The shortlist for the 2026 Women and Diversity in Law Awards is unveiled today, featuring 170 individuals dedicated to ensuring the UK legal profession more closely reflects the society in which it operates.
The awards, which are hosted by The Global Legal Post, honour outstanding women leaders and practitioners as well as legal teams and businesses. They will take place on 28 April at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square in London.
Categories include Woman of the Year, Law Firm Leader of the Year, Mentor of the Year and Unsung Hero – among the individual categories – as well as an array of team awards.
The shortlist has been chosen from nearly 350 entries spread across 31 categories and features 80 law firms and chambers ranging from global giants to boutique practices and 50 businesses, public bodies and not-for-profit groups.
Among those joining the judging panel this year are Lubna Shuja, who in 2022 became the first Muslim and only the seventh woman appointed as president of the Law Society of England and Wales since it was established in 1825, and Sullivan & Cromwell partner Mike Francies, a renowned M&A specialist and chair of the board of trustees of Power2, a charity which mentors young people who have poor wellbeing, are from low-income households and are disengaged from school.
Also new to the panel are Sara Carnegie, legal director at the International Bar Association and a trustee of homeless charity Under One Sky, and Patrick McCann, chief executive of the City of London Law Society and the co-CEO of City Century, a solicitor apprentice initiative with around 50 member law firms.
Nearly 400 legal professionals attended last year’s awards in March, which were hosted by Maryam Moshiri, chief presenter of the BBC news programme The World Today.
The evening culminated with the showcase Woman of the Year category, which saw the judging panel take the unusual step of announcing two winners: Charlotte Proudman, who opened her own family law firm last year, and Monica Feria-Tinta of Twenty Essex.
Other notable winners included Farrer & Co, which secured Law Firm of the Year, Virgin Media O2, which was named In-house Legal Department of the Year and GROW Mentoring, which won the hotly contested Not-for-Profit Organisation or Representative Body of the Year category.
Click here to read the shortlist and here to book a table. For all enquiries, email: [email protected].
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
