LawCareers.Net Training & Recruitment Awards 2017: winners revealed

Merchant Taylor’s Hall in the City of London crackled with excitement on 18 May as representatives from over 60 top law firms convened to find out who would be the winners of the prestigious LawCareers.Net (LCN) Training & Recruitment Awards 2017. Now in their 14^th year, the awards set out to identify and laud those firms that give their trainees a flying start in the legal profession, by playing it straight during the recruitment process, and supporting and nurturing their burgeoning careers.

Matthew Broadbent, business development director of LCN, said: “The LCN awards are a real proving ground. With over 2,000 trainees and NQs surveyed, the awards paint a truly accurate picture of which firms do a great job in recruitment and training. All the nominees should be congratulated as the competition across every category is fierce.”

The winners are:

Hogan Lovells Best recruiter – Large City firm	Taylor Wessing Best trainer – Large City firm
Osborne Clarke LLP Best recruiter – National/large regional firm	Burges Salmon LLP Best trainer – National/large regional firm
Vinson & Elkins RLLP Best recruiter – US firm in the City	Morrison & Foerster (UK) LLP Best trainer – US firm in the City
Bircham Dyson Bell LLP Best recruiter – Medium City firm	Kingsley Napley LLP Best trainer – Medium City firm
Hugh James Best recruiter – Medium regional firm	Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP Best trainer – Medium regional firm
Thackray Williams LLP Best recruiter – Small firm	Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors LLP Best trainer – Small firm
Farrer & Co LLP Best work placement scheme – City firm	DWF LLP Best work placement scheme – Regional firm
Ceri Vokes – Withers LLP Best training principal – Large trainee intake	Stuart Penswick – Forbes Solicitors Best training principal – Small trainee intake
Baker McKenzie Commendation for Diversity	Mary Lee – University of Sussex Law Lecturer of the Year

The Commendation for Diversity, which was judged by a panel that included Carly Gilberg, director at Rare Recruitment, and Chris White, founder of Aspiring Solicitors, was awarded to Baker McKenzie. The judges commented: “Baker McKenzie has demonstrated a strong and consistent commitment to increasing diversity and to building an inclusive culture. Backed up by a robust monitoring system and defined outcomes, the firm has shown that it is dedicated to recruiting a workforce and to running networks, training, events and campaigns that encourage every individual at the firm to get involved and to promote change in this area.”

The full list of nominees is as follows:

Best Recruiter - Large City Firm

Bird & Bird

Clyde & Co LLP

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

Hogan Lovells

Reed Smith

Simmons & Simmons LLP

Slaughter and May

 

Best Trainer – Large City Firm

Ashurst LLP

Baker McKenzie

Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

CMS

Macfarlanes LLP

Reed Smith

Taylor Wessing

 

Best Recruiter – Medium City Firm

Bircham Dyson Bell LLP

Bristows LLP

Forsters LLP

Mayer Brown International LLP

RPC

Travers Smith LLP

Wedlake Bell LLP

 

Best Trainer – Medium City Firm

Farrer & Co LLP

Fladgate LLP

Goodman Derrick LLP

Hodge Jones & Allen LLP

Kingsley Napley LLP

Marriott Harrison LLP

Russell-Cooke Solicitors

 

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Shearman & Sterling (London) LLP

Covington & Burling LLP

Vinson & Elkins RLLP

Weil, Gotshal & Manges

 

Best Trainer – US Firm in the City

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Latham & Watkins

Morrison & Foerster (UK) LLP

K&L Gates LLP

White & Case LLP

 

Best Recruiter – National/Large Regional Firm

Bond Dickinson

DLA Piper UK LLP

DWF LLP

Freeths LLP

Irwin Mitchell

Osborne Clarke LLP

TLT LLP

 

Best Trainer – National/ Large Regional Firm

Browne Jacobson LLP

Burges Salmon LLP

Gowling WLG (UK) LLP

Hill Dickinson LLP

Mills & Reeve LLP

Shoosmiths

Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP

 

Best Recruiter – Medium Regional Firm

Birkett Long LLP

Higgs & Sons

Hugh James

Michelmores

Roythornes Solicitors

Tees Law

Wilkin Chapman LLP

 

Best Trainer – Medium Regional Firm

Anthony Collins Solicitors

Blaser Mills LLP

Foot Anstey LLP

Forbes Solicitors

Nockolds

Paris Smith LLP

Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP

 

Best Recruiter – Small Firm

Atherton Godfrey

Curzon Green Solicitors

Maples Teesdale LLP

Thackray Williams LLP

Wilson Solicitors LLP

 

Best Trainer - Small Firm

Actons

Hanne & Co

Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors LLP

Pothecary Witham Weld

Wrigleys Solicitors LLP

 

Best Work Placement Scheme – City Firm

Baker McKenzie

Bird & Bird

Bristows LLP

Farrer & Co LLP

Fieldfisher

Shearman & Sterling (London) LLP

Withers LLP

 

Best Work Placement Scheme – Regional Firm

Bevan Brittan LLP

BLM

Burges Salmon LLP

DWF LLP

Osborne Clarke LLP

TLT LLP

Veale Wasbrough Vizards LLP

 

Best Training Principal (large trainee intake)

Jonathan Angell - Dechert LLP

Anthony Turner - Farrer & Co LLP

Sean Lavin - Macfarlanes LLP

Simon Hart - RPC

Giles Chesher - Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP

Ceri Vokes - Withers LLP

 

Best Training Principal (small trainee intake)

Stephen Kay - EMW Law LLP      

Stuart Penswick - Forbes Solicitors

Gwen Evans - Hugh James

Sarah Passemard - Paris Smith LLP

Letitia Glaister - Tees Law

Mark Beeley - Vinson & Elkins RLLP

 

Best Law Lecturer

Adam Baker - University of Leeds

Mihael Jeklic - King's College London

Benjamin Jones - University of South Wales

Mary Lee - University of Sussex

Rachael Mulheron - Queen Mary, University of London

Ruth Rutter - University of Surrey

Andreas Yiannaros - University of Bedfordshire