Last night, PAS was named the 2011 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Best Not-for-Profit Firm.

Naturally, we feel that this success is in itself not the real achievement – rather it is the many years of work and innovation that have put PAS in a position where it was able to compete for such a prestigious award. PAS was supported in its nomination by former service users, as well as Deborah Coles, Director of INQUEST, and Erwin James and Eric Allison from the Guardian.

LALY’s description of PAS’s application during the shortlisting was as follows:

“The Prisoners’ Advice Service is praised for combining technical legal skills with tremendously valuable outreach work, and the organisation has been at the heart of the development of prisoners’ rights in this country. As well as undertaking groundbreaking litigation, it has also served to promote high standards among other lawyers doing the work, such as by providing regular legal updates. Former clients of the service say that it provided them with a lifeline while they were incarcerated”.