Herbert Smith Freehills is pleased to announce that six projects have been shortlisted for the 2017 Community Engagement Awards in India.

The awards are spread across two categories: Community investment through legal work and community contribution through volunteering. The shortlist includes projects and initiatives led by individuals or teams of law students across India.

The shortlisted individuals/teams are*:

• For community investment through legal work: Legal Aid Clinic, Legal Services Clinic and Antashchetana
• For community contribution through volunteering: Law School 101, Kaalitales Project and Puler

The winners will be selected by the Herbert Smith Freehills Community Engagement Awards Working Committee, which includes members of the firm's India Practice. The successful projects will be announced at an awards ceremony in India in September this year, where the winners will receive a £2,000 cash prize.

Chris Parsons, Chairman of Herbert Smith Freehills' India Practice, commented:

"Herbert Smith Freehills' Community Engagement Awards have been again hugely successful. The quality and variety of the projects is fantastic and we congratulate all of the shortlisted law students. The kind of work that they are doing across India to make a positive change in society is very impressive and I am happy that our Community Engagement Awards are a platform to acknowledge their efforts."

This project has grown out of the firm's longstanding work with law schools across India and most recently through the Herbert Smith Freehills' Bridge project (HSF Bridge), which seeks to provide a link between students at Indian law schools and social projects. The firm also supports projects such as: LittleBigHelp, which cares for street children near Howrah railway station in Kolkata; and the IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access), which aims to empower marginalised communities through legal education.

For more details about the awards, please visit our Community Engagement Awards page.

*Video links to each project/initiative can be found here;

Legal Aid Clinic;

Legal Services Clinic;

Antashchetana;

Law School 101;

Kaalitales Project;

Puler