Clifford Chance selects the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre as the winner of the firm's 2012 Access to Justice Award

19 September 2012

Clifford Chance selects the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre as the winner of the firm's 2012 Access to Justice Award

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has chosen the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre (HKRAC) as this year's winner of its annual Access to Justice Award. The HKRAC is a not-for-profit, human rights organisation that provides men, women and children with free legal services when applying for asylum protection. The organisation has won a combined donation of money and time by Clifford Chance's funding, charity and volunteering arm, the Clifford Chance Foundation. The Award aims to recognise the work of a charitable organisation that promotes access to justice.

Clifford Chance received over 60 nominations from 22 countries, from organisations whose work ranged from supporting and protecting rape victims in Haiti to defending the rights of children in Washington DC. An independent group of judges from Asylum Access, AXA Group, Barclays and The Times newspaper helped Clifford Chance to select the winner[1]. The judges looked for not-for-profit organisations that help individuals, groups or communities preserve or secure their right to the basic necessities of life. HKRAC has won a donation of £50,000 and 500 hours of pro bono volunteering hours to be utilised over an 18 month period.

Roger Leese, Pro Bono Partner at Clifford Chance commented on the news: "We'd like to congratulate the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre, the 2012 winner of Clifford Chance's annual Access to Justice Award. Access to Justice is an important issue for refugees and the organisation is doing some inspirational work. However its resources are limited and we believe this financial and pro bono support represents a real and significant contribution to HKRAC's work."

HKRAC is committed to helping uphold the rights of refugees but is hindered by limited resources and by the current confused dual system of applying for asylum protection in Hong Kong, which is under resourced and lacks transparency. HKRAC plans to use Clifford Chance's expertise to conduct a detailed research project into the system and how it might be improved.

HKRAC plans to use the financial donation from Clifford Chance to employ a staff attorney and an advocacy officer who will enable the organisation to help an additional 75 asylum seekers per year. Additional pro bono hours from the firm will support the delivery of case work including legal research, client interviews, testimony writing, legal briefs, document preparation and general legal advice.

Aleta Miller, Executive Director of HKRAC said: "The Clifford Chance Access to Justice Award offers a game-changing opportunity for our organisation. The ability to increase our headcount will improve the quality of support and the number of refugees we can reach within the current system. We hope that a thorough investigation into the system itself and detailed documentation of the difficulties of life as an asylum seeker in Hong Kong, will lead to reform of this inadequate and unjust system. We are delighted to have won this Award and are excited to see our organisation and those we help to benefit and grow with Clifford Chance's support."

Helen Browne, representing the AXA Group on the panel of judges commented: "Judging Clifford Chance's Access to Justice Award was a rewarding experience. The selection process was vigorous, and unearthed a range of finalists doing marvellous work all over the world. I congratulate HKRAC and wish it continued success in making a difference to the lives of the refugees it supports in Hong Kong."

The Clifford Chance Foundation provides a way for the Firm - as a whole and by individual office - to engage with local communities around three principal themes: Access to Education, Access to Finance and Access to Justice. Since its launch the Foundation has made donations to more than 200 different charities in 60 different countries.

Clifford Chance was recently selected as Corporate Citizen / CSR Firm of the Year at the Asia Legal Business awards.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. The 2012 judging panel was made up of the following: