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How to enter
This year all entries for the British Legal Awards will be submitted online. This move is part of an overall strategy by Incisive Media to reduce the amount of paper used. With an expected 300 entries this year, and 20 judges needing to read the entries, it is easy to see how this simple move will reduce paper usage.
Closing date for entries is 11 September 2008
Advice to entrants
Eligibility
You should read the entry criteria for the categories you are interested in carefully and ensure that you are entering the most appropriate categories. The team awards are open to law firms unless otherwise stated and set out to reward teams that specialise in discrete legal disciplines. In many cases – for example finance – departmental-wide entries will not be appropriate as they will be too broad. Departments can, however, submit more than one entry as long as they cover different disciplines. While entrants are encouraged to highlight deals or cases that best exemplify the performance of teams, entries that focus exclusively on a single deal or case are unlikely to succeed.
Covering Statement - and evidence
Your 1,000 word statement is your entry. It can by all means refer to background material that has been included but remember to keep to a simple formula of statement first, background second. Remember, this statement will be what the judges see so it must, ‘tell the story’ while also seeking to cover the specific criteria as set out in each category.
The weakest part of many entries last year was the failure to include clear evidence of achievement or explanation of why the achievement was significant or innovative. The judges will be harsh on entries that do not include clear statements of objectives and targets supported by evidence that these targets were reached. For example, if business growth is the target, achievement of it should be demonstrated in measurable terms.
All the information contained in the entries that is marked confidential will remain so, and will not be released without the permission of the entrant.
Supporting Material
The Judges like to have supporting material as long as it is relevant. The most important point to focus on when preparing any background material and supporting evidence is that it is quality and relevance that matter, not quantity.
References
References will from a crucial part of most entries as they provide an independent measure of client satisfaction. Each entry can contain a maximum of three references. They should take the form of short statements from the referees in support of the entries. Simply supplying a name and address will not be sufficient.
Nominations
If you would like to nominate a firm, team or individual for an award please email bla@legalweek.com stating your reasons. We will then get in touch with the nominee and invite them to submit an entry.
