Press Release

Outstanding legal professionals short-listed for prestigious legal awards

30 September 2008

The outstanding achievements of legal professionals across England and Wales have been recognised by the judges of the most prestigious awards in the legal calendar.

Exceptional solicitors, individuals and teams across the entire legal sector have been short-listed for the Law Society's Excellence Awards in categories ranging from client service and social responsibility to practice standards and pioneering legal services. The shortlist spans firms of all sizes, from top City firm Clifford Chance LLP to sole practitioner, Katherine Evans, based in Kidderminster, who operates under the name 'Legal Hobbit'. The list also includes nominees for Legal Executive and Barrister of the Year.

BBC Broadcaster Kirsty Wark will present the awards at a prestigious black tie dinner and presentation ceremony which will take place on 23 October at Old Billingsgate in London, and this year the principal sponsor is Mercedes-Benz.

The awards reward the most outstanding practitioners in the legal professions and are open to the entire legal sector, not just solicitors. They are designed to recognise best practice across the entire legal profession and to celebrate excellence and outstanding achievement in areas that are central to the profession today. They highlight innovative business and quality of life practices, successful approaches to practice management, contributions through social responsibility and equality and diversity initiatives.

Paul Marsh, Law Society Vice President said, "The superb standard of entries received for the excellence awards has been outstanding and reflects the high level of innovation that exists across the legal profession. We have received hundreds of entries from across England and Wales and the short list have been very successful in beating off the competition to reach this stage. There's no better way to promote the legal profession than to celebrate the excellence and innovation that exists right across the profession. We can all benefit by recognising and learning from the achievements of the leaders and innovators in our profession. The best entrants will gain the accolade of winning the most prestigious awards in the legal calendar".