There will be a maximum of one team award and one individual award in the following categories.

Competition

Individuals and teams nominated in this category should have responsibility for, and regularly undertake, in-house competition (antitrust) work. This includes, but is not limited to, the competition aspects of mergers and acquisitions, takeovers and joint ventures, as well as assignments concerning cartels, monopolies, abuse of market power and unfair trade practices.

Corporate Tax

Individuals and teams nominated in this category should have responsibility for, and regularly undertake, in-house corporate tax work. This covers all tax assignments relevant to businesses or their members, including  income tax, capital gains tax, value added tax, financial institutions duties etc.

Employment

Individuals and teams nominated in this category should have responsibility for, and regularly undertake, in-house employment and labour work. This covers a wide range of issues, including enterprise bargaining and trade union activity, industrial disputes, recruitment and termination, employee benefits, pensions, service agreements, unfair work arrangements, occupational health and safety, human rights and equal opportunities.

General Commercial

This unique category recognises individuals and teams with a broad range of responsibilities and those providing in-house advice across the spectrum. The team category features the full range of multi-disciplinary functions, from large international groups to small, leaner teams.

Eligible candidates for this category include, but are not limited to, those covering multiple areas (see other category descriptions), as well as those engaged in legal activities pertaining to general commercial endeavours such as corporate governance, general establishment of companies, branches and local offices, and the drafting of agreements such as distribution, promotion, management and licensing agreements.

Intellectual Property

Individuals and teams nominated in this category should have responsibility for, and regularly undertake, in-house IP work. This includes  the protection of IP rights which can be registered (eg,  patents, trademarks, service marks, designs and plant varieties) and the establishment of unregistered rights (eg, copyright, rights in circuit layouts, confidential information, trade secrets); and commercial aspects such as agreements to exploit IP rights (licence, manufacture, supply, maintenance, distribution, sponsorship, research and development and technology transfer).

Litigation

Individuals and teams nominated in this category should have responsibility for, and regularly undertake, in-house litigation work.

M&A

Individuals and teams nominated in this category should have responsibility for, and regularly undertake, in-house M&A work. This includes, but is not limited to, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, management buy-outs, takeovers, tender offers, privatisations and  reorganisation (eg, spin-offs).

Please note that the awards committee is not primarily concerned with the size and profile of relevant transactions, but is instead focused on relative achievements and results (taking into account efficiency, communication and commercial awareness).

Regulatory (Financial Services)

Individuals and teams nominated in this category will work within the financial services industry and should have responsibility for, and regularly undertake, in-house regulatory work. This includes, but is not limited to, regulatory compliance, government relations and policy, and conducting or assisting with investigations.

Regulatory (Non-financial Services)

Individuals and teams nominated in this category will work for an organisation operating in any highly regulated market, including, but not limited to, telecommunications, energy and pharmaceuticals, but excluding financial services; and should have responsibility for, and regularly undertake, in-house regulatory work. This includes, but is not limited to, regulatory compliance, government relations and policy, and conducting or assisting with investigations.

General Counsel of the Year

Individuals nominated in this category should be the most senior lawyer in their organisation and manage a large multi-disciplinary in-house legal function. Those acting as general counsel for specific business units and operating under a chief legal officer should be nominated in the General Commercial: Individual category. Candidates can, however, be nominated for General Counsel of the Year and in another category.

Please note the winner of this award will be a widely respected individual who has received recognition from both his or her own staff and external counsel.

Compliance Innovator of the Year (NEW)

Individuals nominated in this category will have made an innovative contribution that has substantially influenced the reputation and results of a compliance programme, and/or improved the best practices and operating procedures of their business.

Thought Leader of the Year (NEW)

Individuals nominated in this category will have personally influenced  the way in which their industry operates with their ideas or actions. This might include, but is not limited to, effecting legislative or regulatory change through lobbying, promoting diversity or implementing socially responsible initiatives.

Lifetime Achievement (NEW)

Individuals nominated in this category will have made outstanding achievements throughout their career and shown dedication and commitment to the advancement of both their industry and internal clients.

Rising Star (NEW)

Individuals nominated in this category will have made outstanding achievements in their career in a relatively short period of time and demonstrated commitment to their internal clients.

The purpose of the awards is to identify in-house counsel, both teams and individuals, that excel in their specific roles. Our primary aim is to reward lawyers for demonstrable achievements across the full spectrum of in-house responsibility, not simply those who have acted on high-profile transactions.

Winners will have performed above and beyond the usual requirements of their professional capability. The research team will focus on criteria such as effective communication, legal understanding, commercial awareness, depth and strength of team and management skills, as well as any significant projects or transactions in which they have played an integral role.

Submissions and nominations for candidates in Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific must be received by November 22 2019.

Submissions and nominations for candidates in the United States and Canada must be received by February 21 2020.

Team/individual awards

Corporate counsel should submit entries for their own team and colleagues (or others with whom they work closely), while law firm partners should nominate their most impressive clients. Please note that submissions from corporate counsel and nominations from their outside counsel can be made for both teams and individuals in each category.

Nominating in multiple categories

Individuals and teams can be nominated in multiple categories; however, please  put forward your chosen candidates only in categories in which they are leading practitioners. More information regarding specific categories is available in the “Awards categories’” section.

All information provided will be kept strictly confidential and not disclosed to any third parties.

Awards will be presented only in categories where sufficient data is available. Although based on thorough and coherent research, the results will remain the subjective views of the Global Counsel Awards team.

We are happy to accept supporting material for entries in any format.