Legal Heroes
Legal Heroes celebrates the solicitors who have made the biggest difference to the lives of others, their local communities and society over the last two years.
What makes a Legal Hero?
Legal Heroes are solicitors who, through a particular piece of work, have:
- made a demonstrative, lasting and tangible difference to the life or lives of others, their local community or society
- brought distinction to the legal profession
Why are Legal Heroes important?
Solicitors contribute to communities and in the public interest, regularly going above and beyond.
Many important awards already recognise professional excellence in legal services.
Legal Heroes recognises solicitors who have shown personal commitment and leadership to make a significant difference to other people's lives.
Mark Evans, president of the Law Society of England and Wales
Nominate a Legal Hero
Do you know a solicitor who has driven positive change in the public interest and made a difference to an individual, group or whole community? They could be recognised as one of our Legal Heroes.
Nominate using our form by Monday 13 April.
Anyone can nominate a solicitor in England and Wales as a Legal Hero: you don’t have to be a solicitor yourself.
About Legal Heroes
How do I know if someone’s a Legal Hero?
We encourage you to ask yourself whether you know a solicitor who has:
- been the driving force behind making a difference in the public interest and made a difference to an individual, a group or a whole community?
- demonstrated a clear personal commitment to an issue or interest and driven positive change because of this?
For example, perhaps they have made a real difference to their place of work to help colleagues in difficult circumstances, or championed a change that benefits colleagues or people in their community? - made such an impact that their peers would view them as a credit to the profession if they were named a Legal Hero?
If the answers to these questions are ‘yes’, consider nominating the person as a Legal Hero.
What’s the criteria for being a Legal Hero?
Being named as a Legal Hero is a rare honour reserved for the most impactful and inspiring solicitors – only a small number will be recognised each year.
Legal Heroes are solicitors who, through a particular piece of work within the last two years, have:
- made a demonstrative, lasting and tangible difference to the life or lives of others, their local community or society as a whole
- brought distinction to the legal profession
Some examples could be someone who:
- identified a need in their wider community and took the initiative to create solutions or support – for example, setting up a legal advice centre, a shelter or a campaign group in support of a local cause
- established colleague networks on diversity, inclusion or mental health and was recognised within their place of work as inspiring change and delivering positive support
- took forward and developed a new area of law or legal rights to support and protect a vulnerable community, undertaking work to right a miscarriage of justice
- raised significant money for important legal-related causes
- has a track record of volunteering and making a difference within their community
Within this work, the individual must have demonstrated the values at the heart of the profession of:
- helping others in need
- putting the interest of others first
- outstanding leadership
- strong and consistent teamwork
Nominations are equally welcomed for those who have carried out:
- work as part of their paid employment or practice, for example, by acting in an important leading case
- pro bono work
Eligibility is not impacted by whether an individual’s work has already received publicity.
All nominees must be solicitors based in England or Wales.
We’re inviting you to nominate a solicitor who has made a tangible difference to the lives of others, and is worthy of being named a Law Society Legal Hero.
Submitting a nomination is not restricted to solicitors; anyone can nominate a solicitor in England and Wales as a Legal Hero.
This year’s Legal Heroes will:
- be among just a handful of solicitors to be named as a Law Society Legal Hero
- have opportunities to raise their profile among the 200,000 solicitors in England and Wales through Law Society communications and platforms
- have support with local and national media approaches
- be invited to an exclusive celebration event with the Law Society president and other key figures
Use the online form to make a nomination.
All nominations must be submitted by midnight on Monday 13 April 2026.
The review panel will be looking for evidence of:
- the nominee’s personal role as the driving force in leading or supporting an initiative, event or change
- the recognisable and demonstrable positive impact on an individual, group or community due to the nominee's personal commitment
- the positive difference being beyond that expected within the usual ‘day job’ of delivering excellence as a professional solicitor
- the time and personal commitment the nominee has given to make a difference
Your nomination will be ineligible if you meet any of the criteria below:
- self-nominations are not counted as nominations. Each nominee must be nominated by others
- Law Society Council members cannot nominate themselves nor nominate each other
However, non-Council members can nominate a Council member.
Our 2026 Legal Heroes will be announced on Thursday 24 September.
If you have any questions about Legal Heroes, email legalhero@lawsociety.org.uk.