With 2012 Eclipse Proclaim Personal Injury awards tonight, last year’s Young Achiever urgently reminds of legal aid cut-off date next April
Time has flown by for Arti Shah of our London office, as she recalls her 2011 award with pride…
This time last year I was the recipient of the Eclipse Proclaim Personal Injury Awards Young Achiever of the Year. Today I congratulate this year’s nominees for their nominations and wish them well for the ceremony this evening!
I am hugely proud to have won such a prestigious award, which serves as a reminder of the work I do and the clients I represent. Pattinson & Brewer stands tall in acting for individual clients, many of whom have been through a traumatic experience through no fault of their own.
Unfortunately, the Jackson reforms are looming large, with one of the most difficult challenges being the abolishment of legal aid for most clinical negligence work. It simply cannot be right that some of the most severely injured people will not get the opportunity to investigate a case because they lack the financial resources to do so.
A fundamental principle is being lost – not only will the lack of funds affect claims being brought, they will prevent the very thing a civilised society stands for – access to justice.
As my colleague Linda Levison mentioned in a previous blog, legal aid applications must be made before the cut off date of 1st April 2013.