Saifalee Doolooa-Collins
Reading-based family solicitor and team leader at national law firm Reeds Solicitors LLP (Reeds), Saifalee Doolooa-Collins, has been named a finalist at this year’s Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards (LALYs).
Saifalee, who launched the firm’s family law department in 2013, is one of three finalists shortlisted the prestigious Family Legal Aid Lawyer award at the Legal Aid Practitioners Group’s coveted LALYs now in its 21st year.
For more than ten years, Saifalee has been involved with the Berkshire Women’s Aid (BWA). The BWA provides confidential support, information, outreach services, and refuge accommodation for women and their children who are affected by domestic abuse and violence in Berkshire. In this role, Saifalee and her fellow volunteers are affiliated to the Women’s Aid Federation of England (WAFE) and provide their time and services throughout Bracknell, Reading, West Berkshire, and Wokingham.
At the BWA, Saifalee offers training sessions for their service users on various topics such as non-molestation order applications and she, along with her team at Reeds, continues to run a legal clinic for Berkshire Women’s Aid on a monthly basis to provide free legal advice for those involved with BWA seeking help.
She has been on the Children’s Panel (now the Law Society’s Children Law Accreditation Scheme) since 2017. Specialising in childcare and complex children litigation, Saifalee represents children in court proceedings, as well as parents and other family members.
Commenting on the shortlist, James Ferry, head of the family law department at Reeds Solicitors, said: “We are proud to have Saifalee in our family law team. She has a fantastic reputation for her work in the Thames Valley area and amongst professionals. She does a lot of volunteer work with local charities and organisations who help families and parents who are often in difficult situations in the Berkshire area, and to be nominated for this accolade is testament to her hard work, kind and approachable nature, and her determination to go above and beyond for those in need.”
Other finalists in the Family Legal Aid category are Amna Khaliq (Wilson Solicitors LLP) and Victoria Jones (RLE Law). The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on July 12th, 2023.
