Corporate Counsel Awards
It is that time of year again! We are excited to again begin the process to honor in-house legal departments and legal department leaders in our Best Legal Departments issue.
In order to be considered, you have to first complete this survey, which you can find on our event site. It consists of several questions about your company and its law department and a brief (no more than 1,000 words) essay about why you should be considered.
The deadline for submissions is June 12, 2024.
Our staff will select the honorees on the basis of these submissions, along with our own research. Finalists will be announced online in August and winners will be announced at The American Lawyer Industry Awards in November.
Below please find the categories and submission requirements. Please feel free to reach out to Pearl Wu at pwu@alm.com with any questions. ALM reserves the right to consider and award organizations, regardless of whether they have submitted nominations. We also reserve the right to take notice of external information that would impact the submission. For all categories, please include the appropriate contact information in case we require more information. An organization can only submit up to two entries per category. Good luck!
Best Legal Departments
You only need to fill out the survey for the category or categories in which you are submitting a nomination.
Who Should Apply
Legal department leader/GC, in-house attorney or in-house staff member.
Award Description
This prestigious award goes to the legal department that surmounted extreme challenges the past year, was innovative in its thinking and achieved measurable successes in 2023.
Materials Required
A brief description (no more than 1,000 words) of your most significant activities in the last year, including litigation achievements (you can include arbitrations and settlements) and any strategies that you put into play to achieve measurable success. Items can include but are not limited to:
- Describe any unique strategies for multiple litigation matters, such as suits involving the same product.
- Describe any out-of-the-ordinary nonlitigation matters in the last year, such as working on a major M&A transaction or responding to a government investigation.
- Describe any unique strategies for routine nonlitigation matters, such as patent applications or employment contracts.
- In describing all matters, please provide specific details about what your in-house lawyers did in each case. Please limit yourself to accomplishments that occurred during the past year (though you can describe work done in prior years that contributed to the accomplishment).
Who Should Apply
Legal department leader/GC, in-house attorney or in-house staff member.
Award Description
An award recognizing an in-house team that has developed or implemented creative innovative compliance plans to achieve success.
Materials Required
A brief description (no more than 1,000 words) describing:
- Any innovative compliance programs that your legal department put into place in the last year.
- How have you creatively communicated compliance information to all employees to ensure that they understand and adhere to company policy?
- How have you used technology to help manage your compliance program?
- Please include any key performance indicators used by their program.
Who Should Apply
General Counsel
Award Description
An award recognizing the challenges of being a solo GC and celebrates the accomplishments and efforts of being that department of one.
Materials Required
A brief description (no more than 1,000 words) of how a startup solo from scratch achieved success and growth by innovation and determination.
Who Should Apply
General Counsel or in-house counsel team
Award Description
This award recognizes the legal department that showed innovative uses of technology to solve issues and enhance productivity.
Materials Required
Please submit a short essay (no more than 1,000) describing:
- Any innovative uses of technology that your legal department put into place during the last year. We’re specifically interested in how people use technology, and how it’s made work in the department easier and more efficient.
- A problem you used technology to solve. Give specifics.
Who Should Apply
General Counsel
Award Description
This award is focused on the significant positive impact a GC has had on their business and broader industry over the past year.
Materials Required
A brief description (no more than 1,000) of what significant positive impact the GC has had on their business and/or industry in the past year. Please give specific examples.
Who Should Apply
Associate or Deputy General Counsel
Award Description
As the role of the GC shifts more to business strategist, this award is to recognize the work of an Associate or Deputy GC in helping a GC with their new responsibilities.
Materials Required
A brief description (no more than 1,000) of what the Associate or Deputy GC is doing to help lead the legal department, and help the department be cost effective and efficient. Please give specific examples.
Who Should Apply
General Counsel
Award Description
This award is focused on the work a GC has done to move the needle for underrepresented groups in the legal industry.
Materials Required
A brief description (no more than 1,000) of what significant positive impact this person has had on diversity issues. Please give specific examples.
Who Should Apply
Legal Ops professionals
Award Description
This award is focused on legal ops teams that through their efforts have had a significant impact in helping to create a more effective and efficient department.
Materials Required
A brief description (no more than 1,000) of what the team had successfully done to create an efficient and effective team. Please give specific examples.
Who Should Apply
General Counsel and team
Award Description
This award is focused on the work by a GC or legal department team which has helped develop and support their organization’s corporate culture initiatives and/or mental health and wellbeing programs.
