After weeks of anticipation, the winners of The Herald Law Awards of Scotland 2022 were announced last night in front of a packed audience in the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central.
The Awards are the leading accolades of their kind and the evening was an opportunity for representatives from across the sector to come together and recognise the outstanding work of colleagues in upholding the highest standards of their profession.
For Rachel Munro of Shoosmiths LLP, who was named Junior Solicitor of the Year, the evening brought an early boost to her career, while for Paul Brown who retired in September after a 40 year career with The Legal Services Agency, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award was the culmination of decades of work in diverse fields, including criminal injuries compensation and asylum representation.
The award for Outstanding Contribution was given to Alex Prentice QC, who in 1994 was amongst the first solicitors to acquire rights of audience in the criminal courts and who is now Principal Crown Counsel and the Innovation Award, sponsored by the Law Society of Scotland, went to Trauma Aware Law which instructs solicitors on the impact and effects that trauma can have on the victims of crime.
For Mike Dailly of Govan Law Centre and winner of this year’s Solicitor of the Year accolade, also sponsored by the Law Society of Scotland, it was the second time in two years that he found himself being recognised from the podium, after his commitment to social justice earned him last year’s Outstanding Contribution Award.
The Scottish arm of international legal firm, DLA Piper, received the Pro Bono Award, while another global firm, CMS, which has offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Bristol, received the CSR award for initiatives including its Law Scholarships scheme, which offers £10,000, mentoring and paid work experience to school leavers.
Stirling Park is one of Scotland’s leading firms of Sheriff Officers, and a longstanding supporter of The Herald Law Awards of Scotland. This year it sponsored two awards – Litigation Team of the Year, which was won by Thompsons Solicitors Scotland and Debt Recovery Team of the Year, which went to Gilson Gray LLP. Meanwhile Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP were named winners of the Transaction Team of the Year Award.
Meanwhile there was support too from IDEX Consulting, who sponsored both the Law Firm of the Year category, won by TLT LLP, and Law Firm of the Year – Scottish Independents – which went to Ledingham Chalmers Solicitors.
Other awards went to Lockharts Law LLP, who were named High Street Firm of the Year, and McGovern Reid, who won Criminal Law Firm of the Year.
Welcoming everyone to the event was Catriona Stewart, court reporter and member of the Children’s Panel, who said that it was essential to celebrate the vital contribution made by the legal profession.
She described the last two years as: “A particularly tough time for the sector,” and said that it was still adapting to change, but she welcome the huge number of impressive entries that had been received for this year’s awards and praised the excellent work being carried out in everything from pro bono activities to criminal law.”
Full list of winners
TRANSACTIONS TEAM OF THE YEAR
• Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP
HIGH STREET FIRM OF THE YEAR
• Lockharts Law LLP
CRIMINAL LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR
• McGovern Reid
LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR
sponsored by IDEX Consulting
• TLT LLP
LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR – SCOTTISH
INDEPENDENTS
sponsored by IDEX Consulting
• Ledingham Chalmers Solicitors
JUNIOR SOLICITOR OF THE YEAR
• Rachel Munro, Shoosmiths LLP
SOLICITOR OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Law Society of Scotland
• Mike Dailly, Govan Law Centre
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
• Simon Rae, DLA Piper
IN-HOUSE LAWYER OF THE YEAR
• Sheekha Saha, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
PRIVATE CLIENT TEAM OF THE YEAR
• MacNabs
LITIGATION TEAM OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Stirling Park
• Thompsons Solicitors Scotland
DEBT RECOVERY TEAM OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Stirling Park
• Gilson Gray LLP
CSR AWARD
• The CMS Social Impact Programme
PRO-BONO AWARD
• DLA Piper
INNOVATION AWARD
sponsored by Law Society of Scotland
• Trauma Aware Law
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION
AWARD
• Alex Prentice
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
• Paul Brown, Legal Services Agency
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