Essex Law Student Shortlisted For Prestigious LawWorks Student Pro Bono Awards

Essex Law Clinic Student Director, Catherine Duggan has been shortlisted for “Student of the Year” at the prestigious LawWorks and Attorney General Pro Bono Student Awards Ceremony, to be held at the Houses of Parliament on 1 May 2019.

Catherine has been in the Law Clinic for less than eighteen months and in that time, has been involved in a record twenty-one cases, more than any other student. Catherine's involvement in many of these cases came about over the summer whilst working in the capacity of the Clinic's Frontrunner Case Worker, but more recently she has continued to take on cases whenever the Clinic is short of student advisors. 

Cat has been instrumental in pioneering the new Jaywick outreach clinic, helping not only with many cases but also transporting students to this deprived area in great need of legal services. Cat has been one of the first students to take on representation as well as advice work.

Perhaps more importantly, Cat was appointed as Student Director for 2018/19, a role which involves a huge commitment of time for weekly meetings and a daily deluge of emails to deal with Clinic matters. In this role Cat has always been on hand to deal sensibly and efficiently with the sort of day to day crises which are part and parcel of clinic work, and is always thinking about how she can improve its services and manner of operation.

Without Cat, the Clinic would not have made the strides it has to move from a small entirely modular-based clinic with less than 40 students, to one where most of its 140 members are volunteers in all years of their degrees.

As the Clinic Director, Professor Donald Nicolson OBE said in supporting her nomination, “We are delighted for Cat on her much deserved nomination, as well as for the Clinic which strives to give students the autonomy and responsibility to shine in the way Cat has. Hopefully, Cat will go on to win the award as the first of many for Essex Law Clinic”.