Categories for the British Legal Awards
- City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement Award
- International firm of the year
- UK firm of the year
- Regional firm of the year
- Legal department of the year
- Chambers of the year
- Off-shore firm of the year
- Managing/senior partner of the year
- Deal lawyer of the year
- General counsel of the year
- Young corporate counsel of the year
- Young solicitor of the year
- M&A team of the year
- Mid-market M&A team of the year
- Banking team of the year
- Securities team of the year
- Property team of the year
- Litigation and regulatory team of the year
- TMT/IP team of the year
- Employment, pensions, benefits and tax team of the year
- Private client team of the year
- Corporate counsel deal team of the year
- Corporate counsel commercial team of the year
- Best use of technology
City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement Award
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The winner of this award is chosen by the City of London Law Society. To put someone forward for this award, please email your suggestion to mail@citysolicitors.org.uk.
International firm of the year
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Open to commercial law firms that specialise in advising international clients on cross border work.
Entries must convince the judges that they are not only market leaders, but that they have made significant progress over the past year and are working to a clear strategy. The judges will be looking for evidence of sustainable improvements in financial performance, successful expansion into new markets, the ability to retain and nurture talent, improvements in the quality of work undertaken, strong leadership and the fostering of a cohesive culture. The entry submission should highlight deals, cases, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the firm’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to UK law firms with a strong bias towards advising clients in the City of London
Entries must convince the judges that they are not only leaders within the markets they target, but that they have made significant progress over the least year and are working to a clear strategy. The judges will be looking for evidence of sustainable improvements in financial performance, strategic expansion into new markets, the ability to retain and nurture talent, improvements in the quality of work undertaken, strong leadership and the fostering of a cohesive culture. The entry submission should highlight deals, cases, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the firm’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to commercial law firms that are based outside London.
Entries must convince the judges that they are not only leaders within the markets they target, but that they have made significant progress over the past year and are working to a clear strategy. Typical attributes the judging panel will be looking for include sustainable improvements in financial performance, strategic expansion into new markets, the ability to retain and nurture talent, improvements in the quality of work undertaken, strong leadership and the fostering of a cohesive culture. The entry submission should highlight work, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the firm’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to global or regional company legal departments that are headquartered in the UK
Entries must convince the judges that they not only act as first class advisers to their companies, but that the department has made significant progress during the past year and are working to a clear strategy. Typical attributes the judging panel will be looking for include sustainable improvements in the management of legal costs, the ability to retain and nurture talent, improvements in the quality of work undertaken either internally or by the use of outside advisers, strong leadership and the fostering of a cohesive culture. The entry submission should highlight work and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to sets of chambers that specialise in representing and advising business clients.
Entries must convince the judges that their tenants not only act as first class advocates, but that their chambers as a whole has made significant progress during the past year. Typical attributes the judging panel will be looking for include sustainable improvements in financial performance, strategic expansion into new markets, the ability to retain and nurture talent, improvements in the quality of work undertaken, strong leadership and the fostering of a cohesive culture. The entry submission should highlight work and initiatives that best exemplify the chambers’ performance
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to off-shore firms.
Entries must convince the judges that they are not only leaders within the markets they target, but that they have made significant progress in achieving their strategic goals over the past year. Typical attributes the judging panel will be looking for include sustainable improvements in financial performance, strategic expansion into new markets, the ability to retain and nurture talent, improvements in the quality of work undertaken, strong leadership and the fostering of a cohesive culture. The entry submission should highlight work, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the firm’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
Managing/senior partner of the year
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Open to the managing partners, senior partners and chief executives of commercial law firms.
The judges will be seeking to identify individuals who through their leadership, management skills and strategic vision are making a palpable contribution to the success of their firm. The entry submission should highlight skills and initiatives that best exemplify this contribution.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to transactional lawyers.
The judges will be seeking to identify senior lawyers who stand out for their rainmaking abilities. The winner of this award must demonstrate they possess the blend of technical excellence, charisma, energy and client awareness that forges the successful dealmaker. The judges will also look favourably upon those lawyers who can demonstrate they have made a wider contribution to the development of their department.
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Open to general counsel.
The judges will be seeking to identify individuals who through their leadership, management skills, technical ability and strategic vision are making a decisive contribution to the performance of their department and the success of their companies. The entry submission should highlight skills and initiatives that best exemplify this contribution.
Young corporate counsel of the year
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This category aims to highlight the achievements of emerging talent within corporate counsel community
The winner of this award must demonstrate not only that they are already making a major contribution to the success of their departments, but also that they have the potential to become the business leaders of tomorrow. The judges will seek to identify individuals who possess technical ability, bags of initiative and a knack for winning the trust of the department’s internal clients. Candidates who have made a wider contribution either to their business or the legal community at large will also be regarded favourably.
