Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) Senior Associate, Rob Colvin, has been awarded the Wig & Pen Prize in recognition of his commitment to pro bono legal work over the last decade. Awarded jointly by the City of London Law Society (CLLS) and City of London Solicitor’s Company, the Wig & Pen award celebrates the pro bono work of lawyers within the catchment of the CLLS.
Colvin, a London-based disputes practitioner with a focus on the construction, engineering, infrastructure and energy, sectors, has received the prize in recognition of his work representing pro bono client ECPAT UK. He led the team representing ECPAT UK, in a successful judicial review of the Home Office’s policy of housing lone asylum-seeking children in hotels, from which, over the past two years, over 400 have gone missing. Following expedited proceedings, the court declared the practice unlawful and confirmed the primacy of local authority statutory responsibility for supporting children in need.
Alongside his projects disputes work, as a member of Freshfields’ Global Business & Human Rights Group, Colvin advises clients on a range of human rights risk management strategies, provides pro bono advice to leading counter human trafficking NGOs.
Before joining the firm he worked as a Legal Fellow with International Justice Mission (‘IJM’) in the Philippines where he assisted in some of country’s first OSEC police operations and prosecutions. When he joined the firm as a trainee in 2014, he led teams of fellow trainees in delivering volunteer research projects for IJM’s Kenya and Bangkok field offices. He has since delivered lectures promoting IJM’s work at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and twice to audiences at the Vatican.
He is also a committed volunteer advocate at the Asylum Support Tribunal, where for the last 6 years he has represented asylum seekers appealing Home Office decisions to refuse shelter and financial assistance pending the outcome of their asylum claims.
Commenting, he said: “I am delighted to be this year’s recipient of the Wig & Pen Prize. It is a real testament to the work of the whole Freshfields team representing ECPAT UK, and we have been lucky enough to work with a stellar counsel team. It is a huge privilege to be able to do this work and to be a part of such an impactful pro bono practice”.
