Colchester law firm is among best in country
A Colchester law firm has been ranked among the best in England and Wales for its outstanding
work on social responsibility at the Law Society’s inaugural Excellence Awards which took place in London last night (Thursday 25 October)
TV and radio personality Jeremy Vine paid tribute to Colchester-based Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP as the firm competed for a top award in the category for the Law Society’s Excellence in Social Responsibility.
Fisher Jones Greenwood was a runner-up in the face of stiff competition from hundreds of prominent firms of solicitors throughout England and Wales.
The ceremony recognised the firm’s wide range of innovative legal support services for disadvantaged groups and also for work within the local community.
The Oscar-style presentation was held at the Honorary Artillery Company in London.
Fisher Jones Greenwood was acclaimed for its outstanding examples of best practice and innovation in social responsibility and community engagement on the part of the legal profession. The nomination resulted from innovative work across three different projects with which the firm has been engaged.
Congratulating his team, Senior Partner at Fisher Jones Greenwood, Tony Fisher said: “We were all honoured to be short-listed especially in the light of the other short-listed candidates which were all major City firms. Our pro bono work is at the heart of Fisher Jones Greenwood and we are proud to be recognised as a leader in this field. We will now go forward and build on our success.”
“As a commercial firm engaging in both private and publicly funded work, as well as pro bono international human rights work, we believe we are unique.”
“We attribute the wide diversity of our client base to a combination of our lawyers’ legal expertise and their unstinting commitment to vulnerable groups of clients and engagement in the local community. These are at the very heart of the projects which have secured us this success.”
Fisher Jones Greenwood’s award reflects the work of The Tendring Outreach Scheme, Lawyers for Young People and work done in connection with Business in the Community.
The Tendring Outreach Scheme a free legal advice service, has already won two awards - the Business in the Community Awards 2007 - East of England Pro Bono Company of the Year award, and the solicitors’ organisation category of the prestigious Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards. Operating from the Citizens Advice Bureau offices in Clacton and Harwich, the scheme offers specialist legal advice on housing, community care, family law, education law and welfare benefits, as well as training to voluntary workers to raise awareness of the legal rights of their clients.
The second scheme, Lawyers for Young People (LFYP) has been providing legal advice directly to young people, particularly those in care, leaving care, and others needing specialist legal advice since January 2006. The scheme has developed drop-in services in youth organisations throughout Essex and in Ipswich, to enable young people to have early and easy access to legal advice.
Finally, as a member of the ProHelp network, a Business in the Community scheme, Fisher Jones Greenwood has also for many years undertaken pro-bono work offering free professional advice and support to charities and community groups in Colchester. Most recently the firm has helped Colchester’s Youth Enquiry Service to secure new premises in Head Street and a group of local residents to save the Straight Road Community Centre from redevelopment.
The entries were judged by Andrew Holroyd, president of the Law Society; Paul Marsh, vice president of the Law Society; Bob Heslett, deputy vice president of the Law Society Frances Gibb, legal editor of The Times; and Neil Rose, deputy editor of the Law Society Gazette.