“What a depressing year it’s been. Again.” The British Legal Awards’ introductory speech from Legal Week editor-in-chief Alex Novarese provided a droll commentary on a challenging and turbulent 2012 before going on to highlight the increasingly proactive response to tough times from the legal industry.

But if the year has been hard-going, the awards managed to go out on a high with 900 UK and international lawyers assembled for the evening on 22 November in the City of London.