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Open to private practice solicitors who are under the age of 35
The judging panel will be seeking to identify the rainmakers and managing partners of tomorrow. The judges will be seeking to identify individuals who can demonstrate that they possess technical ability, initiative and well-honed marketing and project management skills. If they are not already partners, they will already have been identified as possessing clear partnership potential. Candidates who have made a wider contribution, either to their business or the legal community at large, will also be regarded favourably.
Teams
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Open to corporate teams that focus on big-ticket, cross-border M&A work.
This award will be given to corporate teams on the basis of the team’s overall performance over the year. The judges will be looking for evidence of business-winning ability, technical innovation, positive client feedback, an improvement in the quality of work in relation to market position, growth in revenue and profitability, teamwork and career progression. The entry submission should highlight instructions, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
Mid-market M&A team of the year
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Open to UK-based corporate teams that focus on mid-market M&A work.
This award will be judged on the basis of the overall performance of corporate teams over the past year. The judges will be looking for evidence of business-winning ability, technical innovation, positive client feedback, an improvement in the quality of work in relation to market position, growth in revenue and profitability, teamwork and career progression. The entry submission should highlight instructions, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to UK-based banking teams working in disciplines including loans, acquisition finance and insolvency.
This award will be judged on the basis of the overall performance of banking teams over the past year. The judges will be looking for evidence of business-winning ability, technical innovation, positive client feedback, an improvement in the quality of work in relation to market position, growth in revenue and profitability, team-work and career progression. The entry submission should highlight instructions, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to UK-based finance teams focusing on securities-related disciplines including structured products, debt capital markets and Islamic finance.
This award will be judged on the basis of the overall performance of banking teams over the past year. The judges will be looking for evidence of business-winning ability, technical innovation, positive client feedback, an improvement in the quality of work in relation to market position, growth in revenue and profitability, teamwork and career progression. The entry submission should highlight instructions, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to UK-based property teams working across disciplines that include property transactions, large-scale developments, property finance, funds and planning.
This award will be judged on the basis of the overall performance of property teams over the past year. The judges will be looking for evidence of business-winning ability, technical innovation, positive client feedback, an improvement in the quality of work in relation to market position, growth in revenue and profitability, teamwork and career progression. The entry submission should highlight instructions, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
Litigation and regulatory team of the year
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Open to UK-based litigation and regulatory teams.
This award will be judged on the basis of the overall performance of litigation and regulatory teams over the past year. The judges will be looking for evidence of business-winning ability, technical innovation, positive client feedback, an improvement in the quality of work in relation to market position, growth in revenue and profitability, teamwork and career progression. The entry submission should highlight cases, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to UK-based TMT and IP teams.
This award will be judged on the basis of the overall performance TMT and IP teams over the year. The judges will be looking for evidence of business-winning ability, technical innovation, positive client feedback, an improvement in the quality of work in relation to market position, growth in revenue and profitability, teamwork and career progression. The entry submission should highlight deals, cases, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
Employment, pensions, benefits and tax team of the year
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Open to UK-based employment, pensions, benefits and tax teams.
This award will be judged on the basis of the overall performance of pensions, benefits and tax teams over the past year. The judges will be looking for evidence of business-winning ability, technical innovation, positive client feedback, an improvement in the quality of work in relation to market position, growth in revenue and profitability, teamwork and career progression. The entry submission should highlight deals, cases, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
Private client team of the year
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Open to UK-based private client teams.
This award will be judged on the basis of the overall performance of private client teams. The judges will be looking for evidence of business-winning ability, technical innovation, positive client feedback, an improvement in the quality of work in relation to market position, growth in revenue and profitability, teamwork and career progression. The entry submission should highlight deals, cases, client wins and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
Corporate counsel deal team of the year
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Open to UK-based in-house teams that focus on advising on deals.
This award will be judged on the overall performance of in-house deal teams over the past year. The judges will be looking for evidence of technical and project management skills, as well as evidence that the teams have won the ongoing respect of their clients. Evidence is also sought of the team’s ability to work effectively with outside counsel, as and when they are instructed. Sustainable improvements in the control of legal costs, the ability to retain and nurture talent and strong leadership will also be looked upon favourably. The entry submission should highlight deals, cases and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
Corporate counsel commercial team of the year
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Open to UK-based in-house teams with a focus on delivering commercial advice.
This award will be judged on the overall performance of in-house commercial teams over the past year. The judges will be looking for technical and project management skills as well as evidence that the teams have won the ongoing respect of their clients. Evidence is also sought of the team’s ability to work effectively with outside counsel, as and when they are instructed. Sustainable improvements in the control of legal costs, the ability to retain and nurture talent and strong leadership will also be looked upon favourably. The entry submission should highlight deals, cases and initiatives that best exemplify the team’s performance.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.
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Open to UK-based law firms and company legal departments.
This award will go to the law firm or company legal department that can demonstrate how a technology project has played a critical role in the improvement of the performance of a firm or department. The judges will look favourably upon imaginative, well-executed projects that are delivered on time and within budget. The entry submission should include evidence of the benefits that the project has brought to the firm or legal department.
There is an administration fee of £95 plus VAT to enter this award.