• Reached completion during calendar year 2020
• Judged on its Australian aspects according to four criteria - size, complexity, breadth and innovation

Please note, the winner of this category will automatically progress to become a finalist in Australian Deal of the Year

• Reached completion during calendar year 2020
• Judged on its Australian aspects according to four criteria - size, complexity, breadth and innovation

Please note, the winner of this category will automatically progress to become a finalist in Australian Deal of the Year

• Reached completion during calendar year 2020
• Judged on its Australian aspects according to four criteria - size, complexity, breadth and innovation

Please note, the winner of this category will automatically progress to become a finalist in Australian Deal of the Year

• Reached completion during calendar year 2020
• Judged on its Australian aspects according to four criteria - size, complexity, breadth and innovation

Please note, the winner of this category will automatically progress to become a finalist in Australian Deal of the Year

• Value AUD50-500m. Reached completion during calendar year 2020.
• Judged on its Australian aspects according to four criteria - size, complexity, breadth and innovation

• Reached completion during calendar year 2020
• Judged on its Australian aspects according to four criteria - size, complexity, breadth and innovation

Please note, the winner of this category will automatically progress to become a finalist in Australian Deal of the Year

This category recognises the most significant deal involving an Australian party or Australian subject matter.

Please note this category is not open for nominations. Winners of the following 4 deal awards will become finalists in this category:

• Debt Market Deal of the Year
• Equity Market Deal of the Year
• Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year
• M&A Deal of the Year

The finalists will be revealed at the same time as the winner announcement

• Open to any Australia-based in-house legal team in a banking or financial services company or organisation
• Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of work during calendar year 2020

Please note, the winner of this category will automatically progress to become a finalist in Australian In-house Team of the Year

• Open to any Australia-based in-house legal team in an insurance company or organisation
• Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of work during calendar year 2020

Please note, the winner of this category will automatically progress to become a finalist in Australian In-house Team of the Year

• Open to qualified lawyers not exceeding 30 years of age as at 1 January 2020, permanently employed within the in-house legal function of a company or organisation in Australia
• Judged on the quality, quantity, importance and innovativeness of their work during calendar year 2020

• Open to qualified lawyers permanently employed within the in-house legal function of a company or organisation in Australia
• Judged on the quality, quantity, importance and innovativeness of their work during calendar year 2020

• Open to any in-house legal team in a company or organisation operating in Australia
• Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of their internal and transactional work during calendar year 2020

In-house teams that do not qualify for the market-specific in-house categories (Banking & Financial Services and Insurance) should be nominated in this category. Winners of the market-specific in-house awards will also become finalists in this category. The full list of finalists will be revealed at the awards ceremony.

• Open to any in-house legal team in a company or organisation operating in New Zealand
• Judged on responsiveness, efficiency and excellence of internal legal work during calendar year 2020

• Open to Resolution Institute-graded arbitrators or qualified members of CiArb
• Judged on his/her achievements and performance during calendar year 2020

Please note any given person should be nominated either for Arbitrator of the Year or Mediator of the Year, not both

• Open to NMAS-accredited mediators
• Judged on his/her achievements and performance during calendar year 2020

Please note any given person should be nominated either for Mediator of the Year or Arbitrator of the Year, not both

• Open to service providers within the legal sector operating in Australia
• Judged on overall customer service proposition; industry’s need for the service; how the service has added value and its overall commitment to customers; demonstrated commitment to innovation and continuous improvement

Please note considerable weight will be placed on nominations that come directly from firms and in-house legal teams

• Open to law firms based in New Zealand
• Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of overall firm involvement in major deals during calendar year 2020

• Is permanently employed within a law firm in Australia
• Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of their deal involvement during calendar year 2020

• Is permanently employed within a law firm in New Zealand
• Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of their deal involvement during calendar year 2020

• Open to all law firms in Australia and New Zealand
• Judged on the quantity, quality, impact and innovativeness of a firm’s sustainability, community, diversity and inclusion, and corporate social responsibility initiatives during calendar year 2020

• Open to all law firms in Australia and New Zealand
• Judged on the quantity, quality, impact and innovativeness of a firm's employee health and wellbeing initiatives during calendar year 2020

• Open to firms operating in Australia that can demonstrate innovative use of technology in legal service delivery
• Judged on the scope of innovation; impact on the firm’s legal and business processes; success of the change management and implementation process; and evidence the technology has supported business objectives

Please note legal technology providers are not eligible to nominate their own products

• Open to any law firm in Australia that derives at least 50% of its revenue from employment law matters
• Judged on excellence in client service and specialist expertise during calendar year 2020

• Open to any law firm in Australia that derives at least 50% of its revenue from insurance law matters
• Judged on excellence in client service and specialist expertise during calendar year 2020

• Open to any law firm in Australia that derives at least 50% of its revenue from one practice area
• Judged on excellence in client service and specialist expertise during calendar year 2020

Excludes firms that qualify for either of the 'Specialist Firm' categories (Employment Law and Insurance)

• Open to qualified lawyers not exceeding 30 years of age as at 1 January 2020, permanently employed within a law firm in Australia
• Judged on the quantity, quality, importance and innovativeness of their work during calendar year 2020

• Managing partner, CEO or similar of a law firm in Australia with up to 200 employees (or full-time equivalents)
• Judged on his/her achievements and performance during calendar year 2020

• Managing partner, CEO or similar of a law firm in Australia with more than 200 employees (or full-time equivalents)
• Judged on his/her achievements and performance during calendar year 2020

• Open to non-national law firms that are headquartered in and derive the majority of their revenue from a single state or from regional areas (outside of major capital cities)
• Judged on excellence in client service and demonstrated expertise across a range of practice areas

• Open to any law firm in Australia with up to 100 lawyers
• Judged on excellence in client service and demonstrated expertise across a range of practice areas

• Open to any law firm in Australia with over 101 lawyers
• Judged on excellence in client service and demonstrated expertise across a range of practice areas

• Open to any law firm in Australia with over 500 lawyers
• Judged on excellence in client service and demonstrated expertise across a broad range of practice areas and experience acting on the largest, most complex and urgent transactions and disputes

• Open to all AU and NZ-based law firms and law departments
• Judged on the concrete steps the law firm or law department took during 2020 to promote diversity & inclusion in the legal profession