Lawyer Using Trimega Evidence Wins Family Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Award 2011

LONDON, June 29, 2011 -

Trimega‘s
Dual-Marker Hair Alcohol Test Helped Reunite Mother With
Children

Lorna Cservenka, head of the Child Care department at Hanne
& Company’s London office, has won the title of Family Legal
Aid Lawyer of the Year at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards
2011.  The award ceremony took place in London on 28 June with
the announcements made by Cherie Booth QC.

Lorna was selected for her work on the ground-breaking LB
Richmond v B & W & B & CB (2010) EWHC 2903 (Fam) child
care case in which a mother stood to lose her children if she was
found to be abusing alcohol.  

Using dual-marker hair testing technology (FAEE and EtG)
provided by Trimega Laboratories, Lorna succeeded in persuading the
court that the mother had not been drinking, and this outcome was
instrumental in reuniting her with her children.

A previous single test conducted by another provider had
suggested that the mother had been drinking. The mother wrote at
the time of Lorna’s nomination: “She believed what I was saying and
was relentless in getting more information on hair strand testing
and helping me challenge the results.”

A conclusion of the case last year was that dual-marker hair
alcohol tests should be used for cases where hair analysis is
applied. Dual-marker testing provides accuracy rates of over 94%,
with less than 1% risk of a false positive, and 5.75% risk of a
false negative.  At its annual conference in March, The
Society of Hair Testing (SoHT) presented these findings, based on
Trimega’s data set of approximately 2,000 dual hair tests, the
largest of its kind in the world.

Avi Lasarow, CEO of Trimega Laboratories, said: “We are
delighted that Lorna won the Family Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year
Award and that she was able to use the Trimega dual-hair testing
technology to help to reunite the mother in the case with her
children.  The award contributes to what is now a wide
acknowledgement of the importance of dual-marker hair alcohol tests
in providing high levels of accuracy about alcohol consumption over
several months by parents and guardians in child custody
cases.”

Lasarow continued: “Given the legal aid reforms, we are
particularly conscious that the dual-hair marker test can cost more
than alternatives, and we work hard to develop an appropriate
pricing policy for our tests.  However, the high levels of
accuracy of dual-marker tests have been proved scientifically and
the impact of that has been borne out in Lorna’s case. We firmly
believe that dual-hair testing has a very important part to play in
the body of evidence that determines the welfare of our
children.”

Trimega commercialised the technological breakthrough of
analysing human hair samples for alcohol, firmly believing that
just as hair testing had become accepted by the industry as the
‘gold standard’ for analysis of drug abuse, hair testing for
alcohol would receive similar recognition once it had been shown to
be very accurate.  One of Trimega’s key achievements was being
the first to market with dual-marker hair alcohol testing.
 Hair testing can provide a picture of consumption during the
previous six months.  In contrast, traditional forms of
testing, of blood and urine, can cover only the previous three days
and four to six weeks respectively.

The Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards are organised by the
Legal Aid Practioner Group, an independent organisation that
represents 450 firms and not for profit organisations involved in
the provision of publicly funded legal services. The awards are
non-profit making.

About Trimega Laboratories
(www.trimegalabs.co.uk)

Established in London in 2005, Trimega Laboratories is well
recognised for being a leader in the development of innovative
techniques for testing for substances of abuse. Its core business
is laboratory-based analysis of hair samples that provide accurate
historical records of alcohol or drugs dependency over a one to 12
month period. In the UK, Trimega’s core clients include: family law
specialists, law courts, and social services.  

Trimega was the first to market with dual-marker hair alcohol
testing (FAEE and EtG). Dual hair testing provides very accurate
results: at its annual conference in March 2011, the Society of
Hair Testing (SoHT) confirmed that dual testing on hair for alcohol
misuse provides accuracy rates of over 94%, with less that 1% risk
of a false positive, and 5.75% risk of a false negative.  The
SoHT’s consensus was based on analysis of Trimega’s data set of
approximately 2,000 dual hair testing samples, the largest of its
kind in the world.

Other services offered by Trimega include: Roadside Drugalyzer
Testing for law enforcement, Hair Steroid Testing for athletes, and
Hair Benzodiazepines Testing.

Trimega won the title of Best Use of Technology in the 2008
Barclays-sponsored Startups Awards, and has been on the shortlist
for the National Business Awards three years running. Trimega is
also one of 25 companies to represent the UK in the 2011 European
Business Awards.

Trimega conducts its hair alcohol analysis in laboratories in
Germany which are accredited with international standard ISO 17025
by DAkkS, the German issuing authority, equivalent to UKAS in the
UK. The technology for hair-alcohol testing originated in
Germany.

The UK Ministry of Justice does not require hair testing
laboratories to be accredited. However, Trimega’s UK laboratory in
Manchester, which carries out drug tests, operates to ISO 17025
standards, and has applied for ISO 17025 accreditation from UKAS.
Trimega’s Manchester laboratory already has IS0 9001:2008
certification from Lloyd’s Register Group, itself accredited by
UKAS, for the ‘provision of clinical collecting, testing, analysis
and interpretation services for substances of abuse’.  In
addition, the Manchester laboratory is the only UK laboratory in
the industry to have ISO 14001 certification from QMS
International, the environmental management system standard for
internal quality management. Trimega is an Investor in People.

Trimega was responsible for the creation of a Hair Strand
Scientific Advisory Board. Its purpose is to analyse the fast
growing database of information created from the 10,000 hair
alcohol tests and 7,000 hair drug tests carried out on UK samples
each year, of which Trimega is responsible for around 40%. The
findings of the Board are shared with the Society of Hair Testing
which will assist it in future decisions, particularly those
relating to the setting of universal standards/guidelines.

About Hanne & Co (www.hanne.co.uk)

Hanne & Co was established in 1898 by Herbert Curtis Lee
Hanne, who was a pioneer in providing legal services to all,
regardless of wealth or social standing.

The firm’s roots are in Battersea, London (SW11) although over
our long history we have maintained branch offices in Surbiton and
the Temple. In 1996 the firm moved to new premises in the heart of
Clapham Junction consolidating the firm under one roof.

Throughout the years the firm has been at the forefront of legal
aid provision. We were one of the first firms in the country to
earn a franchise from the Legal Services Commission and we were
also one of only 5 firms in London to be offered ‘preferred pilot
status’, highlighting the quality and efficiency of our work. In
2009, Michael Burdett, who joined the firm in 1963, received a
Lifetime Achievement award at the Legal Aid Practitioners Group
Silver Jubilee.

Provision of legal aid is however just a part of our practice;
we also operate a thriving private practice for which we are also
renowned. Our clients are truly from all walks of life and this
variety is something which we cherish. We are a well known firm
locally but also have established client links all over the country
and abroad.

We place huge importance on client care and integrity. The firm
has conducted a number of high profile cases, which have been
reported, and we are proud to maintain our standing and reputation
in the provision of legal services.

For additional information, please contact:
For media enquiries relating to Trimega Laboratories, contact: Simon Barker, Partner, Cubitt Consulting, +44(0)20-7367-5119 / simon.barker at cubitt.com Fergus Brady, Analyst, Cubitt Consulting, +44(0)20-7367-5114 / fergus.brady at cubitt.com