We are delighted to announce that the Family Law Team at Garden Court Chambers and Mai-Ling Savage have been nominated for the Bar Pro Bono Awards 2017.
Our Family Law Team has been nominated by Southall Black Sisters for the provision of free day long family law advice clinics for women at the Southall Black Sisters resource centre in West London. Southall Black Sisters is a women’s organisation providing advice, advocacy and counselling to Black (Asian, African, Caribbean) women and children. Special thanks to Rebekah Wilson who initiated and helped establish the project, to Sumaya Gilmore for clerking it and keeping up momentum, and to the following barristers from the Family Law Team who are already providing free legal advice clinics at Southall Black Sisters’ surgeries one day a month: Sarah Forster, Allison Munroe, Mai-Ling Savage and William Tautz.
Southall Black Sisters said: “It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Garden Court pro bono family law surgeries are life-saving and life-changing. The family team make a real difference to our clients, many of whom go on to lead more settled and safe lives... I hold them in the highest regard. In the current climate of austerity and savage legal aid cuts, they offer a Rolls-Royce service to all our clients … We would be lost without them.”
Mai-Ling Savage of the Garden Court Chambers Family Team has been nominated by FORWARD UK for her support, alongside that of her team, in setting up the first Female Genital Mutilation Legal Advice Surgery and for her free consultancy legal advice to FORWARD. The Legal Advice surgery is a collaboration between FORWARD, a group of young lawyers from University College London called InFrinGeMent and Garden Court Chambers. FORWARD is a women’s campaign group committed to gender equality and safeguarding the rights of African girls and women.
FORWARD UK said: “As a small voluntary organisation we would not have been able to afford the cost and quality of the legal support Garden Court Chambers provides to our clients, had it not been for Mai-Ling's capacity to offer pro bono advice.”
We are very grateful to both Southall Black Sisters and FORWARD for kindly nominating Garden Court Chambers for these awards.
The winner will receive the award at the Bar conference on Saturday 4th November 2017.
