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Freshfields lawyer Liam Symonds awarded City’s Wig & Pen Prize for pro bono work
Freshfields Associate, Liam Symonds, has been awarded the Wig & Pen Prize in recognition of his dedication to pro bono legal work and his commitment to supporting marginalised communities. Awarded jointly by the City of London Law Society (CLLS) and City of London Solicitors’ Company, the Wig & Pen award celebrates the pro bono work of lawyers within the catchment of the CLLS.
This year, Symonds, a London-based disputes practitioner led a Freshfields team to secure a substantial victory for a modern slavery survivor in the First-Tier Tribunal. The case saw the team successfully overturn an initial decision by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) to deny compensation. After four years of dedicated work, Liam’s team achieved a landmark result, with over £350,000 awarded - the highest known sum for a modern slavery survivor under the CICA scheme. The client, who had endured more than 26 years of captivity, would have been unlikely to obtain such a result without legal representation a situation exacerbated by legal aid restrictions.
The judging panel commended Liam’s dedication to the matter, noting his contribution of over 900 pro bono hours to formulate creative litigation strategies, oversee case management, and provide trauma-informed client care for a highly vulnerable individual. The Tribunal itself recognised the team's commitment, noting, “The legal team has put a considerable amount of time and energy into presenting their client’s appeal whilst acting pro bono.”
Beyond his work in this landmark case, Liam has represented numerous pro bono clients, including survivors of torture, race discrimination victims, and humanitarian charities. Notably, he dedicated over 150 hours representing an individual in the Manchester Employment Tribunal, successfully settling a race discrimination claim on favourable terms.
Commenting, he said, “I’m delighted to have been awarded the Wig & Pen Prize 2024 in recognition of the work that my colleagues and I undertook in this criminal injuries appeal. The team had put in a lot of effort to achieve this outcome (particularly Wannisa Johnston, Hannah Vo, Adil Khan, Chris Stothers and Vanessa Medina), and we are all very pleased that our client has finally received some compensation for the serious and life-changing injuries that he sustained over such a long period of time. I am grateful to the City of London Law Society and City of London Solicitors’ Company for making this award and I’m also grateful to Freshfields for providing us with the opportunity to have worked on this case as part of our broader pro bono modern slavery practice.”
Further info on the CLLS announcement can be found here.
