Scotland’s legal excellence celebrated at the 23rd Scottish Legal Awards

The annual awards brought together solicitors, advocates, in-house legal teams and professionals from across the sector for an evening recognising excellence, innovation, leadership and achievement.

Among the major winners of the night were Ergo Law – named Firm of the Year (up to 250 employees) and Jones Whyte, which took home the title of Firm of the Year (over 250 employees), sponsored by Scottish Legal News. 

The two awards recognise outstanding performance among Scotland’s legal firms, with judges considering achievements across areas including business performance, client service, people, innovation and contribution to the wider profession.

The evening also celebrated excellence across a broad range of individual and team categories, recognising the depth of talent working throughout Scotland’s legal sector.
Among the winners on the night, Hamiltons Law Accountants received the award for Excellence in Support Services, while Jamieson Law took home Excellence in Client Care, sponsored by Groundsure. The two In-House Legal Team of the Year awards recognised excellence across both the public and private sectors, with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service winning the public sector title and Skyscanner named the private sector winner.

Lorna Jack, chair of the Scottish Legal Awards judging panel, said: “Once again, the standard of entries has been exceptional and reflects the talent, commitment and innovation across Scotland’s legal profession. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and finalists – their achievements are thoroughly deserving of recognition.”

The evening also marked an exciting development for Scotland’s legal technology sector with the official launch of LEAP incorporating Denovo at the Scottish Legal Awards. 

Guests were among the first to see the new identity unveiled during the event, marking the coming together of Denovo and LEAP and the beginning of a new chapter for the legal technology business. 

Denovo has been a long-standing supporter of the Scottish Legal Awards and returned as headline sponsor for 2026. The launch provided a fitting opportunity to introduce LEAP Scotland to hundreds of representatives from across Scotland’s legal community.

Alongside the competitive categories, the 2026 awards also recognised individuals who have made significant contributions to Scotland’s legal profession.

This year’s special award recipients included Lesley Larg, managing partner at Thorntons, who received the Business Leadership Award; Andy Sirel of JustRight Scotland, named Law Champion of the Year; Aidan O’Neill KC, named Lawyer of the Year; and Malcolm Mackay, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The awards also supported the Lawscot Foundation, which works to support academically talented students from less advantaged backgrounds through their legal education and towards a career in the profession.

Full List of Winners:

Firm of the Year (over 250 employees), sponsored by Scottish Legal News

Winner

• Jones Whyte

Finalists

• Gilson Gray
• Thorntons Law

Firm of the Year (up to 250 employees)

Winner

Ergo Law 

Finalists

• Livingstone Brown
• Matheson Lawson
• MJC LAW
• RD Legal Solicitors
• Rollos Law LLP
• Weightmans (Scotland) LLP

Business Leadership Award, sponsored by Daily Business

Winner

• Lesley Larg, Thorntons Law LLP    

Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by The Times

Winner

• Malcolm Mackay  

Excellence in Community Care & Social Responsibility, sponsored by Frasia Wright Associates  

Winner

• MJC LAW

Highly Commended

Gillespie Macandrew LLP

Finalists

• Clarity Simplicity
• Jackson Boyd Solicitors
• Jones Whyte
• Raeburn Christie Clark & Wallace
• Shared Parenting Scotland

Excellence in Client Care, sponsored by Groundsure

Winner

• Jamieson Law

Finalists

• Clarity Simplicity
• Ergo Law
• RD Legal Solicitors

Excellence in Support Services

Winner

• Hamiltons Law Accountants

Highly Commended

• Millar & Bryce

Finalists

• Brown Owl Legal Support
• Cashroom
• Denovo
• Estatesearch
• Exizent
• ReceptIO

Excellence in Support & Wellbeing, sponsored by Law Society Scotland

Winner

• Aegon UK

Finalists

• Clarity Simplicity

Excellence in Equity & Inclusion

Winner

• Thorntons Law

Finalists

• Aegon UK
• Hey Legal
• Weightmans (Scotland) LLP

Litigation Team of the Year, sponsored by Hamiltons Law Accountants

Winner

• Livingstone Brown

Finalists

• Halliday Campbell WS

Residential Property Team of the Year, sponsored by Property Searches Scotland

Winner

• Matheson Lawson

Finalists

• Delaney Graham Solicitors
• RD Legal Solicitors

Marketing & Business Development Team of the Year, sponsored by Forbes Tailoring

Winner

• Jones Whyte

Finalists

• TC Young

Family Law or Private Client Team of the Year

Winners

• Family Law: Family Law Matters Scotland LLP
• Private Client: Anderson Strathern

Finalists

• Jones Whyte
• Stronachs
• Weightmans (Scotland) LLP

Criminal Defence Team of the Year, sponsored by Leap

Winner

• Adams Whyte

Finalists

• Adams Whyte
• McGovern Reid Court Lawyers

In-House Legal Team of the Year

Winners

• Public: Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
• Private: Skyscanner  

Finalists

• Aberdeen City Council
• Aegon UK
• The City of Edinburgh Council
• Dana Petroleum
• MDDUS
• Thermo Fisher Scientific

Paralegal of the Year

Winner

• Abbie Weir, Jones Whyte

Highly Commended

• Sarah Dooey, Jones Whyte

Finalists

• Louise Johnston, Anderson Strathern
• Ibel Ellershaw, BayWa r.e. UK
• Laura Brown, Brown Owl Legal Support
• Laura Rankin, Jackson Boyd Solicitors
• Karen Deans, Matheson Lawson

Rising Star of the Year, Frasia Wright Associates  

Winner

• Meg Jeynes, Gilson Gray

Highly Commended

• Frances Taylor, McGovern Reid

Finalists

• Flora Smith, Ergo Law
• Sam Conington, Gillespie Macandrew LLP
• Corie Wilson, Jamieson Law
• Louise McGhee, Jones Whyte
• Abigail Meek, Matheson Lawson
• Rebecca Coltart, Thorntons Law

Law Champion of the Year 

Winner

• Andy Sirel, JustRight Scotland

Lawyer of the Year, sponsored by Law Society of Scotland

Winner

• Aidan O’Neill KC, Matrix Chambers