Excellence in Strategic Leadership

Winner: Weightmans

The Weightmans strategy has the vision to become a Top 30 £200m business and they are well on the way to achieving this. The strategic plan to help deliver this vision focuses on growth, embeds client needs into the structure, maximises effectiveness and efficiencies and support’s their people in professional development. Key milestones have included therestructure to focus on sectors, launching a pioneering apprenticeship academy, merging with RadcliffesLeBrasseur, launching their new purpose – See the Possibility and launching CyXcel into North America.

Joint runners-up: Foot Anstey and Harper James

Foot Anstey’s leadership team have delivered their Powering Ambition strategy propelling double digit revenue growth, while advancing responsible business practices and delivering exceptional value to clients. Harper James have pioneered an alternative to the traditional law firm achieving impressive organic growth and developing a model of remote working senior solicitors.

Excellence in client service

Winner: Insignia

The judges awarded this entry as the winner for its outstanding strategic execution and measurable impact. The initiative addressed a critical challenge: sustaining excellence amid ambitious growth targets. By implementing a structured client relationship and service management programme, Insignia ensured consistency, engagement, and enhanced client value. Key elements – client panels, targeted training, and added – value offerings like webinars and conferences – deepened client relationships and reinforced loyalty. The programme’s strong alignment with Insignia’s core values, combined with measurable outcomes such as increased client insights and retention, demonstrated a clear, strategic approach to sustainable business growth.

Runner-up: William Fry

William Fry LLP’s TechReg Tool secured second place for its innovative approach to client service, delivering clear value through a tailored digital compliance solution. In response to evolving EU regulations, TechReg provides clients with a streamlined, accessible platform to navigate complex legal requirements efficiently. This initiative stood out for its originality, offering proactive support that simplifies compliance, reduces risk, and enhances client confidence. By leveraging technology to deliver expert legal guidance in a user–friendly format, William Fry LLP demonstrated a forward–thinking approach that strengthened client relationships and reinforced the firm’s reputation for excellence in client service.

Excellence in Marketing and Business Development

Winner: Pinsent Masons

The firm’s strategy is to grow stronger, deeper client relationships and this project aimed to embed best practice behaviours through an ambitious upskilling programme.

They covered three topics in training: using data to understand the client, techniques for confident business development conversations and growing the client relationship. Each was offered at core, advanced and expert levels.

Widespread buy–in was secured (global Board, Heads of Office, Practice Group Heads as well as junior lawyers and administration staff).

In October 2023, online modules were launched and in Spring 2024 in person training was delivered across EMEA(Amsterdam, Dubai, Dublin, Luxembourg and Paris) and the five global practice groupheads fronted week–long training initiatives.

Success measures:

• 1,650 attendees 120 sessions
• 1,200 users of CoPilot, PowerBI and Mural tools
• An improved pipeline of future business and
• Ongoing assessment of client views in the annual survey

Runner-up: RPC

This strategic project was driven by a desire for a differentiated “one firm” brand proposition and an international go–to–market strategy extending beyond the firm’s traditional insurance sector.

It started with a Board presentation in summer 2022, resulting in a tender a year later and launched as the new website was unveiled in June 2024.

Education and internal communication featured strongly–with partner champions, an advisory group, workshops at the 140–partner conference and a partner roadshow as well as engaging the entire firm during discovery phase.

The strategy shifted from 12 sectors and 13 services to focus on four and eight respectively. The project stretched from visual identity and SEO to ROI.

While it is too early for detailed results there have been significant increases in web traffic to target sector and service pages boosted by improved rankings.

Excellence in skills development

Winner: William Fry LLP

William Fry’s STRIVE coaching programme is redefining early career development in the legal sector. Recognising the challenges of the post–pandemic workplace, this pioneering initiative provides personalised one–to–one coaching to trainee lawyers, fostering self–awareness, confidence, and professional growth. By embedding coaching as a core pillar of learning, William Fry has set a new precedent in the industry. With strong leadership support and proven impact—demonstrated by record retention rates—STRIVE not only enhances individual performance but also strengthens the firm’s long–term success. A truly innovative and transformative approach to skills development in the legal profession.

Runner-up: Mercia Group

Recognising a critical gap in the market, Mercia Group’s Early Careers Auditing Skills Programme has transformed audit training with a cutting–edgedigital learning approach. Offering over 50 interactive modules aligned with International Standards on Auditing, the programme enables trainees to develop essential skills at their own pace, improving audit efficiency and quality. With over 8,000 module completions and a 95% renewal rate, it has set a new benchmark for audit training, enhancing retention and professional development across the industry. Mercia’s innovation is shaping the future of audit professionals worldwide.

Excellence in Research

Winner: Arup

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry, created to examine the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, has shed light on numerous issues in the construction sector that were not unique to the UK. The expert’s evidence, including by Dr. Barbara Lane and her Arup team, form an immensely valuable source of learning – but is very difficult to navigate on the publicly available Grenfell Tower Inquiry homepage. This initiative was undertaken to enable others to appreciate and learn from the findings to enable skills development for the delivery of resilient and sustainable design. The judges comment that ARUP has contributed enormously to providing robust evidence to support the digital, sustainable, and twin transition of places in the UK and beyond. Their research strategy has also been at the forefront of creativity, innovation, and sustainability. They have co-partnered in many projects with institutions from different backgrounds, including government, consultancy, engineering, financial institutions, and higher education.