The best performing individuals, teams and firms in the Scottish legal profession were revealed at the national awards celebration for lawyers held as a live digital broadcast on 4th November.
Over 250 guests watched online to celebrate with colleagues at the 17th annual Scottish Legal Awards after the live event was cancelled due to the pandemic. The announcements followed a record high volume of entries in the awards near two-decade history.
The ultimate award of the night, Firm of the Year was presented to Anderson Strathern after the judging panel praised the firm’s continued success and impressive results. They were joined in celebration by Edinburgh-based Balfour Manson who collected two awards for Litigation Team of the Year and also Chairman of the Year, presented to Elaine Motion after her long serving leadership of the firm and recently advising on a number of high profile instructions in constitutional law cases.
The Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by The Times, was presented to Ian Forrester QC, the former Judge of the General Court of the European Union whose tenure came to an end due to Brexit in January. The Glasgow University educated QC had presided over a wide variety of cases including child abduction, food safety, trademarks, fishing, and police cooperation.
18 awards were presented on the night to individuals and teams. The highly regarded Lawyer of the Year Award was presented to Iain Smith of Keegan Smith. Other winners included Shepherd and Wedderburn for Leigh Herd who collected the award for Rising Star of the Year. The firm were also commended for their work in the Support Team of the Year category. Aegon Asset Management (formerly Kames Capital) won the award for In House Team of the Year and MacRoberts collected the award for Corporate and Commercial Team of the Year.
The most competitive award of the night with eight finalists was for the Community Contribution Award and this was shared by Digby Brown and the University of Strathclyde Mediation Clinic with CMS also collecting a Commendation in the category.
The independent programme is presided over by a large expert judging panel, chaired by Shonaig Macpherson, she commented;
“It’s testament to the high regard in which these awards are held, that again this year there has been a record-breaking number of entries. Thank you to all the finalists for their forbearance and understanding as we present these awards after a necessary delay in the schedule this year. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to our sponsors whose continuous support in this new digital format has been very much welcomed.”
The awards also raise funds for two charities, It’s Good 2 Give and LawScot Foundation.
The 2020 Winners in full:
Firm of the Year
WINNER: Anderson Strathern
FINALISTS:
CMS
Digby Brown Solicitors
Ergo Law
Harper Macleod
MacRoberts
TLT
Lawyer of the Year sponsored by Law Society of Scotland
WINNER: Iain Smith, Keegan Smith
FINALISTS:
Elaine Motion, Balfour+Manson
Alan Kelly, MacRoberts
In-House Lawyer of the Year sponsored by Wolffe
WINNER: John Reilly, Raytheon Systems
FINALIST: Sean Henry Dorian, Cloudhelix
Paralegal of the Year sponsored by Millar & Bryce
WINNER: Donna Clark, Macleod & MacCallum
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Emma MacKenzie, Gilson Gray
FINALISTS:
Debbie Beattie, Blackadders
Rising Star of the Year
WINNER: Leigh Herd, Shepherd and Wedderburn
FINALISTS:
Yousif Ahmed, Cannons Law Practice
Sean Henry Dorian, Cloudhelix
Emma Boffey, CMS
Ross MacRae, Gillespie Macandrew
Shawn Wood, Watermans Legal
Litigation Team of the Year
WINNER: Balfour+Manson
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Clyde & Co
FINALISTS:
Ascent Legal Scotland
Dentons
Digby Brown Solicitors
Shoosmiths
Corporate and Commercial Team of the Year
WINNER: MacRoberts
FINALISTS:
Blackadders
Dentons
Real Estate Team of the Year sponsored by Property Searches Scotland
WINNER: TLT
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Gillespie Macandrew
FINALISTS:
Dentons
Shoosmiths
TLT
Residential Property Team of the Year sponsored by Property Searches Scotland
WINNER: Neilsons Solicitors and Estate Agents
FINALISTS
Gilson Gray
McDougall McQueen
Watermans Legal
In-House Legal Team of the Year
WINNER: Aegon Asset Management
FINALISTS:
Lloyds Banking Group
University of the West of Scotland
Criminal Defence Firm of the Year
WINNER: Moir and Sweeney Litigation
FINALISTS:
Beltrami & Co
Martin Johnston and Socha
Family Law Team of the Year
WINNER: MacRoberts
FINALISTS: Scullion LAW
Support Team of the Year
WINNER: Property Searches Scotland
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Shepherd and Wedderburn
FINALISTS:
Anderson Strathern
ESPC
Millar & Bryce and DUAL Asset Underwriting
Moore Legal Technology
The Cashroom
Excellence in Client Care
WINNER: Ascent Legal Scotland
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ergo Law
Community Contribution Award sponsored by Frasia Wright Associates
WINNERS: Digby Brown Solicitors & University of Strathclyde Mediation Clinic
HIGHLY COMMENDED: CMS
FINALISTS:
Blackadders - Private Client Team
DWF - Edinburgh and Glasgow
Govan Law Centre
Shared Parenting Scotland
University of Edinburgh Free Legal Advice Centre
Legal Technology Award sponsored by Eclipse Legal Systems
WINNER: Registers of Scotland
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Gillespie Macandrew
FINALISTS:
Millar & Bryce
Shepherd and Wedderburn
The Cashroom