The Cambridge University Law Society (CULS) pro bono team held its annual award ceremony on Monday 17 March, at the University Arms Hotel, sponsored by Simmons & Simmons. The awards, which were presented by Professor Louise Gullifer, the Chair of the Law Faculty, celebrate the legal pro bono work performed by Cambridge students, ranging from the Bronze Award (10+ hours) to the Platinum Award (50+ hours). The Faculty is very proud of all the students who won awards in recognition of their dedication to this important work.
The work done by the undergraduate and graduate students who received awards was very varied, and took place in many parts of the world. One example is the work done for a project called 'Criminal Law and AI', which was undertaken for JUSTICE. The project, which was under the auspices of the Cambridge Pro Bono project, involved undertaking an extensive review of the use of AI in criminal justice systems to identify lessons learned from around the world. The ultimate output of the project is a report that analysed a number of case studies of AI in criminal justice.
Some other students interned at the Woods Foundation in Alabama, which is a public nonprofit organization that monitors prison conditions and provides investigative services to individuals with wrongful convictions or excessive sentences in Alabama. Some others interned at a legal clinic in Singapore run by Pro Bono SG, which is a non-governmental legal organisation whose aim is to enabling access to justice for the vulnerable and disadvantaged through legal awareness, advice and advocacy.
These three are just examples of the excellent work undertaken by Cambridge students for the benefit of others. The CULS Pro Bono team also ran a number of projects in the last year, including working with the International Law Book Facility Project to ship law books from across Cambridge to Ukraine via Poland, and enabling students to work with Citizens Advice Cambridge.
The CULS team, who also received awards for their great service to pro bono work in Cambridge, have shown enormous commitment and leadership in this area. They are Hannah Zia, Zachary Yong, Jonathan Keyte and Joy Magomba.