The Lawyer Awards takes place in November this year, with scores of firms, in-house teams and chambers making the shortlist.

The winners will be announced in our virtual awards ceremony, taking place on Tuesday 2 November.

Last year saw Keystone win the top prize, as the coronavirus pandemic vindicated the firm’s non-traditional and remote working model in spades.

Latham & Watkins was meanwhile named ‘City firm of the year’; a further nomination this time around means it could scoop the gong once again.

Patrick Green QC of Henderson Chambers won ‘Barrister of the year’ after securing victory for 550 sub-postmasters in the Post Office group litigation. This year’s shortlist is just as impressive, with 6KBW’s Sasha Wass QC nominated after a high-profile win for The Sun against Johnny Depp, and Devereux Chambers’ Colin Edelman QC instructed by the Financial Conduct Authority in its landmark test case over Covid losses.

For the second year running, our charity partner is The Free Representation Unit, which acts for hundreds of clients in social security and employment tribunals.

To register your interest in the event, please click here. More details will be announced in due course.

2021: the shortlist

Law firm of the year

Dickson Minto
Eversheds Sutherland
Hogan Lovells
Kirkland & Ellis
RPC
Shoosmiths
TLT

Barrister of the year

Alex Bailin QC, Matrix Chambers
Andrew Fulton QC, Twenty Essex
Colin Edelman QC, Devereux Chambers
Gavin Mansfield QC, Littleton Chambers
Paul Harris QC, Monckton Chambers
Saima Hanif QC, 3 Verulam Buildings
Sasha Wass QC, 6KBW

Chambers of the year

3 Verulam Buildings Chambers
39 Essex Chambers
3PB Barristers Chambers
7BR Chambers
Matrix Chambers
Old Square Chambers
Outer Temple Chambers
Radcliffe Chambers

Competition and regulatory team of the year

Debevoise & Plimpton
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Hausfeld
Hogan Lovells
Latham & Watkins
Morgan Lewis
Norton Rose Fulbright
Preiskel & Co
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

Corporate team of the year

Ashurst
Baker McKenzie
Bird & Bird
Herbert Smith Freehills
Paul Hastings
Shoosmiths
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
Slaughter and May

Transatlantic corporate team of the year

Brown Rudnick
Cooley
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson
Latham & Watkins
Macfarlanes
Taylor Wessing
Travers Smith
Weil Gotshal & Manges (London)

Energy and infrastructure team of the year

Bird & Bird
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
DLA Piper
Ernst & Young
Hogan Lovells
Pinsent Masons
RPC
Slaughter and May
TLT

 Finance team of the year

Ashurst
Baker McKenzie
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft
Dentons
Paul Hastings
Ropes & Gray
Travers Smith
Vinson & Elkins

Restructuring team of the year

Addleshaw Goddard
Ashurst
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Kirkland & Ellis
Macfarlanes
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
Watson Farley & Williams

Funds team of the year

Ashurst
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson
Herbert Smith Freehills
Macfarlanes
Pinsent Masons
Proskauer Rose
Shakespeare Martineau
Stephenson Harwood

Litigation team of the year, sponsored by Gallagher

Bates Wells
CMS
Covington & Burling
Fieldfisher
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Herbert Smith Freehills
Latham & Watkins
Simons Muirhead Burton

Real estate team of the year

Burges Salmon
DLA Piper
Eversheds Sutherland
Gowling WLG
Howard Kennedy
Macfarlanes
Shoosmiths

General counsel of the year

Gordon Kenwright, AECOM
James Ford, GSK
Kristofer McGhee, Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education
Maaike de Bie, easyJet
Spencer Davis, Daily Mail and General Trust

In-house banking and financial services team of the year

Bank of England
ClearBank
Fexco
Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
HSBC UK Bank
Intact Financial Corporation
Liberis
Revolut
The Carlyle Group

In-house commerce and industry team of the year, sponsored by EY

Britvic
Centrica
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
Croda International
easyJet
KFC
NNB Legal at EDF Energy
Smart Metering Systems 

In-house technology, media and sport team of the year

Airbnb
Arrival
BT Group
Cazoo
Dentsu, UK&I
Moonbug Entertainment
The Football Association
what3words

Best client service innovation

Ashurst
Baker McKenzie
DLA Piper
Herbert Smith Freehills
Mishcon de Reya
Osborne Clarke Solutions (“OC Solutions”) and L’Oreal UKI
Pinsent Masons
Shoosmiths
The Divorce Surgery

Best talent and inclusion initiative

Baker McKenzie
Browne Jacobson
Burges Salmon
DAC Beachcroft
Dentons
Slaughter and May
Taylor Wessing

Most innovative use of technology, sponsored by EY

Addleshaw Goddard
DAC Beachcroft
DLA Piper
Mills & Reeve
Osborne Clarke Solutions (“OC Solutions”) and Cornerstone Legal & Compliance Team
Reed Smith
Wiggin

Law firm legal operations team of the year

Herbert Smith Freehills
Mills & Reeve (Innovation team)
Shearman & Sterling
Shoosmiths
Taylor Wessing

Best technology product

D2 Legal Technology
FromCounsel and Clarilis
Juro
Legl
Luminance
Opus 2

Pro bono initiative of the year

Allen & Overy
Ashurst
Baker McKenzie
Bates Wells
Bridging the Bar
Hausfeld
Hogan Lovells
Latham & Watkins
Stevens & Bolton
Therium
Women’s Aid, Milbank, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Boutique firm of the year

Avonhurst
Chronos Law
iLaw
Law 365
Lee & Thompson
Moorcrofts
Onside Law
The Burnside Partnership

Disputes boutique firm of the year

Hughes Fowler Carruthers
Keller Lenkner UK
Powell Gilbert
Provenio Litigation
Slateford
Tenet Compliance & Litigation
Zaiwalla & Co

Law company of the year

Excello Law
Exigent Group
Flex Legal
gunnercooke
Konexo
LOD
Pinsent Masons – Vario
Setfords Solicitors

Law firm of the year: The Independents

Anthony Collins Solicitors
Birketts
Brabners
Clarion
Flint Bishop
Peters & Peters Solicitors

City firm of the year

Latham & Watkins
Morgan Lewis
Paul Hastings
Pinsent Masons
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Ropes & Gray
White & Case

In-house legal operations team of the year

easyJet
HMRC
McKinsey & Company
Revolut
Volkswagen Group
Worcestershire County Council, Legal and Governance

In-house retail team of the year

ASOS.com
Costcutter Supermarkets Group
DFS Furniture
Dixons Carphone
John Lewis Partnership
Lidl Great Britain

Law firm of the year

To be announced in due course.

If you have any queries, please contact awards@thelawyer.com