The Law Society has today published the shortlist for its tenth annual Excellence Awards, which will honour the ‘brightest and best’ in the solicitor profession at a ceremony later this year.

Individual solicitors are competing in categories that include Gazette Legal Personality of the Year, Junior Lawyer of the Year and Solicitor-Advocate of the Year.

Awards for teams include Excellence in Learning and Development, Excellence in Client Service and – new for 2016 – Excellence In-house.

'To be shortlisted for the Excellence Awards is an achievement to be proud of,’ said Law Society president Robert Bourns. 'The awards showcase the really excellent work and dedication of the profession to our clients and the wider community, and this is one of the most rewarding and memorable days in the legal calendar.’

Among the judges this year are former Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, founder and partner at Scott-Moncrieff & Associates; The Hon Mr Justice Hickinbottom, High Court judge and honorary president, Royal Courts of Justice; and Elisabeth Davies, chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel.

The nominees for this year’s Gazette Personality award, chosen by the Gazette’s editorial team, are:

  • Marcia Willis Stewart, Birnberg Peirce
  • Susan Ridge, Army Legal Service
  • Sir Nigel Knowles, DLA Piper
  • Julia Salasky, CrowdJustice
  • Zoe Gascoyne, Quinn Melville, and
  • James Thornton, ClientEarth.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony hosted by BBC Radio 4 Today programme presenter Mishal Husain on 20 October 2016 at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel, London.

Book tickets here.