Materials Required
A brief description (no more than 1,000) of what the individual and team has done to lead efforts around driving the department or company culture initiatives to help with retention and employee wellbeing. Please give specific examples.
Who Should Apply
Any lawyer or staff professional working in an in-house legal department.
Award Description
This award will honor someone who has dedicated a significant portion of their time and energy to mentoring younger professionals. This could be demonstrated through the lawyer or professional’s deep commitment to an individual or through mentoring a litany of younger professionals over their career.
Materials Required
A brief description (no more than two pages) of how the lawyer has shown his or her dedication to mentoring. This award has no time parameters for when the mentoring was done. Please include specific examples of mentoring and anything that shows its impact. Testimonials from mentees are welcome. A Word or PDF document is accepted. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer
Award Description
The distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award will honor in-house counsel who have left an indelible mark on the legal profession through their substantive work and leadership.
Materials Required
No more than one page or describing why this individual deserves this highly selective honor. Describe their work and leadership and how it has left a mark on the profession. A Word or PDF document is accepted. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
The American Lawyer Categories
These descriptions are meant as a guide -- additional questions or essays may be required for a category. For all categories, please log into the Awardsforce portal to view all questions and requirements.
We will accept confidential information as long as it is clearly marked, but firms disclose confidential information at their own risk, especially if the confidential sections are not clearly marked. Please note that any submission with a large portion of confidential information might not be competitive. A firm or organization can only submit up to two entries per category.
The deadline for Submissions is June 12 for The American Lawyer Industry Awards categories and June 26 for Law Firm Corporate Practices of the Year categories.
Who Should Apply
Nominees can come from all corners of the legal profession, whether it be a law firm, in-house legal department, government, public interest, education, alternative legal service providers, etc. They should be nearing the end of their career.
Award Description
The distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award will honor those professionals who have left an indelible mark on the legal profession through their substantive area of work as well as a strong public service component, whether that be through government work, diversity and inclusion efforts or some other form of public service. This is an elite award and the bar is set high. The honorees will be profiled in The American Lawyer
Materials required
No more than one page or describing why this individual deserves this highly selective honor. Describe their work and public service and how it has left a mark on the profession. A Word or PDF document is accepted. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
A current or former law firm managing partner, chair or other firmwide leader nearing the end of their career.
Award Description
The Law Firm Distinguished Leader of the Year award is a subset of our Lifetime Achievement awards, given specifically to a lawyer whose lifetime of notable work includes successful law firm leadership in addition to notable public service and practice work the nominee has done. This award is given to someone who has transformed their firm and whose leadership will leave its mark well beyond their tenure. The honoree will be profiled in The American Lawyer
Materials required
No more than one page describing how the individual has changed and improved their firm in a meaningful way. A Word or PDF document is accepted. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any Am Law 200/Global 100 firm
Award Description
This prestigious award goes to a law firm that has had an exceptional year across its service offerings, netting big wins but also showing a commitment to and progress in an area not solely related to their practice, such as pro bono, diversity or innovation in how legal services are delivered. This award covers the time frame from January 2023 through the date of submission. The winning firm will be profiled in The American Lawyer
Materials required
A document briefly describing why the firm had such a successful year (no more than 500 words for the essay portion). Also include up to 3-6 examples of client matters (across any practice area) that demonstrate the firm’s prowess in its service offerings and ability to handle its clients’ most serious issues. Explain why the matters were so impactful. Additionally, include evidence of how the firm made strides in an area not related to their practice (see award description above). Any data to support the submission criteria is encouraged. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any attorney from any part of the legal industry, whether it be law firm, in-house legal department, public interest, government, education or elsewhere, that has made a profound impact in the profession or community. Tenure in the profession is irrelevant to this award.
Award Description
This award goes beyond success in their practice, but rather honors a lawyer who has perhaps changed an area of law, reshaped their institution or an industry, accomplished something of great public service or otherwise made a lasting impact within the time frame for this award, which is January 2023 through the submission deadline. The honorees will be profiled in The American Lawyer
Materials required
Please submit no more than one page describing why this individual is deserving of the esteemed honor, giving detailed explanations of how they had such a significant impact in the last year. A Word or PDF document is acceptable. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any Am Law 200/Global 100 law firm
Award Description
This award is given to a law firm that has made significant strides in the last two years to innovate how it delivers legal services. This could be through an impactful individual program run through a certain practice area or firmwide, to a full revamping of the firm’s processes. This award will honor a law firm that has changed the way it does business to better deliver value to the client.
