Award Categories

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The Categories

Whether you’re a part of a firm, in-house legal team, or a lawyer, you’ll find a category to suit your interests and experience. Click on the award names to read the criteria and find out more.

DEAL AND CASE AWARDS

Criteria:

  • Open to all capital markets deals that reached completion within 2024 for which the majority of the legal work was Canada-based
  • Judged on the legal work performed by Canadian organizations according to four criteria – size, complexity, breadth and innovation. Each organization may nominate a maximum of three deals.
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all infrastructure and projects deals that reached completion* within 2024 for which the majority of the legal work was Canada-based
  • Each organization may nominate a maximum of three deals. 
  • * “Completion” refers to the closing of financing, not construction.
  • Judged on the legal work performed by Canadian organizations according to four criteria – size, complexity, breadth and innovation
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all insolvency and restructuring deals that reached completion within 2024 for which the majority of the legal work was Canada-based
  • Each organization may nominate a maximum of three deals.
  • Judged on the legal work performed by Canadian organizations according to four criteria – size, complexity, breadth and innovation
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all M&A deals, including those that fall within the private equity sector, that reached completion within 2024 for which the majority of the legal work was Canada-based
  • Each organization may nominate a maximum of three deals.
  • Judged on the legal work performed by Canadian organizations according to four criteria – size, complexity, breadth and innovation

Criteria:

  • Open to all deals with a value of CAD$50–500m that reached completion within 2024 for which the majority of the legal work was Canada-based 
  • Each organization may nominate a maximum of three deals.
  • Judged on the legal work performed by Canadian organizations according to four criteria – size, complexity, breadth and innovation

Criteria:

  • Open to a litigation team that worked on a single commercial case rendered or settled in Canada’s courts in 2024, including class actions
  • Judged on a single case’s size and complexity and the extent to which it set new standards of excellence in the delivery of legal services by the team
Nominate

IN-HOUSE AWARDS

Criteria:

  • This award recognizes and celebrates a leader with a minimum of 30 years of experience who has contributed significantly to advancing Canada’s legal profession or justice system. They have provided visionary strategies and innovative solutions to some of the profession’s most complex challenges.
  • This individual will have exhibited leadership and inspired others while putting the interests of the profession and justice system at the top of their priorities throughout their career.
  • This award is eligible to senior legal leaders in in-house private and public sector positions whose perspective and advocacy have had a transformational effect.
  • The Awards team will evaluate nominations, and a short list of candidates will be sent to the judging panel. There will be no Excellence Awardees (finalists) announced.
  • The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony.
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all Canada-based general counsels, chief legal officers, heads of legal et al in in-house positions.
  • Judged on transactions and other initiatives spearheaded and leadership qualities demonstrated through 2024.
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all Canada-based law departments in construction, infrastructure or transportation organizations.
  • Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of legal work performed during calendar year 2024.

Note:

  • The winner of this category will automatically progress to become a finalist in Canadian Law Department of the Year.
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all Canada-based law departments in banking or financial services (including banks, credit unions, lenders, insurance companies, pension funds, brokerage firms and investment funds).
  • Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of legal work performed during calendar year 2024.

Note:

  • The winner of this category will automatically progress to become a finalist in Canadian Law Department of the Year.
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all Canada-based law departments
  • Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of legal work performed during calendar year 2024

Note:

Winners of the two sector-specific law department awards will automatically progress to become finalists for this category; thus only law departments that do not fall within those two sector-specific categories need to be nominated.

Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all projects or initiatives executed by Canada-based law departments in 2024.
  • Judged on the significance, innovativeness and impact of the project or initiative.
Nominate

FIRM AWARDS

Criteria:

  • This award recognizes and celebrates a leader with a minimum of 30 years of experience who has contributed significantly to advancing Canada’s legal profession or justice system. They have provided visionary strategies and innovative solutions to some of the profession’s most complex challenges.
  • This individual will have exhibited leadership and inspired others while putting the interests of the profession and justice system at the top of their priorities throughout their career.
  • This award is eligible to senior legal leaders in private practice in Canada whose perspective and advocacy have had a transformational effect.
  • The Awards team will evaluate nominations, and a short list of candidates will be sent to the judging panel. There will be no Excellence Awardees (finalists) announced.
  • The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony.
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all Canada-based law firms
  • Judged on the extent to which firms have pushed through technological innovation and implemented fresh approaches in creating and delivering legal products, including utilising technology and new business models, through 2024
Nominate

Criteria

  • Open to all Canada-based law firms of any size that derived at least 50% of their 2024 revenue from family law matters
  • Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of legal work performed during 2024
Nominate

Criteria

  • Open to all Canada-based law firms that derived at least 50% of their 2024 revenue from litigation and dispute resolution
  • Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of legal work performed during 2024
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all Canada-based law firms that derived at least 50% of their 2024 revenue from a single practice area
  • Firms that do not qualify for the specialist firm categories (Family Law, Litigation & Dispute Resolution) should be nominated in this category.
  • Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of legal work performed during 2024
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to firms that have offices in only one of the regions listed below, and are a full-service law firm:

    • Atlantic Canada (Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick)
      Quebec
      Ontario
      Prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan)
      Western Canada (BC, Alberta, Northern Territories)
  • Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of legal work performed during 2024
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all Canada-based litigators
  • Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of litigation work performed during 2024
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all managing partners, CEOs or similar of Canada-based law firms
  • Judged on achievements, leadership and performance throughout 2024
Nominate

LEGAL PROFESSION AWARDS

Criteria:

  • Open to all Canada-based law firms and law departments.
  • Judged on the concrete steps the law firm or law department took during 2024 to promote diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to all Canada-based women and non-binary lawyers.
  • Judged on professional accomplishments, leadership, community involvement, and the extent to which the individual has either passively or actively contributed to gender equality in the legal profession in 2024.
Nominate

Criteria:

  • Open to any single pro bono or not-for-profit initiative executed by a Canada-based law firm or law department in 2024.
  • Judged on the impact of the initiative and its contribution to society and the community.
Nominate