Two Bristol law firms were among the winners at this week’s prestigious Lawyer Awards while the city’s pioneering Legal Advocacy Support Project earned the Pro Bono Initiative of the Year title.
Bristol-headquartered Burges Salmon’s real estate group was named Real Estate Team of the Year, collecting the award for award for advising the sellers of the AUB UK Student Accommodation Fund on the sale of the sharia compliant fund to the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF)
West of England firm Ashfords, which has an office in Bristol, was awarded the accolade of Employment Team of the Year in recognition of its role in shaping the legal landscape.
The firm said it reflected the team’s hard work and commitment to a particularly innovative and noteworthy matter, the client and their needs.
The awards were presented at a gala dinner at the O2 Intercontinental Hotel, London, attended by 1,300 people from across the legal sector.
The Burges Salmon team, led by real estate partner Rick Read, brought together lawyers from the firm’s corporate, banking, Sharia finance, tax, planning, and construction and engineering teams, in advising on the sale of the entirety of the fund’s portfolio of eight student accommodation properties located throughout the UK for £271m.
Since 2010 Burges Salmon has acted for AUB in acquiring, developing, funding – through Islamic finance – and managing a portfolio the UK wide student accommodation fund.
Richard Read said: “We are thrilled to be named as Real Estate Team of the Year for the second time in as many months. It demonstrates both our position in the market and the strength and depth of our real estate offering. I was delighted to lead a team of such talented lawyers to such a great result for the client.”
In April the firm’s real estate group was named Real Estate Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2016.
Ashfords partner and head of the employment team Stephen Moore said: “This is a significant win for the firm and we are honoured to be have been awarded this prestigious award. The award is testament to our employment teams hard work over this past year.”
The Legal Advocacy Support Project is a partnership between Avon & Bristol Law Centre (ABLC), UWE Bristol and the University of Law.
The project has helped more than 200 people over the last two years with an average of £5,000 won for each client.
ABLC director Clare Carter said: “We are immensely proud of our team who are working with the some of the most disadvantaged people in our community. Following cuts in legal aid, these people have nowhere else to turn. This project is now a model that other areas of the country are following.”
UWE pro bono liaison Marcus Keppel-Palmer added: “We are delighted that the Avon & Bristol Law Centre has been recognised for the pro bono partnership with the University.
“At ABLC, our student volunteers have helped to advise claimants by challenging changes made to their disability entitlement. Since the project started the success rate of appeals made by the students and ABLC stands well above the national average at 95%.
“Last year we announced that the students had helped to win more than £1m in benefits for clients incorrectly judged to be capable of working by the Department for Work and Pensions.
“Recognition at The Lawyer Awards 2016 for our partners at Avon & Bristol Law Centre is wonderful news and demonstrates huge success for our commitment to pro bono work and the mutual benefits that both organisations have derived from this.
“We are committed to giving students as many opportunities through extra-curricular activities such as pro bono, whether at undergraduate or postgraduate level.
“Our students devote significant amounts of their time to assisting the local community, and we are very proud of the recognition for the link with the Avon & Bristol Law Centre.”
Pictured: Richard Read, real estate partner at Burges Salmon, flanked by Mark Lewin, client srvices director at First Names Group and comedian and awards host Dara Ó Briain
