WINNERS

• 1st - Burness
Scottish firm Burness has played to its strengths over the past few years and the focused approach has really started to pay off. An impressive client list sees the firm act for a plethora of councils across Scotland as well as a range of high-profile corporates including Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life.
The staunchly Scottish firm had a stellar year in 2006-07 and was able to pay all its staff a 10 per cent bonus at the end of 2007, topping off a year that saw it invest heavily in new lawyers and a new office in Glasgow.
But the investment didn’t stop there and a spate of hires this year has seen Burness bolster its ranks with lawyers from local rivals as well as City firms. The firm has beefed up its partnership with the hire of former associates from Travers Smith and Weil Gotshal & Manges and has also raided the local offices of DLA Piper and McClure Naismith for further partners.

• 2nd - Shakespeare Putsman
The last year has been a transformative one for the Birmingham firm that was created through the merger of Shakespeares and Putsmans.
Shakespeare Putsman has revolutionised its internal structure by streamlining its partnership and support functions. At the same time it has recruited 60 lawyers and continued to win new business.
Despite the difficulties of a major restructuring and the pressures of integration, the Birmingham firm has grown its average profit per equity partner by around 60 pe cent to smash its £200,000 target in its first year as a merged entity.

• 3rd - emw law
Under the charismatic leadership of chairman Ian Morris and chief executive Joy Vollans, Milton Keynes firm EMW Law has made high-profile lateral hires, boosted turnover by almost a third and doubled profits during the last year. The firm provides a quality alternative to London's pricier firms and sits on the panel for Abbey and Barclays, as well as worked regularly for banks such as Nationwide and HBOS. Further growth and regional expansion lies on the firm’s horizons, looking for doubling turnover in the next five years. To assist its efforts, EMW has been circling London’s surrounding areas for suitable new locations and partners.

This category is open to any UK national or regional firm

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

• Strategic vision
• Consistent delivery of client service
• Strong spread of work and evidence of excellence
• Strong financial performance

Entries welcome from:
Private practice teams	√
Nominations by in-house teams	√

Previous Winners:
2007	Irwin Mitchell
2006	DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary
2005	Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
2004	Linklaters
2003	Shearman & Sterling