A Huddersfield solicitor has won a national award for his work supporting kinship carers.

Nigel Priestley, senior partner at Ridley & Hall, was named Legal Champion of the Year at the inaugural Kinship Care Awards held in London.

Mr Priestley is a member of the Children’s Panel and regularly represents children and parents in care proceedings.

Among his previous accolades, he was named Solicitor of the Year – for those in private practice – in the National Law Society Excellence Awards 2010.

He has taken the lead in bringing judicial review proceedings on behalf of children placed with kinship carers, such as grandparents, to ensure local authorities meet their legal obligations towards the carers and the children who live with them.

He has been involved in landmark decisions as a result – including successful challenges against councils failing to pay the correct allowances to kinship carers.

A trustee of the Family Rights Group, Mr Priestley has worked closely with the Grandparents’ Association and Grandparents Plus and has spoken at major conferences.

He is acknowledged as one of the leading experts on the law regarding support for grandparent and kinship carers.

Sam Smethers, chief executive of Grandparents Plus, which co-hosted the Kinship Care Awards, said: “Nigel won because he is the country’s recognised leading legal advocate for grandparents and other family members who are in the position of having to raise a child who can no longer live with their parents – and who then often find they face the additional battle of having to challenge their local authority.

“Nigel’s doesn’t just win cases for individual grandparents – important though that is – but the cases he is bringing have an impact far beyond that case and effectively change policy and practice for others as local authorities start to adjust what they do in light of his victories in order to avoid a legal challenge themselves.”