Winners of Halsbury Legal Awards 2014 Announced
- Written by Fran Cator
LONDON, 25 September 2014 – LexisNexis UK (www.lexisnexis.co.uk), a leading provider of content and technology solutions, today announces the winners of the Halsbury Legal Awards 2014.
Halsbury Legal Awards 2014 celebrate excellence in the law across the entire legal profession and 15 accolades were granted at a glittering ceremony in Central London last night, including Lifetime Achievement, Legal Personality of the Year and outstanding contribution to the Rule of Law.
Rightly hailed as one of the UK's greatest and most respected Lord Chief Justices, The Rt Hon The Lord Judge, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award. Hugely popular, Lord Judge is much admired across the legal sector and beyond for his extraordinary wisdom, kindness, and humanity.
The Rt Hon Sir Alan Moses, recently ensconced as the first Chairman of Independent Press Standards Organisation, scooped Legal Personality of the year. Rarely out of the headlines, Sir Alan was commended by the judges for his integrity, vigour and scrupulous independence.
The Special Rule of Law Award, which is designed to celebrate outstanding commitment to the spread of fair and ordered government, law and justice, was presented to Professor Sir Jeffrey Jowell QC and his team at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law. The judges said the Centre had been fearless in tackling and influencing a diverse range of projects at the forefront of current issues, both at home and abroad.
"There is no better time than today to recognise the exceptional work and contribution of the legal community, in both the industry and society," Christian Fleck, Managing Director for LexisNexis UK, said yesterday as he welcomed attendees at the event. "Last year at these awards I said that we faced turbulent times. Well, the turbulence hasn't settled. The legal community continues to grapple with challenges such as legal aid cuts, challenges to human rights, and the ongoing shake-up of the legal market. The Halsbury awards today applaud all those legal professionals who use their expertise to further the aims of society in the broadest way possible. Through these tributes, we commit to uphold the values that define the Halsbury brand."
By way of recognition of the work done by industry, Virtuoso Legal scooped the “Law Firm of the Year” award in the under 50 employees' category, while RPC won the same accolade in the 50 plus employee group. The Claims Validation Team at DAC Beachcroft Claims Ltd picked up the Award for Innovation.
The London Chambers of the Year honour went to Matrix Chambers while the regional award in the same classification was won by Ropewalk Chambers. Professor Marc Weller was distinguished for his superlative Academic Contribution.
An esteemed panel of judges – ranging from practising lawyers, QCs and journalists evaluated the numerous entries to select the winners. The full list of winners can be found at: www.halsburylegalawards.co.uk.
A LexisNexis UK initiative, the Halsbury Legal Awards 2014 were sponsored by Ely Place Chambers, Noble Legal, Cordery Legal Compliance, Kysen Public Relations, Lex Chambers Management Software from Bar Squared, Doughty Street Chambers and 3 Paper Buildings, and held in association with the New Law Journal.