The outstanding work of the Public Law team of Irwin Mitchell Cambridge earned them the prestigious award of ‘Firm of the Year’. It is one of the few legal practices in the region to provide specialist representation to clients who have complex welfare needs in the public law environment. Collecting the award on behalf of the firm was associate Caroline Bennet who acted for “M”, who had advanced Huntington’s disease. The High Court ruled that, provided that the doctors and family agree, and where clinical guidelines are followed, there is no need for judicial approval when withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. The decision was recognised as ground-breaking in the public welfare field.
The individual awards went to Lauren Coote of Hewitsons for ‘Trainee of the Year’ and Katherine Hague, also of Hewitsons, who won ‘Young Lawyer of the Year’. Also nominated were Jodie Drummond of Fenners Chambers and Chris Claxton-Shirley of Tees Law for the ‘Trainee’ award, and Francesca Tubb of Ashtons and Gemma Stokes of Fenners Chambers in the ‘Young Lawyer’ category.
Lauren was nominated by her firm as a “shining example of what they would like all of their trainees to be like” – someone who works hard, is diligent, and shows remarkable attention to detail. Her ability to manage multiple deadlines for competing partners at this early stage in her career was particularly commended as was her ability to work flexibly and manage expectations. At one-time Lauren was working for five different partners straddling two seats. Lauren’s work is consistently of a high standard and delivered on time, with a smile. Her colleagues note that she is a pleasure to work with.
Katherine Hague, a solicitor in the private client department of Hewitsons, was recognised as ‘Young Lawyer of the Year’. Since qualifying as a solicitor, Katherine has been instrumental in developing the firm’s niche area for private clients, including the creation of a business strategy, BD plan, precedents and training. Her specialism includes Court of Protection and capacity issues.
Katherine has overseen the firm’s staff becoming Dementia Friends and has been involved in community events such as Cambridge Legal Walk and Chariots of Fire. She has raised money for Alzheimer’s Research through numerous bake sales and she is a trained emergency first responder. Katherine has also championed the firm’s new IT system and has created numerous training guides for her colleagues.
The winners were announced at CDLS's annual dinner on 23 March 2018, which took place at Jesus College in Cambridge and was supported by event sponsors Rathbones and Geodesys. The event, which was sold out well in advance of the evening following high demand, saw over one hundred of our members and their guests gather at the College’s historic dining room for drinks, dinner and dancing. Following dinner, John Hyde – reporter at the Law Society Gazette – entertained guests with a witty speech and the insights he has gained into the profession over the past seven years.
President Karl Dembicki said: “I would like to thank the judging panel, including members of the local judiciary and sponsors, for selecting our winners which I know was an exciting and challenging process. I am delighted that we had such high calibre candidates to choose from – leading to some passionate and lengthy discussions at the final judging meeting.”