Gongs galore for industry’s top players, including firm of the year Taylor Wessing and ‘Most Admired’ chambers Blackstone
The legal profession has celebrated the top rookie-rated law firms and chambers of the year in a glitzy ceremony held at the top of London’s iconic Cheesegrater skyscraper.
This year’s Legal Cheek Awards, sponsored by BARBRI International, took place on Thursday evening in Landing Forty Two of the tapering City of London tower officially known as the Leadenhall Building. Three-hundred guests from the UK’s leading corporate law firms and barristers’ chambers donned their sharpest suits and highest heels to ascend the escalators and glass-panelled lifts for the exclusive ceremony, hosted by Legal Cheek founder Alex Aldridge.
Before the Awards bash got underway, Sarah Hutchinson, BARBRI International managing director, presented the findings of Legal Cheek‘s Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) survey, before the audience were treated to the premiere of a short film, produced exclusively for the event by the Legal Cheek team.
Legal Cheek student campus ambassadors presented no less than 23 gongs alongside a handful of sponsors and legal celebrities, including Love Island solicitor Rosie Williams.
So who won what? Read on to find out.
Best Law Firm for Training 2019: Osborne Clarke
Highly commended: Ashurst, Bristows, Burges Salmon, Clifford Chance, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Macfarlanes, Mayer Brown, Norton Rose Fulbright, Pinsent Masons, Taylor Wessing, Travers Smith, Walker Morris
Best Law Firm for Quality of Work 2019: Shearman & Sterling
Highly commended: Bristows, Farrer & Co, Fladgate, Foot Anstey, Gowling WLG, Kirkland & Ellis, Macfarlanes, Milbank, Mills & Reeve, Osborne Clarke, Ropes & Gray, Taylor Wessing, Travers Smith, Walker Morris
Best Law Firm for Peer Support 2019: Mayer Brown
Highly commended: Baker McKenzie, Bristows, Burges Salmon, Farrer & Co, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Irwin Mitchell, Linklaters, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons, PwC, Simmons & Simmons, Taylor Wessing, White & Case
Best Law Firm for Partner Approachability 2019: Womble Bond Dickinson
Sponsored by Carter Corson, business psychologists supporting high-profile organisations, particularly professional services firms.
Highly commended: Bird & Bird, Bristows, Clyde & Co, DAC Beachcroft, Eversheds Sutherland, Gowling WLG, Osborne Clarke, RPC, Ropes & Gray, Shoosmiths, Squire Patton Boggs, TLT, Taylor Wessing, Travers Smith
Best Law Firm for Work/Life Balance 2019: DWF
Sponsored by LawCare, the charity that supports and promotes mental health and wellbeing in the legal community throughout the UK and Ireland.
Highly commended: Ashfords, BLM, Blake Morgan, Browne Jacobson, Fieldfisher, Forsters, Irwin Mitchell, Mills & Reeve, Royds Withy King
Best Law Firm for Tech 2019: CMS
Sponsored by STEM Future Lawyers, the legal careers network for science, technology, engineering and maths students.
Highly commended: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Bird & Bird, Bristows, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, DWF, Gowling WLG, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons
Best Law Firm for Perks 2019: Clifford Chance
Highly commended: Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells, Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters, Milbank, Ropes & Gray, Skadden, White & Case
Most Impressive Law Firm Office 2019: Gowling WLG
Highly commended: Allen & Overy, Bird & Bird, Burges Salmon, Clifford Chance, Kirkland & Ellis, Norton Rose Fulbright, Reed Smith, Ropes & Gray, Taylor Wessing
Best Law Firm Canteen 2019: Addleshaw Goddard
Highly commended: Bird & Bird, Burges Salmon, Clyde & Co, Gowling WLG, Jones Day, K&L Gates, Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters, Taylor Wessing
Best Law Firm for Social Life 2019: Burges Salmon
Highly commended: Bristows, Browne Jacobson, Charles Russell Speechlys, K&L Gates, RPC, Taylor Wessing, Travers Smith, Walker Morris, Wedlake Bell
Best Law Firm for International Secondments 2019: White & Case
Sponsored by HBW Consulting, a boutique agency that works as a specialist extension to your graduate recruitment team, helping law firms with media strategy, spend and analysis.
