Finalists: Eesha Arora, Maurice Turnor Gardner • Gareth Lawson, Taylor Wessing • Julia Marlow, Hogan Lovells • Richard Stewart, BMO Financial Group • Roy Pinnock, Dentons • Sui-Jim Ho, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

The judges described the winner in this category as “an exceptional associate with measurable success in a difficult area of the profession”. Gemma Vine qualified in 2010 and joined Lester Morrill three years later to supervise the firm’s actions against police workload and expand its high-profile inquest law team, which is led by Fiona Borrill.