The Law Society has today unveiled the shortlist of lawyers and firms nominated for this year’s Excellence Awards.

The 17 awards recognise outstanding achievement by legal professionals at firms of all sizes across England and Wales, in categories ranging from community investment to client service, with new awards including the Law Management Section’s leader of the year award.

The nominees for the Gazette Legal Personality of the Year award, now in its second year, are:

  • David Allen Green, of counsel and head of media at London firm Preiskel & Co;
  • Jo Cooper, chair of the Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates and head of chambers at London’s Perren Buildings chambers;
  • Dean Parnell, partner at Birmingham firm Sydney Mitchell and former president of Birmingham Law Society;
  • Phil Shiner, solicitor at Birmingham firm Public Interest Lawyers;
  • Daniel Winterfeldt, partner at City firm CMS Cameron McKenna; and
  • Julian Young, senior partner at London firm Julian Young & Co.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 18 October, at Old Billingsgate in London. The awards will be presented by BBC broadcaster Mishal Husain.

Law Society president John Wotton said: ‘The excellence awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate what is great about the legal profession, which in recent years has experienced a turbulent economic climate and now faces the challenges created by the introduction of ABS.

‘The shortlisted candidates have demonstrated tremendous achievements across a broad range of categories, from client service to diversity, and the excellence awards are about recognising that.’

The full shortlist can be viewed at the Law Society website.