Categories and criteria
Awards for firms/teams
Excellence in Equality & Diversity
Sponsored by Equality & Human Rights Commission
Open to all in the legal sector.
The most innovative and successful examples of best practice in the promotion of equality and diversity are sought for this award. We are looking for examples of clear benefits to organisations, employees and clients, from embracing equality and diversity policies and practices in the widest sense, to recruiting and retaining the most talented and motivated lawyers.
Excellence in Community Investment
Sponsored by Deloitte
Open to all in the legal sector.
This award will highlight best practice and innovation in community investment including fundraising and charitable giving, pro bono and non-legal volunteering. The judges will look for innovative and sustainable solutions to an identified need which produce significant impacts for both the community and the organisation, in programmes over and above core business activity.
Legal Sector Alliance Award for Environmental Responsibility
Sponsored by Canon
Open to all in the legal sector
Best practice and innovation in proactive environmental strategy and performance is sought for this award. The judges will look for original ideas and significant outcomes from environmental initiatives such as carbon management, energy efficiency and sustainable procurement.
Excellence in Client Service
Sponsored by Moneypenny
Open to all in the legal sector.
This award will highlight excellence in client care and innovative approaches to maintaining and developing client focused services. The judges will look for practices that demonstrate a leading edge commitment to client care and examples of real efforts in going the extra mile for clients.
Excellence in Marketing & Business Development
Sponsored by Orange
Open to all in the legal sector.
This award will go to the most innovative, creative and inspiring business development campaign executed by a law firm or in-house legal department. The entry should: identify the objectives; outline campaign elements; explain how the campaign was integrated into the wider marketing and business development of the law firm or in-house legal team; describe the rollout of associated marketing activity; and quantify measurable results.
Lexcel Award in Practice Management
Sponsored by Lloyds TSB Commercial
Open to Lexcel-accredited practices only.
This will reward excellence in practice management and service delivery from practices that have successfully implemented the Lexcel standards. The judges will look for practices that have effectively incorporated the Lexcel framework into their business strategies to drive continuous improvement.
Excellence in Innovation
Sponsored by TFB
Open to all in the legal sector.
Entries are sought from innovative teams across the legal services sector who can demonstrate cutting edge business practice and client service. These might include innovative approaches to standardisation or commoditisation, or the creation of new suites of high value-added services or means of delivery to meet client needs.
Excellence in Exporting Legal Services
Sponsored by American Airlines
Open to all in the legal sector.
This award will go to a law firm that can show it has broken new ground in the export of legal services. The entry should demonstrate the strategic nature of the firm’s exporting objectives; the active development of new export markets (either geographical or sectoral) which have turned into results impacting on the firm’s turnover; and the coherent integration of this export activity into wider business development plans.
AWS Legal Business Woman of the Year
Entries to this category will be selected from the entrants to the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) awards. Find out more about the AWS awards at www.womensolicitors.org.uk.
Legal Executive of the Year
Sponsored by ILEX
Open to legal executives only.
Advocate of the Year
Sponsored by Logica
Open to anyone undertaking advocacy.
Junior Lawyer of the Year
Sponsored by Zurich
Open to members of the Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division only - student members of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, trainees and solicitors with up to five years’ active post-qualification experience.
*All suitable entries to this category will automatically be considered for the Law Society Junior Lawyers Division Pro Bono Awards to be presented during National Pro Bono Week 2009.
Solicitor of the Year - In-house
Sponsored by Hiscox
Open to solicitors only.
Solicitor of the Year - Private Practice
Sponsored by DX
Open to solicitors only.
