International legal practice Osborne Clarke has won Sustainable Business of the Year and Law Student of the Year awards at the Bristol Law Society Awards 2023, which aim to recognise the excellence of the legal profession in the Bristol area.
Sustainable Business of the Year
Osborne Clarke won the Sustainable Business of the Year category as it was recognised for its strong commitment to improving the environmental sustainability of its operations and activities.
Sustainability is central to the Osborne Clarke's 2025 strategy. Highlights of the entry included the firm's commitment to both long-term and near-term science-based targets to reduce carbon emissions and its recent move to landmark sustainable building Halo in Bristol and outstanding client work in the decarbonisation space. The latter including high-profile regional deal advising Ameresco on Bristol City Leap to decarbonise Bristol and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
Lara Burch, Head of Osborne Clarke's Bristol office, commented, "We want to embed sustainability in how we run our business, support our people, advise our clients and ultimately, fuel our future success. We’re delighted to receive this award which acknowledges our people's commitment in realising our sustainability ambitions."
"The only way we can accelerate progress and achieve net-zero targets is through collaboration in the legal industry and beyond. It's so important that we use our platform to share insight and work with organisations that might not be as far along in their journey", said Mary Lavin, Sustainability Manager at Osborne Clarke.
Law Student of the Year
Mia Clothier, Trainee Solicitor at Osborne Clarke was awarded Law Student of the Year. Mia recently entered her fifth year of Osborne Clarke's Solicitor Apprenticeship programme in Bristol.
Whilst balancing work, study and her recent secondment, Mia is also part of the Solicitor Apprentice Strategic Sounding Board for City Century, a City of London Law Society-led initiative which aims to increase the number of solicitor apprentices in the City of London.
"It's wonderful to see Mia being named Law Student of the Year. From day one, Mia has impressed both colleagues and clients. She's shown exceptional endeavour in her work, study and as an advocate for alternative routes to law – the award is a well-deserved recognition of her hard work", said Lara.
Mia joined the firm's second Solicitor Apprentice cohort in 2019 and since 2015, the firm has taken on 49 solicitor and non-solicitor apprentices. In September 2023, the firm welcomed 10 new solicitor apprentices – four in Bristol, four in London and for the first time, two in Reading.
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