In just one week, the winners of this year’s The Herald Law Awards of Scotland will be announced.

These awards have been highlighting the work of Scotland’s leading law professionals since 2004, recognising the outstanding achievements of individuals, teams, and practices across the country.

This year there are 13 categories in total covering every sector of the legal world, and every entry has been reviewed by a panel of distinguished judges who have been seeking out the best examples of professionalism and innovation.

The results will be announced online on Thursday, November 18 followed by an awards dinner, which will take place on Thursday, November 25 when the winners will be presented with their trophies.

The shortlist has been made of almost 40 individuals, teams and companies and the categories include Real Estate Team of the Year, In-House Team of the Year and Criminal Law Firm of the Year.

While finalists in most categories have been made public, one particular award, a Special Judge’s Award, has been kept under wraps and the recipient will only be revealed on the night.

This year’s awards have been supported by some of the organisations and companies that provide essential services to Scotland’s legal profession. These include the Law Society of Scotland, which has been promoting high standards amongst solicitors since 1949.

Today it supports 12,000 Scottish solicitors and Ken Dalling, President of the Law Society said: “These awards recognise excellence across the whole legal profession so congratulations to all the finalists. The work of Scottish solicitors is of the highest calibre and we look forward to recognising the achievements of the nominees in the Solicitor of the Year Award category, which I’m sure will be even more remarkable against the challenging backdrop of the last 18 months.

“We are also delighted to be sponsoring the Innovation Award as it recognises the pioneering work done to improve the practice of law. I wish the best of luck to all those nominated.”

Another sponsor is Stirling Park, one of Scotland’s largest sheriff office and debt recovery companies. With a staff of over 150 including 20 Sheriff Officers and 11 Messenger-at-Arms operating from a network of offices throughout Scotland, the company provides a wide range of sheriff office and debt collection services.

Stirling Park works closely with the legal profession, and it is sponsoring the Litigation team of the year.

Ronnie Murison, Director of Sheriff Officer Services, said: The Law Awards is a great event and an opportunity for the legal sector to showcase talented individuals in their respective fields and I am looking forward it as we progress towards some normality.”

IDEX Consulting is an independent recruitment and business growth company and Meena Bahanda, Head of Legal, Scotland IDEX Consulting was also one of this year’s judges.

Along with other senior figures, including Frances McMenamin QC and advocate Usman Tariq, Meena has played a vital role in reviewing this year’s entries and selecting those which have made it on to the shortlists and will be recognised next week.

She has said: “Here at Idex, we are very much looking forward to this year’s Herald Law Awards. It is so important to recognise all the hard work that individuals, teams and firms in the legal profession do.

“As sponsors of the Law Firm of the Year and Law Firm of the Year (Scottish Independents) categories we are delighted to be part of this year’s event.  As a judge, it was exciting to see the entries from individuals and firms from across Scotland and all the nominees should be proud of all their achievements.”

You can watch The Herald Law Awards of Scotland via The Herald facebook page on Thursday, November 18. To find out more visit The Herald Law Awards of Scotland 2021 – Newsquest Scotland Events or contact Stephen Laughlin at stephen.laughlin@newsquest.co.uk.