Freehills' director of people & development, Gareth Bennett, took out the LexisNexis Talent Manager of the Year Award at the 2011 Lawyers Weekly Awards, sponsored by Bentley Motors, held at the Sydney Opera House on Thursday.

Bennett, who has been at Freehills since 2007, snatched the title from Clayton Utz's Vicki Thompson, who came in with a highly commended.

Under Bennett's direction, Freehills' talent management strategy has resulted in a strong business performance and the judges were impressed that Bennett's strategies were directly linked to outcomes from a business performance perspective.

"Gareth shows great success by demonstrating the business outcomes resulting from the team's talent programs," said one of the judges.

Freehills' revenue has continued to increase steadily over recent years despite operating in a fiercely competitive market, and the firm has been able to maintain high retention levels. In the 12 months prior to February this year, Freehills retained 85 per cent of those people identified as being their most highly talented.

Bennett has also successfully implemented specific strategies aimed at attracting and retaining talent, including targeted recruitment, an emerging leaders program, the resilience@law program and flexible work arrangements.

Read more about the achievements of the 2011 talent management finalists

>> Meet the 2011 Lawyers Weekly Awards Finalists: Talent Manager of the Year

Read the full details of each of the winners & finalists for each award:

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