Simon Stell, the managing partner at LCF Law has been crowned Lawyer of the Year at the Yorkshire Legal awards.
The awards, which took place on 13 October at New Dock Hall in Leeds saw Stell pick up the coveted prize for his work at LCF Law, a firm he has built up into a major player since becoming managing partner in 1987.
Other winners on the night were Sarah Day, the managing partner of DLA Piper’s Leeds office, who won the President’s Lifetime Achievement award, and Shulmans, which picked up two prizes – one for Commercial Property and the other for Trainee Solicitor.
The victors of 21 different categories were revealed at a prestigious ceremony and dinner, where over 500 legal professionals from across the region came together to celebrate, network and socialise.
Louise Minchin one of the main presenters on BBC Breakfast, hosted the awards.
This year’s judging panel, chaired by Marilyn Stowe, the founder and senior partner of Stowe Family Law, studied an extremely high level of entries once again across all categories. “This is my second year in which I am privileged to chair the judges and I noted a record number of superb entries,” said Stowe.
“All the judges had to spend a great deal of time reading and marking, the judges’ meeting, was lively and diverse, highlighting the overall quality of all the entries and the difficulty we had in making our overall selection. I thank all the Judges for their hard work. It was clear to me above all that the quality of law fi¬rms in Yorkshire is absolutely fantastic. The consumer doesn’t need to travel anywhere else for top class lawyers”
Stowe was joined by an eminent panel of judges including Andrew Axon, the former head of chambers at Parklane Plowden; Natalie Cosgrove, the President of the Sheffield Law Society; Tom Macdonald the head of The University of Law in Leeds, Karen James a partner at Ramsdens Solicitors, Sue Harris the President of the Leeds Law Society; and Leanne Coyle, chair of the Leeds Junior Lawyer Division.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Law Firm (1- 10 Partners) – MKB Solicitors
Law Firm (11 – 30 Partners) – Blacks Solicitors
Law Firm (31 + Partners) – Eversheds
Residential Property Award – Taylor & Emmet
Commercial Property Award – Shulmans
Dispute Resolution Award – Switalskis Solicitors
Rising Star Award – Frances Mitchell (Gordons)
Private Client Award ¬– Heptonstalls Solicitors
Niche Law Firm Award ¬– Barton Legal Limited
Corporate and Commercial Award – Squire Patton Boggs
Enterprise Award – James Love Legal
Employment Law Award – DAC Beachcroft
In-house Lawyer Award ¬– Alison Charnock – Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC
Family Law Award – John Crosse – Wakefield MDC
Chambers of the Year – Zenith Chambers
Trainee Solicitor of the Year – Ryan Adams – Shulmans
Pro Bono Award – Uganda Twinning Group – Huddersfield Law Society
Partner of the Year – Rachelle Mahapatra – Irwin Mitchell
Managing Partner of the Year – Neil Wilson – Chadwick Lawrence
Presidents Award – Sarah Day – DLA Piper
Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year – Simon Stell – LCF Law
