*/
Immigration lawyer S Chelvan of No 5 Chambers was named Legal Aid Barrister of the Year at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (LALY) Awards 2014.
Chelvan has been instrumental in winning greater protection for gay asylum-seekers and the development of law in this area.
He has an international reputation for training and lecturing on asylum law, whilst continuing to appear before immigration judges in the first-tier tribunal. In support of Chelvan’s nomination, Lord Avebury wrote that he has the highest regard for his work. Veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell said: “He is the only lawyer of his generation that I’ve known to take his passion and commitment for LGBT asylum law from the courtroom into the public sphere.” One of his clients wrote simply: “Mr Chelvan saved my life when he managed to get me off the plane back to Uganda.”
Accepting his award, Chelvan said he was humbled and honoured to have won, particularly given he was up against the likes of Liz Davies and Stephen Cottle, both of whom he hugely admires. He said he had first gone into law as a way of empowering himself as a gay man. The winners were announced at a ceremony in central London on 5 June.
He has an international reputation for training and lecturing on asylum law, whilst continuing to appear before immigration judges in the first-tier tribunal. In support of Chelvan’s nomination, Lord Avebury wrote that he has the highest regard for his work. Veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell said: “He is the only lawyer of his generation that I’ve known to take his passion and commitment for LGBT asylum law from the courtroom into the public sphere.” One of his clients wrote simply: “Mr Chelvan saved my life when he managed to get me off the plane back to Uganda.”
Accepting his award, Chelvan said he was humbled and honoured to have won, particularly given he was up against the likes of Liz Davies and Stephen Cottle, both of whom he hugely admires. He said he had first gone into law as a way of empowering himself as a gay man. The winners were announced at a ceremony in central London on 5 June.
Immigration lawyer S Chelvan of No 5 Chambers was named Legal Aid Barrister of the Year at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (LALY) Awards 2014.
Chelvan has been instrumental in winning greater protection for gay asylum-seekers and the development of law in this area.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group
Modernising communication and collaboration at a leading Chancery set. A Zexi case study
How to build profile without compromising professional duties. By Naumaan Farooq, Co-Founder of Inked PR
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the role of cut-off levels, and the wider range of factors that must be considered when interpreting results for family court proceedings
Endometriosis Awareness North, a charity raising awareness of endometriosis and supporting those affected across the North of England, has received a £500 boost from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
The case against judge-only justice – and why efficiency is not enough. By Professor Leslie Thomas KC
Heritage as an anchor and a compass, finding our common humanity and embracing the power of the outsider – Melina Antoniadis’s lessons learnt
Seeing the full picture – Baljit Ubhey OBE outlines the CPS action plan to tackle violence against women and girls, offering insights directly relevant to courtroom practice
Lauren Fullerton examines the how, what and why of setting up a second chambers base
