Award victory for Ashtons Legal at LawNet 2016 Awards

Ashtons Legal came up trumps at the LawNet 2016 Awards when winners were announced at the annual LawNet conference on Friday 11 November at Hethrop Park.

LawNet is a national network of over 60 independent law firms who are committed to rigorous quality standards and best practice. The prestigious LawNet awards are judged not by lawyers but by relevant external specialists. This year, there were six award categories and Ashtons won the ‘Best Community Contribution’ category. This recognised the ethos and work of the Ashtons Charitable Trust, the engagement of the firm with local communities as part of its business development activities and the part played by individuals at Ashtons to support active local charities. Where possible, the firm also provide practical support to charitable organisations and for several years provided rent free space to Nelsons Journey in Norwich who awarded Ashtons the overall Charities Impact Award at their Smiles Awards in recognition of this.

For ‘Best Community Contribution’, LawNet said that Ashtons demonstrated an impressive commitment to their local community and recognised the work of the Ashtons Charitable Trust which was set up 2014.To date, the Trust has raised over £20,000 and has paid out these funds via direct applications from charities, office sponsorships and involvement in campaigns such as Red Nose Day, Children in Need and Jeans for Genes.In April of this year, £12,500 of that money went to five charities that were nominated and voted for by the staff.

The Trust also raises money through its Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge treasure hunts, annual Golf Day, formal lunches, Case Managers (Court of Protection) conference and events associated with projects such as Pigs Gone Wild in Ipswich, GoGoDragons! in Norwich and the wolves in Bury St Edmunds.As well as these, the firm encourages staff to attend, volunteer and raise money at events such as the Ipswich Midnight Walk, St Nicholas Hospice Care Girls Night Out, Run Norwich, Dragon Boat Festivals and The Whole Hog. They also have a number of staff who relish a challenge and some fundraising – Ellen in Ipswich doing a skydive, Bez from Bury St Edmunds cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats, and in May over 20 Ashtons’ staff took part in a sponsored running relay from the Ipswich office to the Norwich office (via Ipswich Town Football Club and Norwich City Football Club).

Ashtons CEO, Ed O’Rourke, commented: “I am hugely proud of this win and of all who contributed to it. At Ashtons we acknowledge we are a part of the East Anglian scenery and our commitment to the community does not end when we leave the office. As a firm, we believe in contributing to life beyond work – after all, we live here, we play here and it is where we have chosen to raise our families.”