Materials required
A brief description (no more than two pages) of how the firm demonstrated true innovation to its legal services delivery model. Supporting documents are allowed. Any data to show the impact of the innovation is encouraged. Client testimonials are also welcome. A Word or PDF document is accepted. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any Am Law 200/Global 100 law firm
Award Description
This award, which is different from our Legal Services Innovation award, is focused on the implementation of technology within a law firm to either improve the delivery of legal services, improve efficiency in internal or client-facing operations, improve work-life balance, etc. The technology can be public facing or only used within the law firm.
Materials required
A brief description (no more than two pages) of how technology was implemented in the last two years to improve life at the firm or for clients, with any data to support the technology’s impact and efficacy. Internal or external testimonials are welcome. Also explain whether this technology was developed internally or externally. Supporting documentation is accepted. A Word or PDF document is accepted. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any Am Law 200/Global 100 firm or legal department (likely in conjunction)
Award Description
This award honors a relationship and arrangement between a law firm and client that exemplifies a true partnership that drives value for both sides. Examples may be related to fee arrangements, secondments, training, or the many other ways the pair may have creatively structured their working arrangement. It can be on a single matter/initiative or something that stretches over multiple matters or a longer period of time.
Materials required
A brief (no more than two pages) description of why the arrangement is unique and beneficial. Please give details of how long the parties have worked together, on what types of matters and how that relationship is structured. Give examples of the ways the parties work together, how they help one another and why each finds the relationship unique and beneficial. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any combination of providers who worked on behalf of the same client on the same matter(s). This could be multiple law firms, law firms and law companies, etc.
Award Description
This award honors the type of collaboration clients are seeking to most effectively and efficiently handle their matter(s). The winning entry will showcase how the providers came to work together on a matter and how they best brought forward their particular capabilities to jointly solve the client’s problem or create better value for the client through their collective offerings. This can be based on a client asking the providers to come together or through a decision the providers made to proactively partner to solve a specific problem or to offer a better service.
Materials required
A brief (no more than two pages) description of why the arrangement is unique and beneficial. Please explain the role each provider played, how they came to work together on this matter(s), examples of how the varying skill sets or business models aided the client, whether the team had worked together before, why the arrangement was an added benefit to the client, etc. Client testimonials are welcome. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Am Law 200/Global 100 Firms Only
Award Description
The role of the business professional within a law firm is growing in number and importance. This award honors those teams that have been allowed to, and have had, an identifiable impact on their organization, from how it is run to the client work they have brought in and anything in between. It covers their work from January 2022 through the present. Submissions can focus on the impact of multiple teams, of one team, of one specific initiative led by a business team or a broader impact. Business teams include, but aren’t limited to, marketing and business development; pricing; finance; technology, innovation, talent/human resources and knowledge management.
Materials required
A brief description (no more than two pages) of who is part of the business team, how they are empowered to make an impact on their organization and how they have done so. Any data to support their efforts is encouraged. Client testimonials or other supporting documents are also welcome. A Word or PDF document is accepted. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any lawyer or staff professional within an Am Law 200/Global 100 firm.
Award Description
This award will honor someone who has dedicated a significant portion of their time and energy to mentoring younger professionals. This could be demonstrated through the lawyer or professional’s deep commitment to an individual or through mentoring a litany of younger professionals over their career.
Materials required
A brief description (no more than two pages) of how the lawyer has shown his or her dedication to mentoring. This award has no time parameters for when the mentoring was done. Please include specific examples of mentoring and anything that shows its impact. Testimonials from mentees are welcome. A Word or PDF document is accepted. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any lawyer under 40 by submission deadline at a law firm, client or law company
Award Description
This award honors a young lawyer who has shown exceptional work in any transactional practice in the last two years. Examples can include handling notable matters, showing business development prowess, improving systems of service delivery, or otherwise providing exceptional work for clients and positive impacts to their organization.
Materials required
A 500-word essay on how this young lawyer has made an impact above and beyond in their practice area. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any lawyer under 40 by submission deadline at a law firm, client or law company
Award Description
This award honors a young lawyer who has shown exceptional work in any litigation practice (including IP litigation, bankruptcy and regulatory enforcement) in the last two years. Examples can include handling notable matters, showing business development prowess, improving systems of service delivery, or otherwise providing exceptional work for clients and positive impacts to their organization.
