2025 Award Categories

• Nominations must relate to achievements in the period 1st September 2024 to 31st August 2025. The closing date for nominations is 11.45pm on Thursday 18 September 2025.
• Only organisations, teams, networks and individuals practising in the Bristol and Bath area are eligible to enter.
• You can nominate yourself, your team or your own organisation or another individual, team or organisation.
• Directors of Bristol Law Society are not eligible to be nominated for an individual award (but may for team and organisational awards of which they are part). They may nominate other individuals, teams and organisations in each category.
• Please note that word limit of 1,000 will be strictly enforced. No links or supporting documents are allowed.
• You must obtain consent from the nominee to submit a nomination. By agreeing to the submission of a nomination, the nominee is consenting to us processing their personal data in order to consider their nomination; communicate with them about the awards event; share the nomination with the Judges (all personal contact details will be hidden); share the relevant information with our event manager, event printers, AV provider, Host Presenter and award engravers; publish the shortlisted entrants by name, photo and firm only and for the winning entrant’s photograph to be taken on the night and used for publicity purposes by Bristol Law Society and the award sponsoring organisation. See our privacy notice for further details of how we process your data and your rights to object to/restrict processing.
• Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions and to have agreed to be bound by them when entering the competition.
• Bristol Law Society will accept your submission via the link as confirmation of the validity of the contents.
• The Judging Panel will judge the submission against the stated category criteria.
• Any nomination submission that does not meet the category criteria will not be accepted
• Where necessary, some nominations may require additional verification to ensure the individual, team or organisation being nominated meets the criteria set out in each category.
• The Judging Panel reserve the right to move a nomination to a different awards category if it is deemed more suitable based on the criteria and content.  Nominees will be advised of any change.
• An advertised award category may not be awarded if the Judges decide the criteria have not been met.
• We would ask all nominees to note that the Judging Panel will only consider ONE submission per nominee per award category. If more than one submission is received, the nominee will be asked to select one submission for the Judging Panel to consider. Client testimonials must be included within the allocated word count per submission.
• Award entries will remain confidential to Bristol Law Society and the Judging Panel until the Bristol Legal Awards.
• The nominations will be judged by a panel of Judges selected by the President of Bristol Law Society. The Judges’ decision is final and awards will be made at their sole discretion. Feedback on nominations will not be provided.
• Winners of each category will receive a trophy and a Bristol Legal Awards ‘digital stamp’ for use on their marketing materials and website. Official photographs will be sent to the winners for their use. Where the photograph contains images of Officers of Bristol Law Society, the Officer must be captioned with their name, position at BLS and position and name of the firm they work for. Photographs including pictures of our Officers must not be used in firm advertorials or promotions. Please contact the Bristol Law Society office if you wish to use the photographs for anything other than a standard news item relating to the winning of an award.

Awarded to an individual who has shown exceptional support in the delivery of legal services and who has demonstrated that they have gone above and beyond normal standards in their contribution to the organisation and/or commitment and dedication to clients and the legal sector, employees and internal support services.

Judges will be looking for:

• Specific examples in the qualifying period of exceptional contribution which has had a measurable impact on their internal organisation, fellow employees or clients; and
• Examples of contribution which may include amongst other things introduction of innovative practices, improved efficiencies, collaboration, excellent client service and impact on the organisation’s reputation.

Awarded to an individual, firm, team, organisation, collaboration or network which has/have demonstrated a strong and dedicated commitment to the supply of pro bono work or the introduction of a pro bono initiative  as set out in the Joint Pro Bono Protocol “legal advice or representation provided by lawyers in the public interest including to individuals, charities and community groups who cannot afford to pay for that advice or representation and where public and alternative means of funding are not available”

Judges will be looking for:

Evidence of benefit and impact(s) including:

• Description of the pro bono activity or initiative undertaken:
  • The identified need or the presenting problem(s);
  • The intended beneficiaries or clients;
  • The nature or type of legal work or advice given and/or action taken;
  • And the outcomes or impact(s) achieved;
  • A supporting testimonial (if appropriate).

Judges will be looking for:

• An example of:
  • A piece of work or project you have undertaken in the qualifying period that you are most
    proud of; and
• • A piece of work or project which has impacted the legal sector or BLS’ local community;
  • In relation to each, explain the piece of work or project, the intended beneficiaries, and the outcomes/impact;
• Demonstration of resilience, ambition and commitment to entering the profession.

• An example of:
  • A piece of work or project you have undertaken in the qualifying period that you are most
    proud of; and
  • A piece of work or project which has impacted the legal sector or BLS’ local community;
  • In relation to each, explain the piece of work or project, the intended beneficiaries, and the outcomes/impacts and demonstrated impact to furthering as their career progresses;
  • In all cases the judges will expect to see evidence that the individual has successfully taken a leading
    role rather than merely assisted.

• An example of:
  • A piece of work or project you have undertaken in the qualifying period that you are most
    proud of such as the leadership of a complex matter with significant client impact;
  • A piece of work or project which has impacted the legal sector or BLS’ local community;
  • In relation to each, explain the piece of work or project, the intended beneficiaries, and the outcomes/impacts and demonstrated impact to furthering as their career progresses;
• Evidence of leadership within your role (regardless of job title), alongside a demonstrated commitment to developing/supporting others and contributing to the profession, for example through diversity & inclusive initiatives mentoring, or community engagement initiatives.

Awarded to a legal or support team from private practice, Chambers, or in-house that has made an outstanding contribution either in their organisation, to the legal sector or the BLS community.

