I am delighted to announce that my firm, Donoghue Solicitors, has been short-listed for two awards in the prestigious 2015 Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards.
We are up for the Niche Law Firm of the Year and Small Law Firm of the Year Legal Awards, along with only two other firms in each category.
Read the full list of firms on the Liverpool Law Society website here.
Donoghue Solicitors has been short-listed in the niche law firm category as we specialise in civil actions against the police. We are nominated in the small firm category as Donoghue Solicitors is a law firm which employs less than 30 people.
Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards Nominations
The Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards is a bi-annual event. It is big news in the legal profession due to the size of Liverpool Law Society and the calibre of firms in the region. There are over 2,200 members in Liverpool Law Society, working for all kinds of law firms throughout Merseyside and the North West. This year a record number of firms were nominated in 14 categories. We are honoured to be short-listed in two of them.
The Society, which was founded in 1827 and is one of the leading law societies in England and Wales, takes the awards seriously. This isn’t a reality show-style popularity contest. The judges only select firms on merit based on strict criteria.
A few weeks after our nomination the Society invited me to an interview by a panel comprising a leading QC judge, former past president, law professor, and councillor. They only short-listed my firm after that grilling and a thorough review of evidence including client reviews, some of which you can read here.
Among other things, the panel wanted to know:
- how we contribute to the reputational benefit of Liverpool and the surrounding areas;
- what we are doing to develop our particular niche area;
- what innovations we have brought to the law and client service;
- how we represent “law at its best”; and
- what goals and targets we have achieved.
I was able to tell them about:
- significant cases we have pursued and won in emerging areas of law (read about some of them here);
- our clear and novel use of no win no fee agreements in actions against the police;
- how I use the media and the firm’s blog to share knowledge in actions against the police (even with the police themselves – for an example see my blog post Do the police know the law in breach of the peace UK cases?);
- our innovative use of IT and the internet to help people throughout England and Wales claim compensation;
- our commitment to training and development- I train other solicitors as well as my staff; and
- our charity work and community involvement.
2015 Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards Ceremony
The 2015 Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards will be presented at a black-tie awards ceremony in Liverpool on Friday 15 May. As a “thank you”, I will be taking my team, their partners, and my parents to the event.
I am thrilled that our hard work has been recognised and thank the Liverpool Law Society nominations panel, our clients, staff, and families for helping us get this far.