 Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers, the current Law Society Solicitor of the Year, has recently recruited a number of new faces to the talented team of lawyers in the firm’s Birmingham Office. Amongst the new arrivals is Daniel Carey, joint-recipient of the related award of New Solicitor of the Year at the same Law Society Excellence Awards Ceremony on 25th October 2007.
Daniel received the award for his work as a volunteer with the NGO Peace Brigades International (PBI) in Guatemala and his efforts to make the UK legal community more aware of the plight of human rights defenders overseas. Daniel explains:
“The award highlighted the work of NGOs such as PBI in protecting human rights defenders in the face of threats, intimidation and assassinations in countries such as Guatemala and, in so doing, hopefully contributed in a small way to improving their security. However, the award ceremony also gave me the chance to meet Phil, which has lead to this exciting opportunity at Public Interest Lawyers. Both jobs share a common focus on human rights issues that are of paramount importance to society as a whole. The recently announced government inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa in UK custody and the use of the five banned interrogation techniques in Iraq is a good example of this. If the inquiry succeeds in drawing all the relevant evidence within its remit it will be highly important, not only to the families of those abused in Iraq, but for British society, Iraqi society and, indeed, of symbolic importance to the world at large. I am sure I am going to learn a great deal and am really looking forward to the work ahead.”
Phil Shiner adds: “I am delighted to welcome the new arrivals to the firm. I don’t believe anyone could doubt the quality of Public Interest Lawyers’ work given the government inquiry announcement, our high profile work on Al-Skeini, Al-Sweady and Al-Jedda and a number of important new instructions, not to mention our planning and environmental work. I expect this to continue with these latest additions to the team. Nevertheless it is of course great news that Public Interest Lawyers can now claim recognition as the home of the Law Society’s Solicitor of the Year and New Solicitor of the Year, an unprecedented feat for a firm of our size.”
Public Interest Lawyers was established in 1999. Since its formation the practice has taken on some of the most significant public law cases of recent times. The practice focuses on the following domestic areas: Public, Human Rights, Environmental, Planning and Urban Regeneration Law. Internationally, we practice Public, Human Rights, Humanitarian and Environmental Law.
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