A Proskauer London-based team, consisting of partner Paul Tannenbaum and associates Julia Bihary, Shameelah Khan, and Antonia George, were recently successful in a pro bono personal independence payment (“PIP”) appeal case. PIP is a benefit awarded by the Department for Work & Pensions (“DWP”) for people who need help with daily activities or getting around because of a long-term illness or disability. The Proskauer team worked closely with the University House Legal Advice Centre, a charity that assists people of limited means in appealing government benefits decisions.

Our client in this matter suffers from a host of illnesses and disabilities which significantly impact their ability to complete simple day-to-day tasks. The Proskauer team assisted the client in bringing an appeal to the First Tier tribunal and, following some evidentiary and procedural challenges, secured a new PIP award at the highest available rate.

The matter resulted in a very positive outcome for the client and was especially rewarding to our team. According to Shameelah, “It was incredibly fulfilling to support an extremely vulnerable individual, who was unable to manage this process by themselves. I also gained experience in areas that I don’t regularly work in, such as advocacy at the tribunal. I cannot recommend pro bono work enough. It might seem like a small matter but it meant the world to our client. The happiness expressed by the client following the decision was the highlight of this case.”