Family Law

Leading family lawyers Grant Howell and Helen Garlick have joined the judging panel for this year’s LexisNexis Legal Awards, where they will be responsible for deciding on the shortlist and winners for the Award for Customer Focus. Grant is a partner at Charles Russell Speechlys and is joint General Editor of Butterworths Family Law Service whilst Helen is an accredited family mediator, lawyer, author and trainer and has been the Dispute Resolution Editor of the Butterworths Family Law Service since 1999.

The LexisNexis Legal Awards, which were formerly known as the Halsbury Legal Awards, were launched in 2013 to celebrate achievement and innovation across the legal sector and the majority of the 18 awards categories are open for entry by family lawyers and the organisations that they work in. These include established awards such as Law Firm of the Year, Pro Bono Award, Award for Wellbeing and the Award for Legal Services Innovation. For 2020, we are introducing four new awards categories – Case of the Year, Deal of the Year, Sustainability and International Team of the Year. The full list, together with the criteria for entry, can be viewed here. 

Entering is straightforward. Simply decide which category you wish to enter and explain in no more than 750 words why you or your team deserve the award. You should also provide evidence – in the form of testimonials or case studies - to support your entry. The selection of the shortlisted entrants and winners is made by a panel of leading figures in the legal world, which this year includes the Law Society President, Simon Davis, Chair of the Bar, Richard Atkins QC and Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, the Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute. There are tips for success on the website highlighting what the judges are looking for to help you.

In addition to the awards that require entry, there is also the opportunity to nominate worthy candidates for the Legal Personality of the Year award which honours an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the legal sphere in the past year. So, if anyone from the family law community, or the wider legal world, has particularly impressed you over the past 12 months, simply send us a short message detailing who you are nominating and why. The judges will then select a shortlist from the nominations, with the winner being decided by an online vote.

All entries and nominations need to be submitted by the closing date of Friday 15 November, with the awards themselves being presented at a gala dinner at the iconic Art Deco ballroom at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane on Wednesday 11 March 2020.

Find full details and submit your entries at www.lexisnexislegalawards.co.uk