The Yorkshire Lawyer Awards, held last night at New Dock Hall in Leeds on 2 October, saw Sarah Day pick up the double accolade of Managing Partner and Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year.
The managing partner of DLA Piper’s Leeds office was presented with both awards in front of an audience of over 420.
Sarah Day was described by the judges as an exceptional lawyer and an ambassador for Yorkshire which she has consistently promoted as a legal and business hub, internationally as well as nationally.
Among other winners, the guests also saw Trevor Lewis, the former joint Senior Partner of Hammond Suddards, collect a joint Presidents’ Award on behalf of both himself and his former colleague, Alan Bottomley, who sadly passed away recently.
Together, Lewis and Bottomley transformed a Bradford-based local practice, A. V. Hammond & Co, into a national commercial player which took on the might of the City of London’s legal giants in the 1980s and 1990s, helping put Yorkshire’s legal community firmly on the international map.
The Yorkshire Lawyer Awards have been going since 2000 and continue to go from strength to strength, with this year’s attendance a record-breaking one for the event.
Gaynor Barnes, the presenter of ITV Yorkshire’s Calender News programme, hosted the awards once again, which were headline sponsored by AmTrust Law. The ceremony also saw guests raise £3,241 for Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Les Charneca, the chairman of Barker Brooks Communications, the company that has run the awards since their inception, said the quality of all shortlisted entries showed that Yorkshire’s legal community was in rude health.
“The awards have been bigger and better than ever before this year,” he said. “And the world-class legal services that we have in Yorkshire have once again been on display for all to see. The county continues to win business and attract top lawyers as it builds on its well-deserved strong international reputation.”
The full list of winners is as follows:
Law Firm Award (1-10 Partners) – Ridley & Hall Solicitors
Law Firm Award (11-30 Partners) – Blacks Solicitors
Law Firm Award (31+ Partners) – DWF
Property Award – DLA Piper
Dispute Resolution Award – UK Asset Resolution Limited
Rising Star Award – Satpal Roth, founder of Kher Solicitors
Private Client Award – Lesley Archer from Cooper Wilkin Chapman
Niche Law Firm Award – Makin Dixon Solicitors
Corporate and Commercial Award – Eversheds
Enterprise Award – Chris Fry, Unity Law
Corporate Recovery Award – Squire Sanders Corporate Recovery Team
Chambers of the Year – KBW Chambers
Trainee Solicitor Award – Lucy Angus from Unity Law
Barrister of the Year – Alistair MacDonald, New Park Court Chambers.
Managing Partner of the Year – Sarah Day, DLA Piper.
Presidents’ Award – Alan Bottomley, Trevor Lewis, former joint Senior Partners of Hammond Suddards
Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year – Sarah Day, DLA Piper.
For more information please contact Marek Handzel, editor of Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer, on 0844 858 2890 or at marek.handzel@barkerbrooks.co.uk
