Excellence in Innovation 2012

Winner

Paris Smith LLP
The Paris Smith Business Club, based in Southampton, is an online resource for entrepreneurs to keep abreast of developments in legal risk. Guides produced by the firm, published on a subscription-based website, interpret judgments and legislation, and their impact on business. The Club seeks to fill business knowledge gaps, separating the tangled strands of law and presenting information in a concise, illustrated format.

Highly commended

Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance's clients are facing a complex mergers and aquisitions environment, and are looking to their advisors to provide innovative solutions. Clifford Chance has launched the Global M&A Toolkit, an online service enabling clients and other M&A professionals to access the firm's extensive M&A-related know-how. The toolkit includes interactive tools and videos, guides and handbooks, and assists clients while promoting the firm's leadership, M&A capabilities and brand.

Shortlisted

CMS Cameron McKenna LLP and Addleshaw Goddard LLP
CMS Cameron McKenna and Addleshaw Goddard LLP have together developed an e-learning training programme that aims to foster an inclusive working culture. The training focuses on ethical leadership, and will be used by each firm as well as being made available for use by other organisations. It can be adapted for accessibility, and demonstrates a commitment to developing a diverse and inclusive workplace that recognises high performers.

Family Law in Partnership LLP
Family Law in Partnership offers specialist services in family arbitration, alongside collaborative practice, mediation and traditional dispute resolution. Two of the firm's partners were among the first group of lawyers to qualify as arbitrators under the new family law arbitration scheme. The firm provides financial support to a 'kidspace', a social enterprise providing a child-centred support service for children experiencing family breakdown. The firm offers clients a divorce support package with free 'parenting after parting' workshops, a complementary kidspace workshop, counsellors and support from other specialists.

Hackney Community Law Centre
In June 2012, Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC) launched a new 'Community Law Shop' pop-up legal advice service in the London Borough of Hackney's busiest library. The Community Law Shop sessions extend to 20:00 in the evenings when lawyers from Debevoise and Plimpton LLP and Faegre Baker Daniels LLP work alongside HCLC and BPP Law School to deliver tailored consumer credit, debt and welfare benefits advice.

Porter Dodson Fertility and Parenting team
Porter Dodson has created a specialist fertility and parenting law brand, with a global client base. The team offers flexible, accessible client services, including a fertility and parenting law website with legal information, video, social media, articles and a blog aimed at educating and protecting fertility patients, clinicians and children.

Streetwise Community Law Centre
Streetwise Community Law Centre works to develop and expand legal advice services for young people in South London through open access, outreach and the Young People's Homelessness Project. The Law Centre recognises that young people do not use traditional models of legal advice and developed ways of taking advice to young people in their own environment where they feel comfortable and willing to trust advisers.