The Kent Law Clinic has won the Best Contribution by a Pro Bono Clinic Award at the prestigious annual LawWorks Pro Bono Awards ceremony on Tuesday 5 December.
The LawWorks Pro Bono Awards celebrate the best pro bono legal activities undertaken by organisations and individuals and the positive impact they have had on those helped.
This award was given in recognition of the exceptional work by a team of law students and Clinic lawyers, Elaine Sherratt and Tony Pullen, representing a group of 22 care workers who had all been sacked with no proper warning from Elliott House Care home in Herne Bay.
The care workers had not received their full pay and shockingly their employer had failed to pay the care workers’ pension contributions (deducted from their wages) into the pension scheme for the previous two years.
The Employment Tribunal Judge who presided over the case commended the lawyers and students for their painstaking work on such a complex case. The Judge said ‘The pro bono work of the clinic staff and students is nothing short of outstanding’. You can read more about the Elliot House case here.
The award is the latest success for the clinic, following previous accolades including the Queens Anniversary Prize. Speaking about the national recognition Graham Tegg, Head of the Kent Law Clinic, says: ‘This award is very special. The work of clinic staff and students on the Elliot House case, as the judge stated was ‘nothing short of outstanding’. The case is an example of what we do at the Clinic – we (clinic staff and students) take on and litigate cases. The award is recognition of the enduring value and quality of the Kent Law Clinic model.’
Clinic solicitors Elaine Sherratt and Vivien Gambling, and law students Rebecca Lister, Cerys Shubrook, Renea Manxhuka and Sarah Smith, attended the awards ceremony at the Law Society in Chancery Lane, London. Elaine and Rebecca received the award presented by Richard Atkinson, Vice-President of the Law Society of England and Wales.
Talking about the experience of attending the awards and working with the clinic, Sarah Smith says: ‘Having the honour to attend the LawWorks Pro Bono Awards felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We got to speak to the Vice-President of the Law Society, Richard Atkinson, who gave us wisdom about job-searching, career advice and illuminating stories from his life as a criminal law solicitor. We learned about many inspiring stories of pro bono work being done and seeing some of the people involved in that work was very humbling. Working on the Elliot House case feels like being a part of something very special as it is such a long-running case and prior students had been mentioned in the judgment. Working under Tony and Elaine has been very inspiring and working on the case felt like experiencing the real work of a lawyer.’
Kent Law Clinic provides free legal support to people in Kent in great need of legal help who cannot afford to pay for it.