Judges will be looking for:

• Details of a minimum of two specific matters (or projects) your team has handled during the qualifying period and explain why it had a major impact on your team and organisation and your internal or external client;
• How you provide client service excellence in all that you do;
• Innovation in what the team does and offers;
• Impact on the legal sector or the BLS community.

Awarded to an individual, team, organisation from private practice, Chambers, in-house, collaboration or a network which can showcase successful and innovative examples of initiatives around the promotion of equality diversity and inclusion within their organisations and/or those who have demonstrated a strong commitment to providing or promoting an inclusive working environment that supports the mental and physical wellbeing of its people as a core value of its business culture

Judges will be looking for:

• One example of how your organisation/network can demonstrate that your equality, diversity and inclusion and/or mental health and wellbeing initiative leaves a lasting legacy including:
  • List the specific challenges/ obstacles faced and overcome;
  • Outline the impact and results achieved from the above activity (with testimonial evidence if applicable);
  • How was the initiative innovative or disruptive;
  • How the initiative showed a continuing commitment to diversity and inclusion/wellbeing;
  • Scale and ambition – what’s next for the organisation/individual?

Awarded to a firm (or a network/collaboration including law firm(s)) that has shown a notable impact over the last twelve months’ while supporting causes or projects in the Bristol/Bath region relating to community engagement and corporate and social responsibility.

Judges will be looking for:

• Details of your organisation’s ’s CSR/responsible business strategy, its objectives and how the firm or network has championed them;
• An example of how those strategies will leave a lasting legacy both internally and externally;
• Focusing on one specific initiative, explain the tangible results achieved.

This award recognises the law firm or chambers which demonstrates the most commitment and/or measurable impact over the qualifying period in relation to environmental sustainability across its operations, with clear evidence of things like strategy, leadership, measurable outcomes, operational, impact staff engagement, community impact and innovation and future commitment.

Judges will be looking for:

• Details of initiatives and strategies successfully implemented to reduce the environmental footprint of your organisation through projects like waste reduction, energy efficiency and other sustainable office practices;
• Specific details that demonstrate the tangible results of your combined sustainability initiatives;
• A case study of one specific initiative that has had a significant impact in this area including the metrics by which your measured impact/results.

This award recognises law firms, in-house teams and Chambers that are innovating and changing the way legal products and services are delivered (both internally and to the client) or shifting business models to meet changing client demands. This award recognises both legal technology and non-tech based initiatives.

Judges will be looking for:

• Details of the idea/innovation and the target market;
  • How the original idea was conceived, who was involved and how the idea developed into the final product;
  • How the idea was evaluated, tested and trialled during the development process; and
  • The tangible and intangible results which have been achieved and how these have been measured.

Awarded to a Chambers that is able to demonstrate excellence and innovation in the provision of legal services above and beyond their colleagues in the field.

Judges will be looking for:

• Details of two examples of notable Bristol/Bath based matters in the qualifying period and explain why it has given your Chambers a sense of pride and satisfaction;
• In what ways is Chambers practicing and championing client care;
• How is Chambers making a positive difference in the wider community;
• What recognition has Chambers received from third parties;
• What steps have you taken to ensuring the wellbeing of your people and what active measures do you take to ensure equality diversity and inclusion in your Chambers.

Awarded to a firm with a significant presence within Bristol/Bath region with 3 or fewer niche practice areas that is able to demonstrate excellence in the provision of legal services and to the legal sector and the community and has experienced significant development during the year.

Judges will be looking for:

• Two Bristol/ Bath based highlights from the qualifying period;
• Demonstrable growth – (e.g. financial performance, a successful merger/acquisition, successful expansion;
• differentiating itself from its competitors by the way it provides its services to its clients; (e.g. new client wins, or work wins);
• Any local communities that have benefited from the firm’s CSR initiatives;
• How diversity within the firm is recognised and promoted, (e.g. what policies/procedures the firm has in place to attract and then retain staff);
• Ways in which the firm helps showcase Bristol/Bath legal talent in our region.

Awarded to a local firm exclusively based in the Bristol/Bath region that is able to demonstrate excellence in the provision of legal services and to the legal sector and the community and has experienced significant development during the year

Judges will be looking for:

• Two Bristol/Bath based highlights from the qualifying period;
• Demonstrable growth – (e.g. financial performance, a successful merger/acquisition, successful expansion;
• differentiating itself from its competitors by the way it provides its services to its clients; (e.g. new client wins, or work wins);
• Any local communities that have benefited from the firm’s CSR initiatives;
• How diversity within the firm is recognised and promoted, (e.g. what policies/procedures the firm has in place to attract and then retain staff);
• Ways in which the firm helps showcase Bristol/Bath legal talent in our region.

Awarded to a firm with at least one office in Bristol/Bath region that is able to demonstrate excellence in the provision of legal services and to the legal sector and has see/ experienced? significant development during the year.

Judges will be looking for:

• Two Bristol/Bath based highlights from the qualifying period;
• Demonstrable growth – (e.g. financial performance, a successful merger/acquisition, successful expansion;
• differentiating itself from its competitors by the way it provides its services to its clients; (e.g. new client wins, or work wins);
• Any local communities that have benefited from the firm’s CSR initiatives;
• How diversity within the firm is recognised and promoted, (e.g. what policies/procedures the firm has in place to attract and then retain staff);
• Ways in which being a National firm help the firm’s clients and help showcase Bristol/Bath legal talent on the national stage.

Awarded to an individual who has demonstrated an exceptional contribution to the legal sector, their organisation and/or clients whether that be on a one-off basis or over the course of their career.

This award is in the gift of the Bristol Law Society President and will not be taken to the Judging Panel.