STOP PRESS!
2026 Excellence Awards nomination deadline looms…
Our offical deadline for nominations is 6pm on 11 September. We appreciate this is the first week back after a Bank Holiday week and some of you may be panicking…
So, if you plan to submit nominations, but worry you won’t quite have them completed and approved in time, email us now on admin@nnls.org and let us know what you have in the pipeline!
We will accept nominations on Monday next week too.
Thank you.
Who can nominate:
Nominations can be made by any NNLS member, for themselves or for someone else.
How to nominate:
Nominations must be made by emailing admin@nnls.org with a nomination statement of no more than 500 words.
Winners:
The award winners will be announced at the NNLS Annual Dinner on 8 October 2026 – booking info
Rising Star Award
Before there are great lawyers, there are great trainee solicitors, great paralegals, and great apprentices. This award is dedicated to the lawyers who are demonstrating dedication, excellence and enthusiasm right at the beginning of their legal careers – all the qualities which set a stellar example for aspiring lawyers, and spell greatness for the future of the legal profession. The winner will go beyond what is expected of a junior lawyer and is open to nominations for lawyers all the way up to five years PQE. Sponsored by –
Lawyer of the Year Award
The term “lawyer of the year” could be construed in any number of ways, but we view it as the lawyer that does the most for themselves, their colleagues, their organisation, their profession and their community. The winner of this award will be the lawyer that, in the last twelve months, has earned the respect and admiration of their fellow lawyers- the person who the law would sorely miss were they not a part of it. The judges are looking for an exceptional individual to win this award, whether this be in their achievements, their actions or their service. Sponsored by –
Firm of the Year Award
Norfolk is blessed with a broad range of law firms of all shapes and sizes, catering to just about any need a client may have. Not only do they deliver high quality legal work and excellent client services, but they engage positively in the local community, use their reputation for positive and charitable means, and provide employment and work experience opportunities to help cultivate continually strong generations of lawyers. The judges will be seeking to recognise the firm which has, in the last year, made exceptional strides in these areas which are noteworthy and worthy of recognition. Sponsored by –
Practice & Professional Impact Award
This award recognises an individual, team, firm or organisation that has made a positive impact by promoting inclusion, accessibility, opportunity or professional development within the legal profession or wider community. Entries may demonstrate achievements in areas such as equality, diversity and inclusion, social mobility, mentoring, wellbeing, accessibility, access to justice, sustainability, responsible business practices, talent development, community engagement or ethical leadership. Open to all legal professionals, support staff, teams and organisations, the judges will be looking for evidence of meaningful outcomes, innovation and a lasting positive impact on colleagues, clients, the profession or the wider community. Sponsored by –
Legal Support of the Year Award
Ask any great lawyer and they will tell you the same thing – remove them from their support staff, and watch them crumble. This award seeks to recognise the individuals and teams that provide the critical support that lawyers desperately rely on. Such support includes but is not limited to research, administrative, marketing, finance, human resources and recruitment. The judges are looking for an individual or team that has excelled in their particular area to provide a significant level of support to legal services and made a real difference accordingly to their firm/organisation and/or clients. Sponsored by –
Legal Hero Award
This award category has been created to recognise all who work in the Norfolk and Norwich legal community and to recognise someone who has been the driving force behind making a difference over either the last 12 months or a sustained period of time. It can include but is not limited to legal practitioners, secretaries, receptionists, HR managers, IT workers, accounts and finance staff and paralegals. The individual will be worthy of the hero award if they are exceptional either within the legal community they work in or have shown outstanding endeavours outside their working environment, so that they have made either a significant positive impact on the wider non-legal community or the Norfolk and Norwich legal community. Sponsored by –
