Stage 1 – Nominations

The legal profession is invited to nominate online by succinctly and directly addressing the specific category criteria. To submit a nomination, go to the Nominate page of this website.

Nominations are open from November 17, 2025 to January 30, 2026 11:59 pm ET.

REMINDER REGARDING DEALS: Firms are required to nominate Deals via the Canadian Law Awards online nominations portal in order to be considered.

Stage 2 – Research

The Canadian Law Awards team will conduct research and draw on industry knowledge and information gained through Lexpert, Canadian Lawyer and InHouse to identify the outstanding firms, teams, individuals, deals or cases in each category that will receive an “Excellence Award”.

A corresponding announcement is then made across our media outlets.

Stage 3 – Excellence Awardees (Finalists)

Once Excellence Awardees have been selected in each category they will be notified via e-mail or phone.

Excellence Awardees will be officially announced in March and April 2026 on this website. They will also be promoted in Lexpert and supporting publications, Canadian Lawyer online channels.

Promo packages to leverage your achievement across your marketing and promotions will be available for purchase.

Stage 4 – Judging

The Canadian Law Awards team will provide the submissions of each Excellence Awardee to an independent panel of judges and include an instruction not to share with third parties. Note: All information provided in the submission may be used in Key Media publications, unless otherwise instructed or marked as “confidential” on the submission form.

The independent judging panel assess and score each submission according to the criteria of the applicable category.

Stage 5 – Winners

Judges’ scores are aggregated to produce a Winner in each category.

Winners will be announced and celebrated at the highly anticipated awards gala on May 5, 2026 and on this website.

They will also be featured in extensive profile-raising media coverage, including an exclusive Lexpert digital feature on the Canadian Law Awards.