London—Dentons has won the prestigious Lord Mayor's Award for Longstanding Achievement at the 2016 Lord Mayor's Dragon Awards in London.  The Firm was recognised for the achievements of its Poplaw Legal Advice Clinic over the past decade.

Dentons' lawyers have provided over ten thousand hours of free legal advice to the residents of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets through its legal advice clinic, known as Poplaw.  Dentons, with the support of LawWorks, set up Poplaw in 2006, and the Firm recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of the initiative.  During that time over 4,500 clients have been served via the clinic, representing £4.8 million in chargeable time.  This has contributed to a very significant saving for the local community.

Poplaw is hosted by Dentons' lawyers with administrative support from law students from neighbouring Queen Mary’s University.  The clinic operates in Poplar every Tuesday for 50 weeks of the year, and offers free legal advice to individuals who may not otherwise be able to access or afford it.  Dentons volunteers offer legal advice on issues including debt, housing, consumer matters, employment and welfare benefits.

The Lord Mayor's Dragon Awards were the first of their kind in the UK, and remain the only London-wide scheme that recognises corporate community involvement.  Since the awards were established in 1987, over 130 awards have been given to businesses that have demonstrated excellence through work in their local communities.

Dentons' UK managing partner Brandon Ransley commented, "It is a huge honour to win the Longstanding Achievement Award as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of Poplaw this year.  Since 2006 we have seen demand for our services increase, and Poplaw has responded accordingly.  We currently have over 100 volunteers who attend the clinic during the year, and its success is down to the time, effort and generosity of these individuals."

The Longstanding Achievement Award represents the second time Dentons has won a Dragon Award. In 2007, the Firm, then known as Denton Wilde Sapte, won the Heart of the City Award for setting up Poplaw. During the first 18 months of the clinic, Dentons volunteers advised over 600 clients and provided over 1,200 hours of assistance. It was estimated at the time that this saved the local community over £500,000 in legal fees.

Partner Dan Bodle discusses the Firm's Dragon Award win for Longstanding Achievement on London Live news on 28 September 2016

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