Materials required
A 500-word essay on how this young lawyer has made an impact above and beyond in their practice area. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any lawyer under 40 by submission deadline at a law firm, client or law company
Award Description
This award honors a young lawyer who has made meaningful advancements in service delivery, public or societal interest, or otherwise worked to improve the profession or community around them. Examples can include notable DEI initiatives, access to justice issues, community work, mentorship, and/or improving the ways clients are served through better processes.
Materials required
A 500-word essay explaining how this young lawyer made meaningful advancements to the profession or society, with concrete examples and any supporting data, if applicable. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Any litigator
Award Description
This award honors a litigator who had an exceptional run of results for their client over the contest period. The honorees will be profiled in The American Lawyer.
Materials required
A 500-word essay as to why this litigator deserves special recognition for their work during the contest period (Jan. 1, 2023 through submission period). Highlight big matters that had a major impact for client or industry. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Firms
Award description
This award honors firmwide efforts to improve diversity across a number of possible areas. Submissions could tackle topics such as efforts to improve diversity retention and inclusion within a firm, social justice work, or work as part of a broader industry initiative. We encourage submissions to show data-based evidence or targets and explain how improvement was made and the impact it had.
Materials Required
Write an essay of no more than 500 words explaining the efforts. Supporting materials are allowed. Data is encouraged where applicable. Please log into the awards portal to view all questions.
Who Should Apply
Law Firms or Law Companies
Award Description
This award honors an organization that has defined and executed on an initiative or overall mission that supports the well-being and welfare of its members or other stakeholders. Examples could include well-being programs, ESG initiatives, access to justice initiatives, public outreach/pro bono on societal/human rights issues, etc.
Materials Required
A 500-word essay outlining the mission-driven initiative, how it maps to the organization’s overall mission and specific details on the initiatives to achieve that mission, who from the organization (in a general sense, not names) were involved, how much time/money was spent on the initiative and what were some of the concrete outcomes from the initiative.
Who Should Apply
Law Firms or Law Companies
Award Description
This award honors an organization that has defined and executed on an initiative or overall mission that supports, enhances and systematizes the professional development of its members. These efforts can include mentorship programs; skills, practice and business development; speaking, writing and thought leadership; and retention/good culture practices.
Materials Required
An essay of no more than 500 words explaining the program or initiative, including specific details on how it is administered, its methods of measuring success and accountability, and its results. Supporting materials are permitted.
Who Should Apply
Law Firms or Law Companies
Award Description
This awards honors a law firm with a meaningful presence, through legal work, in the U.S. This presence can be demonstrated by client engagements and successes, as well as professional headcount and business growth in the U.S. Submissions are welcome to highlight work in various practice areas, including litigation and transactional work.
Materials Required
An essay of no more than 500 words highlighting the firm’s strategy, and history of engagement and growth, in one or more U.S. markets, with specific examples and results.
To mark Tony Mauro’s retirement after nearly 40 years of covering the U.S. Supreme Court – half of them with ALM – ALM Media launched The Tony Mauro Award to honor lawyers who zealously advocate for freedom of the press.
This award will recognize lawyers who have taken the lead in protecting press freedom – whether they are litigating for access to court or other government documents and institutions, or defending individual journalists and media organizations. They can be lawyers who protect journalists in all kinds of media, including online outlets, print and broadcast, and student journalists as well. Lawyers who are in private practice as well as nonprofits from around the country will be eligible.
We eagerly welcome nominations for potential winners of the award. Here are details:
- The winner could be an individual or a team (awards will be given to both), and can be lawyers who protect journalists in all kinds of media, including online outlets, print and broadcast, and student journalists as well. Lawyers who are in private practice as well as nonprofits from around the country will be eligible.
- The award will recognize media advocacy that took place from April 2023 through the submission deadline, rather than lifetime achievement.
- Nominees should submit a one-page description of their media advocacy action, its impact and what it meant to the client and to the broader goal of freedom of the press or open access. We will accept supporting documents, but don’t require them.
Who Should Apply
Entries should be for the firm leader, including chair, CEO, managing partner or equivalent.
Award Description
The winning entry should demonstrate business leadership prowess during the relevant time period of 2023 through the submission period. Winning entries will show notable initiatives and/or successes around law firm management, whether that deals internally with anything from talent to technology or externally with clients or the public.
