A Injury & Harm Lawyer from Richmond has won 'Lawyer of the Year,' at the Diversity Legal Awards that was held on November 28th, at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in London.

Trevor Sterling - Partner and Head of Major Trauma at Moore Blatch Solicitors in Richmond, was given the award because of the business impact, leadership and contributions he made to ensure that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) diversity was both recognised and represented in the legal sector.

Mr Sterling said:“ I am delighted that the industry has recognised the work we are doing to create better services for our clients and contributing to the drive for equality.

“On a personal level, in the tenth year of the Diversity Legal awards that have helped to highlight the importance of different voices in our industry, it is a privilege to be named 'Solicitor of the Year.'

"It is pleasing to see that the great work being done by all those nominated is having real life consequences, as firms adopt more inclusive practices."

Mr Sterling has been working in the legal profession for 35 years.

Throughout his career he has worked on high-profile cases including representing victims of the Westminster attack and the families of victims of the Croydon tram crash.

He left school at 17, and has since dedicated his career to help people in need.

His colleagues decided to nominate him as a result of his efforts to implement diversity initiatives at Moore Blatch.

He worked tirelessly to ensure that the firm had BAME representation on it's renumeration committee and also advocated unconscious bias training for senior colleagues.

Trevor also suggested solutions that he believed all firms could adopt to foster a culture of inclusion - which has since been published in several industry outlets, highlighting improvements the legal profession can make.

Alongside his legal work, he helped to establish and is currently Chair of the Mary Seacole Trust.

Through the example of Mary Seacole, the Jamaican-born nurse who overcame racism to help treat soldiers during the Crimean war, the charity works to promote equality in public and private service.

During his time at Moore Blatch, Trevor established the Major Trauma team within the firm and has created the award-winning Major Trauma Service in collaboration with the NHS.

The first of its kind, the unique service identifies the needs of a patient at the outset to ensure that, as well as any legal compensation claim, clients receive the additional advice and support that their circumstances require.