Highly commended: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Clifford Chance, Debevoise & Plimpton, Dechert, HFW, Shearman & Sterling, Skadden, Stephenson Harwood, Watson Farley & Williams
Best Law Firm for Client Secondments 2019: Squire Patton Boggs
Highly commended: Baker McKenzie, Bird & Bird, Bristows, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Mayer Brown, Reed Smith, RPC, Walker Morris, Weightmans
Most Admired Law Firm 2019: Bird & Bird
Highly commended: Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Mishcon de Reya, Linklaters, Osborne Clarke, Slaughter and May
Legal Cheek Firm of the Year 2019: Taylor Wessing
Presented by BARBRI, the international legal qualifications specialist.
Highly commended: Bird & Bird, Bristows, Burges Salmon, Gowling WLG, Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons, Travers Smith
Best Chambers for Training 2019: Hardwicke
Highly commended: 2 Temple Gardens, 5 Essex Court, 7 King’s Bench Walk, Atkin Chambers, Blackstone Chambers, Kings Chambers, Littleton Chambers, Serjeants’ Inn Chambers, Wilberforce Chambers
Best Chambers for Quality of Work 2019: Littleton Chambers
Sponsored by Bar Squared, legal tech company and developers of LEX, a leading software solution for barristers’ chambers.
Highly commended: 11KBW, 4 New Square, 5 Essex Court, Blackstone Chambers, Brick Court Chambers, Fountain Court Chambers, Landmark Chambers, Serjeants’ Inn, Wilberforce Chambers
Best Chambers for Colleague Supportiveness 2019: Cornerstone Barristers
Highly commended: Devereux Chambers, Exchange Chambers, Hardwicke, Henderson Chambers, Kings Chambers, Outer Temple Chambers, St John’s Chambers
Best Chambers for Facilities 2019: Exchange Chambers
Highly commended: 2 Temple Gardens, 3 Verulam Buildings, 39 Essex Chambers, 4 New Square, Blackstone Chambers, Cornerstone Barristers, Fountain Court Chambers, Hardwicke, Radcliffe Chambers
Best Chambers for Social Life 2019: Henderson Chambers
Highly commended: 1 Crown Office Row, 12 King’s Bench Walk, 2 Hare Court, 4 Pump Court, 5 Essex Court, Cornerstone Barristers, Keating Chambers, Radcliffe Chambers, XXIV Old Buildings
Most Admired Chambers 2019: Blackstone Chambers
Highly commended: One Essex Court, Brick Court Chambers, Matrix Chambers, Fountain Court Chambers, 1 Crown Office Row, Essex Court Chambers, 11KBW, Doughty Street Chambers, Landmark Chambers
Legal Cheek Chambers of the Year 2019: Radcliffe Chambers
Presented by BARBRI, the interntional legal qualifications specialist.
Highly commended: Blackstone Chambers, Cornerstone Barristers, 5 Essex Court, Exchange Chambers, Hardwicke, Henderson Chambers, Kings Chambers, Littleton Chambers, 2 Temple Gardens
Best Use of Social Media 2019: YouTuber Angeliculture
Highly commended: Vlogger Chrissie Wolfe (Law and Broader) and Irwin Mitchell, 5 Essex Court’s Instagram account, Linklaters and Eve Cornwell’s collab video, The Bar Council’s ‘#iamthebar’ Twitter campaign, Blogger Rosie Watterson (Apply.Shine.Win) and Herbert Smith Freehills, Shoosmiths’ Facebook Livestreams, The Secret Barrister, The UK Supreme Court’s Instagram, Shearman & Sterling’s video series, ‘Whiteboard Wednesday’
Best Legal Cheek Journal Contribution 2019: Max Aitchison for ‘Revenge porn: Love Island and the law’
Sponsored by LPC Law, a specialist firm of solicitors, focused on providing a high quality advocacy and clerking service to clients throughout England and Wales.
Highly commended: ‘Why our employment laws need some serious attention’ by Fraser Collingham, ‘The coming of the age of AI in the law’ by Soh Kian Peng, ‘Consensual sadomasochism is private sex — not violence’ by Gina Heung Lai Yin, ‘Should there be criminal liability for corporations?’ by Rodney Dzwairo, ‘What does artificial intelligence look like?’ by Nishant Prasad, ‘Should law firms be able to float?’ by Clive Wong, ‘Should sex offenders have access to the internet?’ by Maro Polykarpou, ‘Black Lives Matter: How to fix a failing criminal justice system?’ By Eeman Talha, ‘Owens v Owens: Has the time finally come for a ‘no-fault divorce’ system?’ By Thomas McGrath