The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) solicitor in charge of reviewing the Soham murder case led a host of legal professionals honoured in the Queen's Birthday list last week.

Marion Bastin, head of the CPS trials unit in Cambridgeshire, received an OBE for her work in the prosecution of Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr.

David Emmerson, former chairman of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group and partner at Edwards Duthie in London, received a CBE for services to publicly funded work.

He worked closely with the Legal Services Commission on the development of franchise contracting, and has been active in community groups in East London.

He said: 'It is quite rare for those who do publicly funded work to get recognition, which is disappointing.

I just hope the government is not trying to catch up before all legal aid lawyers disappear.'

Martin Paisner, a partner at City firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, scooped a CBE for charitable service to organisations such as the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Mr Paisner said: 'It is good for the profession to be seen to be involved in the broader community.

Charitable work has given me a great deal of enjoyment and has been an interesting excursion from day-to-day, fee-paying work.'

Further solicitors honoured were John Catlin, director of legal services at the Department for Work and Pensions (Companion, Order of the Bath), Alison Kerr, chief Crown Prosecutor at Lincolnshire CPS (CBE), and Andrew Gunz, assistant solicitor, Inland Revenue (CBE).

Two barristers received awards for their work at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: former judge Richard May, who was knighted, and former senior prosecuting counsel Joanna Korner QC (CMG).

Barrister Edwin Bowman, first parliamentary counsel, was awarded a KCB while barrister Roger Coe-Salazar, chief crown prosecutor for CPS Gloucestershire, got an MBE.

Other notable awards went to: Judge Shaun Lyons, secretary to the Council of Circuit judges (CBE); Judge William Vincent (OBE); Frank Hart, former chief clerk of the judicial committee, Privy Council office (MBE); Ian McNeil, former member of the Legal Services Consultative Panel (MBE); and Frank Hodgkinson, director of the centre for capital punishment studies at Westminster University Law School (OBE).

Rachel Rothwell