We are delighted to announce the finalists for the 2020 Wales Legal Awards!

This year’s awards, which will take place on Friday September 11^th, will feature a total of 48 finalists from 29 different legal firms from across Wales. Teams from some of the best Welsh legal businesses will be competing for awards in 17 different categories including criminal law, conveyancing, corporate and commercial, litigation and employment.

Charlotte Leyshon of Lux Family Law and the founder of the awards, said that she was delighted at the response to the awards by the legal profession in Wales, despite the difficulties faced by many firms during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We understand that it has been a challenging time for the legal sector in Wales recently. Law firms and their staff have had to diversify, embrace remote working and create innovative responses to enable them to continue to provide clients with the best service possible. Given this, we are delighted that so many firms have entered this year and we look forward to celebrating achievements of the legal sector across the length and breadth of Wales.”

The awards will help to rally the sector at this challenging time and, more importantly, showcase the extraordinary talent, inventiveness, diversity and success in the sector that have been amplified by Welsh legal businesses over the last three months.

Highlighting excellence in the legal sector’s response to Covid-19

To recognise the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on the Welsh legal sector, the awards have launched a new category recognising ‘Innovation in response to Covid-19’.

This award acknowledges those firms that have excelled in supporting clients during the pandemic and crafted new ways to continue working while safeguarding employees, clients and suppliers, successfully diversified or changed their approach to reflect the impact of the crisis and harnessed the power of technology and committed to ensuring a long-term vision for its use and value in the business in the long-term.

Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, chairman of the awards judging panel, said:

At this difficult time for all businesses, the main ethos of the Wales Legal Awards – to celebrate excellence and support the legal sector in Wales – has been more important than ever. This year’s shortlisted entries across all the categories demonstrate again the outstanding commitment, creativity and true grit on display from law firms in supporting their clients and employees during these most extraordinary times.

This year’s awards are sponsored by number of organisations including Yolk Recruitment, Bartholomew Hawkins, GlobalX, Grant Stephens Family Law, Linenhall Chambers, Mrs Bucket, SLD Wealth Management and Stowe Family Law.

Dale Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Yolk Recruitment, Headline Sponsor for the awards, said:

It’s a pleasure to again be the headline sponsors for the most anticipated and respected awards ceremony representing the Welsh legal sector.

Despite the devastating impact of recent events, the organisers of the awards have been profound in their desire to enable those individuals and companies that form the setup of the awards to still receive the recognition they so rightly deserve.

The finalists for the 2020 Wales Legal Awards are:

Boutique Law Firm of the Year

Kindly sponsored by Bartholomew Hawkins

• Altra Law
• Loosemores
• Newfields

Commercial Litigation Team of the Year

• Acuity Law
• Blake Morgan
• Geldards

Corporate & Commercial Team of the Year

• Acuity Law
• Blake Morgan

Corporate Social Responsibility Team of the Year

• Altra Law
• Watkins & Gunn

Employment Team of the Year

• Acuity Law
• NWSSP Legal & Risk Services
• Redkite Solicitors

Family Team of the Year

Kindly sponsored by Linenhall Chambers

• Hopkins Law
• Watkins & Gunn

In-House Team of the Year

• Admiral Group PLC
• NWSSP Legal & Risk Services
• Wales Rugby Union

Innovation in Response to Covid-19

Kindly sponsored by Stowe Family Law

• Agri Advisor Legal LLP
• JCP Solicitors
• NWSSP Legal & Risk Services
• Redkite Solicitors

Law Firm of the Year

Kindly sponsored by Mrs Bucket

• Acuity Law
• Agri Advisor Legal LLP
• RDP Law

Personal Injury Team of the Year

• Mooneerams
• NWSSP Legal & Risk Services
• Redkite Solicitors

Private Client team of the Year

Kindly sponsored by SLD Wealth Management

• CJCH
• JCP Solicitors
• NewLaw

Public Law Team of the Year

• Duncan Lewis Solicitors
• Harding Evans Solicitors
• Watkins & Gunn

Real Estate Team of the Year

• Acuity Law
• Blake Morgan

Regulatory & White Collar Crime Team of the Year

• Richard Nelson LLP
• Radcliffes Le Brasseur

Residential Conveyancing Team of the Year

Kindly sponsored by GlobalX

• Harding Evans Solicitors
• HCB Solicitors
• Hek Jones Solicitors

Rising Star of the Year

Kindly sponsored by Grant Stephens Family Law

• Manon Williams, Agri Advisor Legal LLP
• Alexis Thomas, CJCH
• Molly Fensome-Lush, Clarke Willmott LLP

Services Professional Team of the Year

• BARBRI Altior
• Brewin Dolphin
• Stokes Case Management
• Zest Recruitment and Legal Consultancy Ltd

Media coverage of today’s announcement

We’re delighted that our news has been covered in today’s printed and online Welsh business Media.

To view coverage on the awards in the Western Mail’s Business Live (also featured in today’s Western Mail paper), click here.

To view coverage in today’s Business News Wales, click here.

To view coverage in Legal News Wales – our Media Partner – click here.

What next?

The finalists will be interviewed by our prestigious panel of judges (click here to view) who will decide the winner. This year the interviews will take place virtually, via Zoom, due to the impact of Covid-19.

The winners of all categories, including the ‘Overall Team of the Year’ Award, sponsored by Yolk Recruitment, will be announced on the night of our awards ceremony, planned for 11th September 2020. We will make a further announcement on our plans for the evening in the coming weeks.

For further details of how to get involved in the Wales Legal Awards 2020, please contact Emma Waddingham, event manager for the Wales Legal Awards 2020, here.