Judges tips for Scottish Legal Awards

If you want some tips for the Scottish Legal Awards ... the judges have revealed some of their inclines ...

The Scotsman reports :

Judges give their tips to help make your Scottish Legal Awards entry stand out

PETER RANSCOMBE

THE deadline for the 2008 Scottish Legal Awards is looming - firms and individuals have until Wednesday to submit their entries and be in with a chance of winning the top prizes.

Today, the judges have revealed their top tips to help you make your entry sparkle.

The awards, sponsored by Bank of Scotland Corporate and with The Scotsman as media partner, will be presented next February at a gala lunch in the Glasgow Hilton.

Entertainment at the awards ceremony will be provided by Alan Hansen, the pundit and former Liverpool defender, who earned 26 Scotland caps.

Rebecca Davies, director of the Scottish Legal Awards, says: "It's not too late to put an entry together, bearing in mind that there is no better way to reward your colleagues, impress your clients and outclass the competition all in one fell swoop. The Scottish Legal Awards are worth every bit of effort and you could be part of a winning team, giving your colleagues a major achievement and professional high that will last the whole year."

Submissions will be judged by a panel of experts from across the legal profession and from further afield. The judges will be chaired for the sixth year in a row by Margo MacDonald, the independent list MSP for Edinburgh and the Lothians.

She will be joined by new judges, including: Geraldine Gammell, chief executive of the Prince's Trust Scotland; Michael Lugton, chief executive of the Scottish Law Commission; Professor Tom Mullen, head of law at Glasgow University; Alastair Northrop, editor of Scottish Business Insider; Robert Pirrie, chief executive of the WS Society; and Valerie Stacey QC, acting dean of the Faculty of Advocates.

Their expertise will add to that accumulated by the judges who are returning to this year's panel: advocate John Campbell QC; Dr Andrew Cubie, consultant at Fyfe Ireland and chairman of the Committee of University Chairman of the UK; Tom Wood, Edinburgh City Council's special advisor on alcohol and drugs ; David Lee, assistant editor of The Scotsman and editor of its Law & Legal Affairs pages; Donald Kerr, head of corporate banking East of Scotland at Bank of Scotland Corporate; John Ferguson, director of development at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations; and Andrew Sturgess, senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and chairman of Institute of Directors, Scotland.

The judges' top tips include:

• Clarity: check your entry fulfils the criteria and guidelines;

• Review: have your entry reviewed by trusted colleagues for feedback;

• Write sharp: don't use ten words if three will do;

• Colour: pictures and graphs add dimension and get to the point;

• Support: ask clients and colleagues to submit testimonials;

• Statistics: the power of numbers will make your case add up;

• Innovate: got a wild idea that could impress the judges? Make sure that you include it - it might just help you stand out from the crowd.

The awards categories range from those for individuals - such as the partner of the year and the paralegal of the year - through to prizes for teams, including the support team of the year and the corporate team of the year.

Other prizes will go to whole firms, including the high-growth firm of the year award and the top prize of all, the firm of the year award.

A lifetime achievement award will also be presented.

• For full details about the Scottish Legal Awards, call KD Media on 0131-624 9840 or visit http://www.thescottishlegalawards.com/

Scottish Legal Awards gala lunch gets Match of the Day input

... which means football fan Kenny MacAskill will be in for an award too ? Guess which ...

The Scotsman reports :

Hansen will be tackling lawyers at Scottish Legal Awards gala lunch

PETER RANSCOMBE

FOOTBALL pundit Alan Hansen will be swapping his chair on Match of the Day for the stage at next February's Scottish Legal Awards ceremony.

The former Partick Thistle and Liverpool defender, who was three times a winner of the European Cup with the latter, will entertain lawyers at the gala event, sponsored by Bank of Scotland Corporate.

The awards cover a wide range of categories, from prizes for top individuals through to gongs for the leading legal teams.

Entries continue to flood in for the awards - of which The Scotsman is the media partner - but it's not too late for you or your firm to get your entries in. The closing date is Wednesday 28 November.

Rebecca Davies, the director of the Scottish Legal Awards, says: "Alan Hansen is a household name in Britain and must be one of Scotland's greatest footballing exports. It will be interesting to hear his tales from competing at the highest level throughout the 1980s and especially now when Scottish football has been going through a tremendous revival." Hansen notched up 631 games for Liverpool and added 26 Scotland caps to his tally, before retiring in 1991 with a knee injury. He says: "I'm looking forward to returning to Glasgow where my football career really started. I have a great respect for the city and its people and I look forward to meeting all the finalists."

Last year, Elish Angiolini, the Lord Advocate, was among the guests who heard Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former director of communications at the event. Previous speakers have included former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond and Roger Black, the gold-medal-winning runner.

Gillespie Macandrew was crowned firm of the year at the end of the last contest.

"The award recognised our innovative approach to business and the benefits of winning it have been considerable, both from an internal and external perspective," says managing partner Ian Turnbull.

"The impact on our staff has been clear for all to see, in terms of increased pride and attracting fresh talent to the firm.

"By evidencing the firm as an attractive and desirable place to work, the award has demonstrated to a broader audience the successes of Gillespie Macandrew and consequently allowed us to attract expertise from further afield than we might have otherwise experienced."

Professor Lorne Crerar, the chairman of Harper Macleod, which won a brace of prizes at the last awards, says the awards gave the firm an "enormous sense of satisfaction and a great impetus for development".

He adds: "Internally, the award for commercial property team of the year has been extremely motivational for our real estate team, in particular the team's developed a real sense of pride.

"Externally too the awards have raised our profile. I think it's also fair to say that clients and contacts enjoy being associated with a 'winning team'."

Martin Darroch, Harper Macleod's chief executive, says: "Our corporate social responsibility initiative of the year award was something we were delighted to receive.

