Hartnell Chanot: Divorce/Family Law Solicitors Exeter, Devon
Norman Hartnell shortlisted for Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year 2007
Wednesday, 09 May 2007
We are delighted to announce that founder and Partner, Norman Hartnell, has been short listed for the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Award 2007 (in Family Law), by The Legal Aid Practitioners Group that celebrates the work of solicitors and barristers across the UK who have dedicated their careers to the service of some of the most vulnerable members of society.
The panel of judges, chaired by Cherie Booth QC, will be making the Award at a ceremony in London in June 2007. The Prime Ministers wife said, “Someone needs to sing the praises of legal aid lawyers”, demonstrating her support for the hard-working, and hard-up sector of the profession.
Norman was nominated by clients, colleagues and peers after a life-time dedicated to changing the face of family law. Monica Cockett, a colleague and Research Fellow at the Department of Child Health at Exeter University, said, “Norman Hartnell has been at the forefront of developments in Family Law since the mid 1980's. He has always put the needs of children and support for the family above any monetary considerations. He has been a long time champion of mediation, which offers parents the opportunity to work together for more positive outcomes for their family and he has moved family law forward in the South West. It would be a poorer place without him.”
Norman has been singled out from hundreds of nominations for his commitment to providing legal aid services to clients, and he is the only solicitor in the Westcountry to be recognised for his achievements. A pioneer of family mediation, a collaborative lawyer, and an advocate for alternative methods of resolving family disputes, he gives freely of his expertise and time for all family issues and recently represented 5 children in care proceedings in which the Local Authority were keen to place the children within the family, uncovering a conspiracy to conceal the identity of a sexual abuser within the family who posed a significant risk to the children. He is the secretary of the Peninsula Family Justice Council, has helped thousands of legal aid clients over the past 30 years and recently launched a new website devoted to family law with links to many regional and national organisations and a database of local support agencies from drug and alcohol abuse right through to contact centres and housing advice.
LAPG Director Richard Miller said, "Despite all the problems facing legal aid practices at the moment, all the fears caused by the proposed reforms, there are still thousands of lawyers across the country determined to continue providing an invaluable service to their local communities. They believe that everyone should have their rights protected and enforced, no matter how poor or vulnerable they are, and no matter how rich and powerful their opponent.Every year, tens of thousands of people have the problems in their lives resolved by the skill and hard work of these lawyers. They are the unsung heroes without whose dedication, justice in this country would be a sham."
Despite the difficulties imposed on legal aid firms, (over 200 firms have decided not to continue doing any legal aid work after April 2007, and many more have dropped some areas of law) Norman said, " The Government's proposals for the reform of legal aid could mean that Legal aid lawyers will soon be a thing of the past. It has restricted the ability of people to get the advice they need, and it is the poor and most vulnerable most affected. I am determined to continue providing Legal Aid to needy clients and will campaign relentlessly that clients need the advice of experienced practitioners because of the complexity of their circumstances, perhaps even more so where there is insufficient money to go around or where there are highly conflictual contact cases. I am both shocked and delighted to be nominated, and would like to thank my clients and colleagues for their comments and support”
