Judges deliver verdicts based on body of evidence

There was a 30 per cent increase in the number of submissions to the Scott+Co Scottish Legal Awards 2013, the tenth year of the programme.

The judging panel met last Wednesday to debate the merits of the 61 entries submitted by 28 firms, from sole practitioners to multipartner outfits, in a full-day conference. Proceedings were nudged along from the chair by Margo MacDonald MSP.

The judges included experts from business, law and politics including Sir Andrew Cubie, Lorna Jack, chief executive of the Law Society of Scotland, and Owen Kelly, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise.

There was a strict marking system for assessing submissions, with a percentage available for each of the criteria set out on the entry forms.

Each of the 17 categories was “championed” by one of the 12-strong panel who explored the strengths of the entries, as well as their weaknesses. The discussion was then opened up to the full panel, demonstrating the seriousness of purpose among the judges about their responsibility.

“That’s why I have stayed with the awards over these years,” said MacDonald. “I take the judging day very seriously and I expect no less from everyone round the table. We have a bit of fun about one another but we think the awards are a contribution to the evolution of the legal industry in Scotland.”

In that respect, attention was paid not just to the high-profile achievements of the firms but also to the evidence they offered on the relationships they maintain with clients. Categories for innovation and specialists lawyers attracted the biggest field and were keenly contested.

New categories for in-house lawyers and trainee firm of the year are viewed as “first investments” by the awards in important areas of legal activity.

In some instances a clear leader emerged during plenary discussion but in almost half of the categories the decision went to a secret ballot.

The winners are now known, as is the identity of the individual selected to receive The Scotsman Lifetime Achievement Award. The names, though, will be a strictly guarded secret until the gala dinner on Thursday 28 March 2013 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

The awards are operated in aid of Children 1st, and the event has raised more than £50,000 for the charity since the partnership began.