Legal Heroes

Who can submit nominations for Legal Heroes?

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.

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
• those who have carried out pro bono work

Eligibility is not impacted by whether an individual's work has already received publicity.

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

All nominees must be solicitors based in England or Wales.

Search the official database, Find a Solicitor

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.
• council members cannot nominate themselves nor nominate each other. 
• non-council members can, however, nominate a Council member.