DARA is staffed by pro bono lawyers from 10 leading law firms. It was founded by Sam Cottman and is run by a Board with over 50 collective years' experience of acting for survivors of domestic abuse and delivering pro bono projects at scale.
Board members
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Sam Cottman
Sam is a Partner and Head of Pro Bono at Travers Smith and the Founder of DARA. He has acted for domestic abuse clients since 2009, including via the launch of his firm's specialist domestic violence advocacy unit.
In 2020 Sam became the first person to win both the Wig & Pen Prize and LawWorks award for outstanding contribution to pro bono. In 2021, he was short-listed by the Law Society for Solicitor of the Year and by the IBA for their global pro bono award, whilst Travers Smith also won best CSR Programme for its domestic abuse pro bono work.
Sam is also the Founder of the Cottman Foundation which dedicates a significant portion of its work to tackling domestic abuse, including by providing funding to DARA.
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Jenny Beck KC (Hons)
Jenny is the co-founder of Beck Fitzgerald and an award-winning family lawyer committed to accessible justice and the rights of the individual. She undertakes complex cases in relation to children and finances for both married and unmarried families. She provides training on both family law and law firm management and actively campaigns for fairness and equality. She is a frequent speaker on access to justice issues and is regularly called upon for comment by the press and media.
Jenny has been awarded the Family Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year. In 2021 she was made an Honorary King’s Counsel (KC Honoris Causa).
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Mark Groves
Mark is the Chief Executive Officer of The National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV). Mark joined NCDV in 2008 as the Operations Manager and over the last 10 years he has steered NCDV to become a national organisation helping thousands of victims every month. Mark has been instrumental in securing numerous sector awards and is particularly proud to be one of the few non law firms and non-lawyers to receive an Excellence Award from the Law Society.
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Rebecca Wilkinson
Rebecca is Chief Executive Officer of LawWorks. Rebecca leads the team which supports a growing network of independent pro bono clinics and facilitates the provision of pro bono legal advice for smaller charities and not-for-profit organisations. In her role, Rebecca works closely with member firms and third sector organisations, to drive forward LawWorks’ pro bono programmes, helping to address unmet legal need within England & Wales.
