It is that time of year! We are excited to again begin the process of honoring legal departments and legal department leaders for our Best Legal Departments issue.

As in previous years, in order to be considered you have to first complete this nomination form. 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 April 6, 2021.

Our staff will select the honorees on the basis of these submissions, along with our own research.

Articles featuring the honorees will be featured in our September/October 2021 issue and celebrated at the prestigious American Lawyer Industry Awards at the end of the year.

Below please find the categories and submission requirements. Please feel free to reach out to Pearl Wu at [email protected] 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.

Award: Best Legal Departments

There is one survey for all subcategories. You only need to fill out the survey for the category or categories in which you are submitting a nomination.

Subcategories:

  1.   U.S. Legal Department of the Year (for U.S. companies)

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 2020.

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).   

Finalists Announced: September

Winner Announced: At the American Lawyer Industry Awards in December 2021

  1.   Compliance Department of the Year (in-house compliance departments)

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.  

Winner Announced: September

  1.   Startup Solo GC of the Year

Who Should Apply: General Counsel of a startup company

Award Description: An award recognizing the challenges a startup GC has and acknowledges the achievement of successfully overcoming those obstacles by innovation and determination.

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.  

Winner Announced: September

  1.   Best Use of Technology

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 in 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.  

Winner Announced: September

  1.   General Counsel of the Year

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.  

Finalists Announced: September

Winner Announced: At the American Lawyer Industry Awards in December 2021

  1.   Best Deputy or Associate GC

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.  

Winner Announced: September

  1.   Champion of Diversity Award

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.  

Winner Announced: September

  1.   Best Legal Ops Team

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.  

Winner Announced: September

  1.   Outstanding Community Service Award

Who Should Apply: General Counsel and team

Award Description: This award is focused on the work by a GC or legal department team outside of their day job that truly has an impact in their community.

Materials required:  A brief description (no more than 1,000) of what pro bono or charity work a legal leader or team has done and the impact on the community. Please give specific examples.  

Winner Announced: September

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