Materials Required
Data to back up the noted successes of any initiative or leadership endeavors is encouraged, and could include financial data, statistical improvements, success of programs or work won. The entry should not just be about firm wide initiatives, but should specifically demonstrate the nominee's role in the firm's success. The Managing Partner of the Year entry will demonstrate how this person's leadership and guidance of the institution made a notable difference for the institution, its people, its clients and/or society at large.
National Boutique/Specialty Litigation Department of the Year
This award is for national boutique/specialty firms focused on litigation, including IP litigation. This award recognizes the best boutique firm litigation department for work handled from January 1, 2023 through the contest submission period of June 12, 2024.
Materials Required
- Write an essay of no more than 500 words explaining why your firm should be a finalist.
- Select up to 7 litigation results that demonstrate the excellence of your litigation department. Please limit the narrative description of each result to 400 words. Please be clear how this matter was significant to your client. Winning entries will demonstrate not necessarily a high dollar-figure (though they may), but work on high-stakes matters, the setting of important precedent and/or unique/exceptional lawyering.
- Do not include results achieved by lateral hires when they were working at other firms.
- These results must have occurred from Jan. 1, 2023, through the contest submission period.
- Please include full case names and docket numbers for all cases mentioned. Also include opposing counsel as well as the names of the lawyers in your firm who led the matters.
- Please include 3 new matters to be handled by your firm. They should be matters taken on after Nov. 1, 2023. Just name the client, issue at stake and firm’s expected role.
- Please name the biggest litigation loss for the firm since Jan. 1, 2023.
- Firm information: please include the size of the firm’s litigation department as of April 1, 2024, specifying the number of partners, associates and other counsel. Please include the percentage of your entire firm represented by the litigation department. Please include the percentage of overall firm revenue generated by the litigation group.
- Please list two client references and their contact information.
Please note that Regional Litigation Departments of the Year have been moved to their respective regional contests. For more information on deadlines, please visit the U.S. Legal Deadlines page.
Law Firm Corporate Practices of the Year
Submission Guidelines
The deadline for Law Firm Corporate Practices categories is June 26, 2024.
Corporate Practice of the Year
Materials Required
Write an essay of no more than 750 words to describe the corporate practice and why it is a go-to for clients and worthy of this award. We also will require a list of up to 7 matters/deals closed during the submission time period, two client references, and descriptions of two client relationships. Please log into the submissions portal to see the full nomination questionnaire.
Specialty Categories
Regardless of whether a firm submits for the general category, firms can submit for up to two of the specialty category awards.
The specialty categories this year are:
Best Corporate Practice — Small/Midcap Deals
(For firms who want to demonstrate deal prowess in the middle market space, typically with a range of deals under the $1 billion mark.)
Best Corporate Practice — Health Care / Pharmaceutical
Best Corporate Practice — Tech/Telecom
Best Corporate Practice — Energy
For these categories, please include:
- 500-word essay on why your department is exceptional at representing clients in the corresponding industry, including the types of matters handled, the creativity shown in your work, any unique ways matters are staffed or billed, technology that is used, etc.
- Up to 6 examples of deals handled during the submission period (July 1, 2022, to May 13, 2024) for the corresponding industry. Up to two of these deals can be pending closing. The rest should have closed in the submission period. Name the client the firm represented, the uniqueness/import of the deal for the client or broader industry, the lead lawyers on the matter, the deal value, the date announced/closed. Please keep each matter’s description to no more than 300 words.
- Two client references to speak about either one of the deals listed or just the practice’s work in general.
Best Law Firm Corporate Lawyers of the Year
Who Should Apply
Lawyers in Am Law 100/200 or Global 200 firms
Award Description
This award honors a lawyer in any transactional practice who can show an impressive, full-range of work over the past two years. The award will honor transactional attorneys who have helped clients achieve business success, impact an industry, create novel mechanisms to close deals, and/or otherwise show a range of deal prowess. Unlike our Dealmakers honors issue, which focuses on a single matter, this is for a lawyer who has been heavily involved in several important matters or through crucial client counseling during the submission period. A firm can only submit up to two entries per subcategory. Good luck!
*Submitters can select from these subcategories: Private Client, M&A, Private Equity, Regulatory, Tax, Bankruptcy, Investment Funds
Materials Required
A 500-word essay highlighting the matters and detailing impact that reflect why this lawyer was a standout dealmaker during the submission period.