The winners of this prestigious award will be announced by BBC broadcaster Mishal Husain at a black-tie dinner and presentation ceremony, which will take place on October 18th at Old Billingsgate, London.
The Excellence Awards reward the most outstanding practitioners in the legal profession and are open to the entire legal sector, not just solicitors. Entries were judged earlier this month by specialist judges, including Adam Sampson, chief executive of the Legal Ombudsman; Frances Gibb, legal editor at The Times; and Chris Marston, head of professional practices at Lloyds TSB.
Over the past twelve months, Simon has successfully defended a succession of people charged with assaulting or obstructing police officers in circumstances where it was alleged that police powers were misused. He also successfully appealed the conviction of a young person for swearing at the police, creating headline news in the process. Nadeem Thanvi, managing partner at ITN solicitors said “the defence of civil liberties has always been central to our ethos at this firm. We are delighted that the importance of Simon’s work has been recognised”.
Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff said: “The quality of this year’s entries is astonishingly high and a testament to the fact that the profession continues to innovate and deliver high-quality legal services even in these economically challenging times.
“The marketplace is changing quickly, with greater external pressure and competition, so it’s great to see that firms are showing no signs of complacency. Far from it, this year’s entries show that the UKlegal sector continues to spearhead solutions that allow it to stay at the top of the game.
“I take great pride in announcing a shortlist of such outstanding firms, teams and individuals.”
The full shortlist can be viewed at: http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/Representation/Excellence-awards/Shortlist/