The legal industry plays a significant role in the UK economy, not only in terms of employment numbers but their overall contribution to the national economy, exports and the UK’s trade. As such, SME News is proud to present the Legal Awards, with the intention to recognise and spotlight the very best that this innovative and competitive industry has to offer.
SME News Legal Awards return once again to help celebrate and reward the dedicated hardworking individuals and companies, in the legal services field, hailing from across our great nation! Our aim is to recognise the market leaders for their commitment, excellence, and determination from within this competitive market.
After a turbulent year, the UK Legal industry has recovered admirably shown through the generation of record-breaking revenues in September 2020, despite the uncertainty posed by Brexit and the numerous challenges posed by the pandemic.
The Legal industry, widely recognised as a major contributor towards the UK economy, is expected to further increase its revenue across 2021!
Therefore, it is now the most crucial time to take part in our Legal Awards 2021 it is the perfect way to show your employees their efforts are valued by the organisation, whilst also providing the public with evidence of your successes as a business. Notifying stakeholders of your participation in our programme indicates that your business is garnering the attention of third parties, and that word of your expertise and customer service are creating a buzz within this competitive sector.
Of course, our programme is open to all businesses within the UK’s legal sector, regardless of their size, and nominations are also accepted for talented and determined legal individuals too.
Our awards are based on merit, not the number of votes received. Our process works to ensure that we reward parties based on their excellence in the industry, the commitment to their clients and their dedication to services.
If you are, or know of a party deserving of recognition, then please feel free to nominate via the form or reach out to the programme coordinator directly for further details!
Key Dates
Entries Open:
Monday 21st December 2020
Entries Closed:
Friday 5th March 2021
Winners Announced:
May 2021
Awards Coordinator
Laura is the Awards Manager and on top of this she also manages some of our key awards programmes herself. Laura joined the business in 2014 and quickly rose through the ranks to become a most valued and respected member of the management team. Laura is highly customer-focused and is very dedicated to ensuring our products deliver real value, our service is second to none and that our processes and systems are truly customer-centric. Award nominees and winners are in very safe hands with Laura!
Our Methodology
Researching nominees
The SME News team work ardently to identify market leaders, innovators and enterprising start-ups, driving many of the nominations themselves.
We also encourage external nominations via the SME News subscribers, online visitors, social media followers, clients and wider circulation.
Nominating parties are invited to put forward either third-party businesses whom they hold in high regard, or their own organisation.
Shortlisting nominees
All nominees are formally requested to accept their nomination. Should any firm or individual rather decline at this point, they are simply taken out of the running.
Those formally accepting are given the opportunity to submit additional materials in support of their nomination. Although there is no obligation to complete and supply material, we have found that many nominees value this stage, in the process, as much as our research team do.
Evaluating and judging
Our dedicated research team will assess all information presented to them.
The team gather information independently from a variety of publicly accessible sources, which are assessed alongside any material supplied by a nominating party or the nominee themselves.
The research team casts their final judgment, based on various criteria including: client dedication, innovation, business growth, longevity, online reputation, customer feedback and business performance.
The lucky winners
Once winners are determined, they are personally notified before any public announcement is made, allowing time for any communications throughout the wider business and the coordination of marketing strategies.
Unfortunately, not everyone can be a winner; however, all who take part are encouraged to come back next year.
Once the press embargo is lifted, details of our SME award winners will be made public via the website, award winners’ magazine and subscriber newsletter.
Making the most of your win
We are prepared to offer a range of promotional packages and items to SME award winners, which vary from inclusion in the free-of-charge winners’ directory, to trophies, content in our magazine and on our website.
We encourage all winners to publicly announce their win independently. Announcements via company websites, social media, via publicly released press releases, and through local and national press are all great ways of maximising the exposure which can be gained from such an amazing achievement. If you have need of further advice, on how to gain maximum exposure from your win, please feel free to get in touch. We are happy to assist our clients with their needs.
FAQsOur Winners
Our featured winners are included in our celebratory awards magazine, published online and circulated to the circulation of SME News. All winners are included in our winners directory. Once a year's winners have been announced the full list of winners for that year will be available to view by clicking on the equivalent button displayed below.
Testimonials
Our Awards Team
Jane Henderson - Director
Jane is one of three directors at AI Global Media, the publishing house behind SME News. Jane is committed to ensuring that each winner of an SME News award not only has a great experience but also gains maximum value for their win.
Jeremy Roe - Head of Research
Jeremy is dedicated to his research team and to the readers, nominees and award winners of SME News. Jeremy's diligent approach is carried across to this team members ensuring quality in the research carried out on behalf of SME News.
Martyn Walters – SME News Lead Researcher
Martyn joined the business in 2015 and rapidly became an integral part of the research team. Martyn has a keen interest in understanding businesses from those just starting out to those that have cemented their place in their market for decades or more. He also understands that an award win such as one of SME News’ can be a powerful marketing tool for small businesses making it key for the research team to select those most fitting and most worthy of one of these highly sought-after awards.
Steven Simpson - SME News Awards Team Leader
Steven came to the group in 2015 and has since proven to be a most respected, conscientious and valued team member. Steven oversees a number of SME News' key awards programmes ensuring that all nominees and winners receive a great experience from the team and that our winners are supported in gaining maximum exposure from such an amazing achievement.
Awards
AI Global Media Ltd
