Law Centre solicitor shortlisted for respected legal award

The LALYs are known as the 'legal aid Oscars' and celebrate the professional excellence and dedication of those working in publicly funded legal services. They are awarded annually by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group.

Kevin has been shortlisted in the Social Welfare Law category. Law Centres have seen repeated success in this category, with Esme Madill of Islington Law Centre picking up last year’s award. Kevin has worked in the advice sector for over twenty years. He spent a decade at Lambeth Law Centre, eventually joining HCLC in 2016. In that time, he has made an outstanding contribution to the development of housing law, policy and practice.

Kevin can regularly be found at the Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court, where he acts as the duty housing solicitor. Here he represents individuals and families at moments of crisis and distress, preventing many from losing their homes.

Kevin also specialises in challenging the common problem of unlawful evictions. In 2019, he successfully represented a renter who had been unlawfully evicted and threatened with violence by his private landlord and their agents, securing his client damages of nearly £30,000.

London’s housing crisis drives other issues, such as councils housing families in unsuitable accommodation for long periods of time, or ‘exporting’ them to housing far away from the capital. In recent years, Kevin has challenged several such practices. Some cases, such as Webb-Harnden in the Court of Appeal have also raised the public profile of the issue and the scope for challenging local authorities. Kevin has continued to lead the ongoing work of Law Centres in rehousing practices.

We wish Kevin the very best of luck and look forward to celebrating him at the awards ceremony held in central London on Friday, 4th July.

Kevin Long said:

“There is no better recognition than a LALY nomination and this is fantastic news both on a personal level and for everyone at Hackney Community Law Centre. This particular category has an illustrious rollcall, none more so than my much-missed friend and colleague Nathaniel Mathews, who won this award in 2006. Nat was the ultimate mentor; a champion of all social welfare lawyers, and set the standard for everything we now try and do.

“I am also blessed to work within a brilliant organisation at HCLC, with great support from our board, the director, our admin staff, and our team of lawyers and caseworkers across housing, immigration and welfare benefits. It’s a collective effort and this is a testament to all their expertise, enthusiasm and hard work."

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