Claire Curtis, MML NC 2001, was nominated by Clyde & Co and short-listed for the LawWorks’ national award of Best Contribution by an Individual 2016. For nearly five years Claire has been involved in pro bono work for the national charity, Together for Short Lives, which supports families of children with life-limiting medical conditions and illnesses. Acting as a support advocate drawing on her experience as a lawyer, Claire helps families with a range of practical issues from ensuring they receive the correct health, care and educational packages, to petitioning on their behalf for suitable housing. Claire says of her pro bono work that ‘no two cases are the same and each one has its own challenges. The one constant is that the families and the children in question are some of the most amazing people you could ever hope to meet.’
Over the past two years, whilst working for Clyde & Co as a commercial litigator, Claire has continued her pro bono work and set up the monthly legal clinic at Richard House Children’s Hospice in London, which is run in partnership with Clyde & Co volunteers, Together for Short Lives, and LawWorks (the national Solicitors’ Pro Bono Group). The clinic is very popular and the clinic partnership model is gradually being rolled out in other locations across the UK by LawWorks so more families can benefit from this kind of support.
Claire went on to win on her category at the ceremony held in December 2016, and received her award from Clive Anderson and Sir Terence Etherton.