Winner
Jo Cooper - Perren Buildings Chambers
Jo has been selfless in giving of his time as chair of the Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates. He has been an outspoken champion of solicitor advocacy at a challenging time for the profession, leading by example in demonstrating that quality and excellence are not the sole preserve of the Bar.
Highly Commended
Phil Shiner - Public Interest Lawyers Ltd
A product of the law centres movement, Phil epitomises a strength of spirit, ferocity of independence and conscientious commitment to the rule of law. He continues to expose human rights abuses that would never see the light of day but for the searching questions he raises and pursues with relentless tenacity.
Shortlisted
David Allen Green - Preiskel & Co LLP
David is a huge legal personality who has carved out an enviable media presence, particularly through social media and most notably his influential 'Jack of Kent' blog. In 2010 he was shortlisted for the George Orwell prize for political blogging and his contributions to the New Statesman have attracted an equally keen following.
Dean Parnell - Sydney Mitchell LLP
Dean was seen as an inspiration while president of the Birmingham Law Society, which he undertook while heading a very successful litigation department at Sydney Mitchell. He proved an exemplary ambassador for England's second-largest local law society, in particular by extending its reach to the city's barristers and chambers.
Daniel Winterfeldt - CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
Founder and co-chair of the Inter-Law Diversity Forum, Daniel has built the network into an organisation with over 800 members and supporters from 70 law firms and 45 corporate and financial institutions. Since the forum's inception, the legal sector's performance in Stonewall’s Work Equality Index has improved dramatically.
Julian Young - Julian Young & Co
Long renowned for going the 'extra mile' for his clients, Julian went 38 hours without sleep representing defendants charged after the August riots. His timely warning in the aftermath that 'justice must not be sacrificed on the altars of speed and efficiency' resonated across the media.