Celebrating the best of Scotland’s legal talent at The Herald Law Awards
THE winners of The Herald Law Awards of Scotland 2021 have finally been announced and the results are a “Who’s Who” of the cream of Scotland’s legal talent.
The results were revealed last week on The Herald’s facebook page and last night all of this year’s winners came together at a Winners’ Dinner at the voco Grand Central hotel in Glasgow.
Among those picking up their awards was Stuart Munro, managing director of
Livingstone Brown, and the head of the Criminal Litigation & Inquiries Practice Area Unit, who has been named Solicitor of the Year, a category sponsored by the Law Society of Scotland.
In a competitive field, Mr Munro impressed the judges with his inspirational leadership, innovative approach to technology, and his masterful handling of cases involving public figures, as well as his work in complex adoption cases.
This year’s Law Awards of Scotland attracted a huge number of entries and it took intensive deliberations from the panel of judges to draw up a shortlist and then whittle this down still further in order to determine the outright winners.
Among those making the grade were Mike Dailly, a court practitioner with more than 25 years of experience in housing law and preventing homelessness in Scotland who acts exclusively for tenants and consumers.
His role as principal solicitor of the Govan Law Centre and his commitment to social justice earned him the Outstanding Contribution Award.
Meanwhile, Ashurst LLP collected its trophy for the Innovation Award win, sponsored by the Law Society of Scotland, for its development of digital products and its policy of continuous development, which has seen it grow from a staff of seven in 2013 to its present headcount of 170 people working in Glasgow, London, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Other firms recognised on the night were Shoosmiths, named Law Firm of the Year and Jones Whyte, which took the Scottish Independents Law Firm of the Year, with both categories being sponsored by IDEX Consulting.
Allan Mcdougall Solicitors received the Litigation Team of the Year accolade, sponsored by Stirling Park, while Shepherd and Wedderburn was named Transactions Team of the Year.
Neilsons Solicitors & Estate Agents won High Street Firm of the Year, while
Keegan Smith Criminal Defence Lawyers was named Criminal Law Firm of the Year.
Jack Smith of Latta & Co Solicitors was named Junior Solicitor of the Year with Louisa Doole of Mcsherry Halliday receiving the Judge’s Special Recognition.
In the Manager of the Year category, Murray Mccall of Anderson Strathern was named winner, while the In
House Team of the Year title went to Aberdeen City Council Legal Services.
In its second win of the evening, Anderson Strathern was named Real Estate Team of the Year, while the Special Judges Award went to Gerard Sinclair who retired earlier this year as chief executive of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Ken Dalling, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “We were delighted to see such strong competition for the awards this year and all of the winners deserve hearty congratulations for their achievements.”
Meena Bahanda, head of legal, Scotland IDEX Consulting, said: “These awards are important as they highlight the diverse range of work that the legal sector undertakes, individually and collectively.”
And Ronnie Murison, director of Sheriff Officer
Services at Stirling Park, said: “The event was a great success and allowed Scotland’s legal profession to recognise and reward the high achievers in their respective field for all their hard work and endeavour this year during challenging times.”