LONDON, November 4, 2020: Morgan Lewis has been recognized with the Pro Bono Initiative of the Year award at The Lawyer Awards 2020. The awards celebrate excellence across the legal profession and honor those who have made significant contributions across private practice, in-house legal departments, and the bar.
The firm was presented with the award after obtaining a momentous victory for Save the Sutton Estate Ltd. (SSE), which ended SSE’s 10-year fight to block a large housing association from tearing down the Sutton Estate community to make room for pricier properties.
At a time of a national crisis in social housing in the United Kingdom, the victory meant that 250 empty properties (out of 459) were brought back into use as social housing in Chelsea, London. Today, the Sutton Estate community continues to be a source of affordable housing in the city.
Morgan Lewis partners William Yonge and Neil McKnight represented SSE with associates James Parson and Dannielle Hamer.
The awards were presented in a virtual ceremony on November 3.