"The win provided additional momentum to further prioritise our internal, environmental and charitable initiatives."

• For full details on the Scottish Legal Awards - or to request an entry pack - call KD Media on 0131-620 9844 or visit http://www.thescottishlegalawards.com

Scottish Legal Awards - Teamwork

More news on the Scottish Legal Awards ... but who wants an award from DM Hall with their record ?

The Scotsman reports ;

Teamwork is the name of the game in five of the Scottish Legal Awards

PETER RANSCOMBE

AS THE Royal Navy say, "the team works", and the 2008 Cuthbert Scottish Legal Awards will be highlighting the hard work of teams throughout the Scottish legal profession.

Five awards will recognise the contributions that teams have made in the fields of residential property, commercial property, private client work, corporate services and to projects.

The awards, which are now in their sixth successful year, are sponsored by Bank of Scotland Corporate and have The Scotsman as their media partner.

Entries are judged by a panel of experts from across the profession and beyond, chaired by Margo MacDonald, the independent list MSP for the Lothians.

The prizes will be presented at a gala ceremony and lunch in Glasgow's Hilton Hotel on Friday 22 February, 2008.

Firms have until the deadline on Wednesday 28 November to submit their entries to the competition's 15 categories.

Rebecca Davies, the director of the Cuthbert Scottish Legal Awards, said: "Team awards are vital, a great motivator and an important boost that can improve productivity.

"There's no doubt that lawyers work exceptionally hard so this is their chance to reward themselves and their clients for a job well done."

The Balvenie Private Client Team of the Year Award seeks to recognise a team "demonstrating an exceptional year of activity in 2007 coupled with evidence of a productivity, client care, and market reputation".

The prize is a new award in the 2008 contest.

The judges say they are looking for nominations from "market-leading firms demonstrating excellence in client care, great results and a growing business portfolio" in the categories for both the residential and commercial property team.

The ESPC Residential Firm or Property Team of the Year and the DM Hall Commercial Property Team of the Year awards will recognise such solicitors.

Murray Beith Murray took the residential title last year, while Harper Macleod carried off the commercial crown.

The other two group categories are the Sound & Vision Project Team of the Year Award and the Bank of Scotland Corporate Corporate Team of the Year.

Last year the Property Standardisation Group won the project team category.

The awards programme was launched back in September, at the Balvenie Live Legal Debates, held at The Scotsman's headquarters in Edinburgh and at the Lighthouse, in Glasgow.

As well as rewarding excellence, the awards programme is also aiming to raise £10,000 for Children 1st, Scotland's leading charity for children's welfare.

Judges joining the panel this year include: Geraldine Gammell, chief executive of the Prince's Trust Scotland; Michael Lugton, chief executive of the Scottish Law Commission; Professor Tom Mullen, head of law at Glasgow University; Alastair Northrop, editor of Scottish Business Insider; Robert Pirrie, chief executive of the WS Society; and Valerie Stacey QC, the Faculty of Advocates' vice-dean.

• For more details about how to enter the 2008 Cuthbert Scottish Legal Awards, log on to http://www.thescottishlegalawards.com or call KDMedia on 0131-624 9840.

Know anyone who deserves a legal oscar ?

Suggestions please, and watch who you ... implicate ?

The Scotsman reports :

Know anyone who deserves a pat on the back or, better, a legal 'Oscar'?

PETER RANSCOMBE

INDIVIDUAL excellence will be rewarded in three categories at the 2008 Scottish Legal Awards.

The prizes for partner of the year, paralegal of the year and rising star of the year are among the 15 competitive categories in the latest contest.

The awards, which have now entered their sixth successful year, are sponsored by Bank of Scotland Corporate, with The Scotsman as the media partner.

Seen by many as the "Oscars" of the profession, the Scottish Legal Awards will be presented during a gala ceremony in Glasgow in February.

The closing date for entries is Wednesday 28 November and the shortlist will be announced before Christmas.

Rebecca Davies, director of the Scottish Legal Awards, says: "Individual awards are a vital part of encouraging and motivating people who have made an outstanding contribution to their firm.

"As everyone knows, finding and keeping the right people is the biggest challenge to any business and these awards can really help people feel valued and important part of a business."

But what will the judges be looking for when picking outstanding individuals?

In the AON Partner of the Year category, the judges say they will be on the lookout for "evidence of consistent achievement, diplomacy, strategic thinking, team management and leadership qualities".

Nominees may have successfully guided their firm or department through strategic change, successfully led business development or developed a new team or service for the firm.

The Registers of Scotland Rising Star of the Year award will recognise lawyers who "have already made a significant impact on the legal industry, and will have demonstrated a burning ambition, motivation and ability to their chosen area of law".

The judges say they want to see "recognition from clients and peers" as part of submissions in this category. The bar has been set high for the award, with previous winners including Bruce Caldow of Harper Macleod, Christine O'Neill of Brodies and Boyds' Laura Gordon.

It isn't just lawyers who will be honoured at the 2008 Scottish Legal Awards - the First Scottish Searching Paralegal of the Year Award will make sure that support staff are recognised too.

Judges are looking for evidence of "a high standard of work and attention to detail, together with an outstanding enthusiasm, commitment and ambition".

This year's Scottish Legal Awards programme was launched last month at the Balvenie Live Legal Debates in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.

A panel of leading legal lights debated some of the hot topics of the day, including the second Lockerbie appeal, the collapse of the World's End murder trial and the prospect of "Tesco law".

They fielded questions from members of the audience, as well as discussing legal education and training, and the success or failure of the "right to roam" legislation.

• For more information about the 2008 Scottish Legal Awards, or to find out how to enter, visit http://www.thescottishlegalawards.com/ or call KD Media on 0131-624 9840.