce, and the Centre for Women’s Justice, was meanwhile named the Law Society Gazette Legal Personality of the Year.

She won for using the law to secure accountability for violence against women, as a solicitor and founder of the Centre for Women’s Justice. “Her work has included seeking justice for women who had relationships with undercover police officers and leading the action that prevented the release of the ‘black cab rapist’ in 2018.”