Global Law Photography Competition: Legal profession invited to cast their photographic lens on “displacement”

The 2020 Annual Global Law Photography Competition is now open for entries.

In times of crisis, it is more crucial than ever that the entire legal profession rally to protect the most vulnerable in our society. That’s why all members of the legal profession, from law students to paralegals, judges to solicitors, are invited to join this effort and capture in photography what displacement means to them and raise awareness of the importance of the rule of law in protecting those displaced by economics, disease, climate crisis or conflict.

Now in its second year, the Global Law Photography Competition, organised by Obelisk Support, the London-based provider of flexible legal services, is now open for entries online.  After the success of last year’s competition, which was won by Magdalena Bakowska of Hogan Lovells and highlighted the role of lawyers in fighting climate change, the subject of this year’s competition is displacement.  The competition will be supporting and raising awareness of the work of Safe Passage, the charity founded by lawyers to support child refugees.

The competition will be judged by a young refugee or asylum seeker Safe Passage has worked with, Dana Denis-Smith, CEO of Obelisk Support, Christian Fleck, Managing Director UK & Ireland Lexis Nexis, and Marcus Jamieson-Pond, professional photographer. It is open to anyone working in the legal profession and law students. Winners will have their work displayed at an exhibition in central London.

Dana Denis-Smith, Obelisk Support CEO and LexisNexis Legal Personality of the Year 2018, says:

Lawyers play an important role in shaping society’s response to today’s human rights challenges. We hope that this competition will increase recognition within the profession and with the public at large of the responsibility we all have to protect the most vulnerable in our world.  Displacement takes many forms in the modern world and challenges both those displaced and those around them.  We’re looking forward to showcasing both the creativity and the purpose alive in our profession through this landmark competition.

Safe Passage is a charity that uses the power of the law to protect vulnerable people and facilitate their access to legal routes to asylum. They are lawyers and campaigners who combine grassroots and national campaigning, strategic legal casework and litigation, and arrival support for child refugees to make their first positive steps in the UK. So far, they have directly supported more than 200 refugees to reach and integrate in the UK, and more than 1,800 others have arrived through routes they helped to open.

Jennine Walker, Head of UK Legal at Safe Passage International, says:

The Safe Passage legal team works tirelessly to ensure that all the people who contact us receive legal and practical assistance. But in a time of crisis as we are living now, the numbers of people who require assistance and representation are increasing. We always need support from the legal community for expertise and resources and this competition is a great way to come together as lawyers and show what we can do in response to the refugee crisis.

By sharing thought-provoking photographs and donating to Safe Passage, competitors can help enforce the rule of the law and uphold human rights for the most vulnerable in our societies.

LexisNexis, part of the RELX Group Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Resource Centre, supports this rule of law initiative and sponsors the competition. The award ceremony and exhibition will take place at Lexis House in London in the summer of 2020.

To enter, submit your work here.

(Obelisk Support is a legal services company, provides tech-enabled legal services for law firms and in-house legal teams, delivered by highly-experienced lawyers who want to work flexibly.)