The British Legal Awards 2017: have you made the shortlist?

Allen & Overy (A&O), Kirkland & Ellis, CMS and Fieldfisher are among eight firms set to battle it out for Law Firm of the Year at the British Legal Awards next month.

The quartet will go head to head with Clyde & Co, Latham & Watkins, Gateley and Osborne Clarke for the coveted award, with the winner to be announced at a ceremony hosted by Legal Week on Thursday 30 November.

A host of law firms and in-house legal departments will compete across team and individual categories including M&A Team of the Year, General Counsel of the Year, London Office of the Year and UK Law Firm of the Year, with the event to be held in Finsbury Square in the heart of the City.

Slaughter and May and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom will run against a strong line-up of firms including Linklaters and Herbert Smith Freehills for M&A Team of the Year (large deal), while A&O, Clifford Chance (CC) and Sullivan & Cromwell are among those chasing the banking and finance prize.

On the disputes front, Clyde & Co, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Signature Litigation are among those in contention for Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year

Meanwhile, the London Office of the Year award will see the likes of White & Case, Morrison & Foerster and Cooley compete with names including Ireland’s Mason Hayes & Curran and Portugal’s Gomez-Acebo & Pombo.

Other private practice prizes will recognise teams including property, restructuring, and private equity, as well as rewarding firms’ efforts in areas such as technology and diversity.

The in-house legal community is also well represented at the awards, with a number of new prizes open to legal teams within corporates. Virgin Media, Avaya, Nokia and Trainline are all in contention for Legal Department of the Year (TMT), while Barclays, TSB and LV= are among those running for the equivalent financial services award.

Winners will be selected by an independent judging panel later this month. The panel includes senior business lawyers from major banks and corporates, as well as former private practice leaders.

Among the big winners at last year’s event, which was hosted by writer and Peep Show star David Mitchell, were Pinsent Masons, Linklaters and Vodafone. Pinsents (pictured right) saw off competition from firms including CC, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Latham to scoop Law Firm of the Year. Linklaters took the award for M&A Team of the Year in the large deal category and Vodafone secured Legal Department of the Year (TMT).

This year’s awards will mark the culmination of Legal Week’s ambitious new two-day event LegalWeek CONNECT, which will bring together a host of law firm leaders, general counsel, technology and innovation heads to explore a wide range of issues driving innovation, disruption and change in the profession.

The British Legal Awards 2017 shortlist in full:

Law Firm of the Year Allen & Overy Clyde & Co CMS Fieldfisher Gateley Kirkland & Ellis Latham & Watkins Osborne Clarke

UK Law Firm of the Year gunnercooke Harbottle & Lewis Kennedys Mishcon de Reya Shoosmiths Stevens & Bolton

European Law Firm of the Year A&L Goodbody Asters Cuatrecasas Garrigues Kinstellar Magnusson Noerr Perez-Llorca

Specialist Law Firm of the Year ARC Pensions Law Edmonds Marshall McMahon Hickman & Rose Hughes Fowler Carruthers Kemp Little PCB Litigation Signature Litigation Three Crowns

London Office of the Year Boies Schiller Flexner Cooley Gomez-Acebo & Pombo Goodwin Procter Mason Hayes & Curran Morrison & Foerster Paul Hastings White & Case

M&A Team of the Year (Large Deal) Ashurst Baker McKenzie Dechert Herbert Smith Freehills Linklaters Norton Rose Fulbright Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Slaughter and May

M&A Team of the Year (Medium-Sized Deal) Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Pinsent Masons Reed Smith RPC Simmons & Simmons Stephenson Harwood Taylor Wessing White & Case

Private Equity Team of the Year Charles Russell Speechlys Debevoise & Plimpton Dechert Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Hogan Lovells Macfarlanes Reed Smith Weil Gotshal & Manges

Banking and Finance Team of the Year Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Dechert Linklaters Paul Hastings Slaughter and May Sullivan & Cromwell White & Case

Restructuring Team of the Year Allen & Overy Ashurst Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters Norton Rose Fulbright Paul Hastings Slaughter and May Sullivan & Cromwell White & Case

Private Client Team of the Year Baker McKenzie Bircham Dyson Bell Burges Salmon Charles Russell Speechlys Farrer & Co Irwin Mitchell McDermott Will & Emery Withers

Property Team of the Year Addleshaw Goddard Berwin Leighton Paisner Clifford Chance and Devonshires CMS Mayer Brown Norton Rose Fulbright Pinsent Masons Simmons & Simmons

Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year Addleshaw Goddard Ashurst Bircham Dyson Bell Burges Salmon CMS Gowling WLG Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells

Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year Clyde & Co Eversheds Sutherland Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells Mishcon de Reya Signature Litigation Withers

Regulatory and Investigations Team of the Year Burges Salmon Debevoise & Plimpton and Slaughter and May DWF Shearman & Sterling

Competition Team of the Year Allen & Overy Ashurst Eversheds Sutherland Slaughter and May Sullivan & Cromwell Travers Smith Tuppers Law

Commercial Team of the Year CMS Dechert Gowling WLG MacRoberts

TMT Team of the Year Bird & Bird CMS DLA Piper Eversheds Sutherland Herbert Smith Freehills Pinsent Masons Slaughter and May

Legal Services Innovation Award Dentons DLA Piper Eversheds Sutherland Hugh James Invicta Law LOD My Home Move North East Solicitor Apprenticeships

General Counsel of the Year Bjarne Philip Tellmann, Pearson Imraan Patel, EG Group Kirsty Cooper, Aviva Priti Shetty, ICICI Bank Vicky Sandry, Sky UK

Legal Department of the Year (Financial Services) Barclays Bank Janus Henderson Group LV= OakNorth TSB

Legal Department of the Year (Commerce and Industry) GB Group National Grid Royal Mail The Crown Estate

Legal Department of the Year (TMT) Avaya Informa Nokia The Mill Trainline Virgin Media Vodafone

Chambers of the Year Brick Court Chambers Hardwicke Matrix Chambers Monckton Chambers Outer Temple Chambers Quadrant Chambers Serle Court Wilberforce Chambers

CSR/Diversity Initiative of the Year Allen & Overy Debevoise & Plimpton Dentons DLA Piper Gowling WLG Hogan Lovells Mayer Brown Travers Smith

Best Use of Technology Addleshaw Goddard and Wolseley UK Pennon Group Linklaters Mishcon de Reya Reed Smith Setfords Transport for London Ward Hadaway

Supplier of the Year (Technology) BigHand Converge TS Exponential-e Forensic Risk Alliance iManage Infosec Cloud Intapp Opus 2 International

Supplier of the Year (Business Services) BDO Calder PR CILEx Law School Janders Dean International LexisNexis Living Group Mason & Cook Totum Partners

Legal Week Intelligence Client Partner of the Year To be announced on the evening

City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement Award To be announced on the evening

To reserve your table at the British Legal Awards 2017:

• Book online – click here • Send an email – click here

Click here for more information on the British Legal Awards.

• During the two days leading up to the British Legal Awards, a heavyweight line-up of general counsel, big-name business figures and law firm leaders will be speaking at the LegalWeek Connect event, which will focus on talent, technology and new thinking in the world of law. Click here to register.