Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance selects AdvocAid as winner of the Access to Justice Award 2016

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has named AdvocAid as the seventh winner of its annual Access to Justice Award. The charity will receive a £50,000 donation and 500 hours of pro bono support over an 18 month period towards its mission of ensuring that all women and children in the criminal justice system of Sierra Leone can access their full legal and human rights.

AdvocAid's work involves a combination of hands-on legal aid, innovative outreach programmes and tight collaboration with the justice sector. Clifford Chance's support will come from across the business including lawyers and business services employees with a wide range of relevant skills and expertise to offer. This will include training AdvocAid’s paralegals and young lawyers, research into Sierra Leone's police complaints procedures, and assisting with the development of a strategy for corporate fundraising.

Roger Leese, pro bono partner at Clifford Chance said, "Access to justice is something that is central to our firm philosophy, and so I'm delighted that we are once again able to offer our support to another fantastic charity as part of our annual Access to Justice Award. Now in its seventh year, we continue to hear from many wonderful charities promoting access to justice across a range of contexts and geographies. We look forward to working with AdvocAid to help them achieve their goals in improving access to justice in Sierra Leone."

Simitie Lavaly, Executive Director of AdvocAid said, "in Sierra Leone, under-funding and corruption have weakened the justice system, and structural and cultural problems lead to girls and women being particularly vulnerable. Furthermore, since the Ebola outbreak, critical funds have been diverted to rebuild the health and education sectors, making it increasingly difficult to secure funding for legal aid. We are delighted and honoured that Clifford Chance has chosen AdvocAid for its 2016 Access to Justice Award and look forward to working with its lawyers and other staff to drive forward some of our most exciting projects to date."

Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship and one of the judges said, "AdvocAid stood out among a number of outstanding applications because of their clear goals and the innovative approaches they take to communicate with their beneficiaries in the judicial system in Sierra Leone - including their own TV show. AdvocAid is run by local people for local people and this shone through their work."

Further to the direct financial and pro bono support, working together can also help to cement more long term relationships between Clifford Chance and selected charities. Past winners of the Access to Justice Award, including the African Prisoners Project and Hope and Homes for Children have gone on to become long term global strategic pro bono clients for the firm.