Care, Law & Change: 2-Year Anniversary & 2026 Essay Prize Announcement

The Announcement of the 2026 David and Iris Freeman Essay Competition Winner

Join Lawyers Who Care and the Foundling Museum for a special evening celebrating the two-year anniversary of Lawyers Who Care and the announcement of the 2026 David and Iris Freeman Essay Competition winner.

The essay competition, supported by the Iris and David Freeman Charitable Trust, was created to encourage care-experienced aspiring lawyers to engage with issues affecting their community and to open doors to the legal profession. This year’s essay question asks: “Do we need legislative change to uphold the rights of care-experienced people?”

Taking place from 5:30–7:00pm, the evening will bring together our wonderful community to celebrate two years of progress and to recognise all participants of this year’s competition. We are honoured that our essay judging panel will be present, including Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division.

We are so proud to have partnered with The Foundling Museum to run this event. The Foundling Museum is the only cultural institution in the UK to celebrate people who have been in care and all those who care for them. It explores the history and experiences of children in care through art, history and advocacy. We are incredibly grateful for the support of the museum and its CEO, Emma Ridgeway, who has supported Lawyers Who Care from the very beginning. We are proud to host this event in such a meaningful space and look forward to continuing our partnership in the years ahead.