The purpose of the awards is three-fold:

• to increase public awareness of the legal profession throughout the three counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and also Milton Keynes,

• to recognise and celebrate the achievements of winning individuals and legal teams, and those shortlisted in each of the categories, and

• to give Solicitors and their staff an increased sense of pride in what they do.

Click here for a copy of the nomination form.

Click here for a copy of the entry criteria and guidance.

I have no doubt that this year’s awards will deliver on all these aims, and it has been good to see previous year’s winners publicising their successes in their literature, on their websites, through social media and in the press.

Please get involved and help to make our Legal Awards another great success. As a wise person once said….. “you have to be in it to win it”!

Please help the BB&O Law Society to support and recognise the achievements of your staff. Who knows, you could be celebrating professional recognition at our Annual Dinner and Awards ceremony on 27th September 2019 at Oxford Spires Hotel.

Click here for a copy of the booking form for the Annual Dinner.

Good luck to everyone and I look forward to seeing you all there.

Jane Whitfield

President

The Legal Skills Triathlon will be an annual competition hosted by The University of Law at Reading and the Faculty of Law at Reading University, in conjunction with BB&O Law Society and BB&O Junior Lawyers Division.

The Legal Practice Course is often criticised by trainees and Training Principals alike for not teaching sufficient negotiation, interviewing, and advocacy skills, and the opportunities for cutting one’s teeth in court are now more limited. For junior lawyers, these are essential skills for every legal discipline pretty much across the board.

The Legal Skills Triathlon offers a unique and exciting opportunity to practise and hone these key legal skills in a realistic and competitive setting.

The competition will consist of eight teams of legal professionals partnered with LPC students. Each team will have to conduct a client interview, make a court application, and participate in a negotiation meeting, based on materials provided on the day.

Entrants will be competing for the Kirtons Cup and cash prizes.

On the day, each team will be given a brief for the three tasks (interviewing, negotiation and advocacy) and then some time to prepare, before presenting their pieces in front of a panel of judges, which will be formed from members of the legal profession, academics and [members of the judiciary].

After completing each task, the judges will give the team positive and constructive feedback on their performance. Our aim is that the day will prove an invaluable opportunity for young lawyers to practise their legal skills, and receive feedback on their performance from members of the profession and local academics.

Lateral thinking, commercial awareness and skills performance will take priority over knowledge of law.

Monetary prizes will be awarded to the top three teams with the best combined overall scores, and individual awards will be given to outstanding individuals in each skill:

Best Team Overall                                  1^st –  £350

      2^nd – £250

      3^rd – £200

Outstanding Individual Advocate    £150

Outstanding Individual Interviewer  £150

Outstanding Individual Negotiator    £150

All participants will receive a Book Token to the value of £15.

There will an awards ceremony immediately after the event at the University, followed by Judges Question Time, where a panel of our local judges will answer questions.

The day will end with celebratory drinks and nibbles, to which all firms entering a team and any other interested parties will be invited.

Click here to download a copy of the application form.

In addition, in 2020 an exciting new series of prizes will be awarded for the first time, with the intention that this will continue at each subsequent AGM.

The Sue Ryder Cup

This award will be presented to the Oxford University student with the highest average mark overall following completion of the BA in Jurisprudence with the Faculty of Law.

A matched donation to the cheque presented to the winning candidate will be made to The Sue Ryder South Oxfordshire Palliative Care Hub, and the winning candidate will receive [Jane to insert details here] in addition to the Sue Ryder Cup.

The Gibson & Weldon Cup

This award will be presented to the University of Law at Reading student with the highest average mark overall following completion of the Legal Practice Course (full time or part time).

The Headington Prize

This award will be presented to the GDL student from Oxford Brookes University with the highest results in the June examination.

The Stanley Award

This award will be given for best exam performance for a Year 2 LL.B. student from the University of Reading.

The Ivy Williams Award

This award will be presented to the youngest Solicitor to be admitted to the roll in the Society’s constituency.

The Lexi Foxhill Prize

This award will be presented to a member of the BB&O Junior Lawyers Division, chosen by its Executive Committee, who is judged to have made the largest contribution on an all-round basis to the group.