Frequently asked questions

The Corporate Counsel Awards include individual and team categories recognising excellence across Australia’s in-house legal profession.

The awards are open to eligible in-house legal professionals and teams across a range of organisations, industries and sectors.

Eligibility requirements and qualifying periods vary by category, so review the criteria for your chosen category before entering.

No. You can enter directly without a nomination.

A nomination encourages an eligible individual or team to submit an entry; it does not affect judging scores, and judges are not advised whether an entrant was nominated.

Complete the nomination form on the event website and provide the requested details so the awards team can contact the nominee.

Where the nomination form allows, you can choose whether your name is shared with the nominee. A nomination alone does not constitute an entry; the nominee must still complete and lodge a submission.

The nominee will receive an email advising them of the nomination, the relevant category or categories and how to complete their submission.

A nomination is an invitation to enter and does not automatically place the nominee into the judging process.

You can nominate more than one eligible in-house legal professional or team and, where relevant, nominate an entrant across multiple categories.

Receiving multiple nominations does not improve an entrant’s chances of becoming a finalist. Finalist selection is based on the quality of the completed submission against the relevant category criteria.

Create an account through the awards platform, select your category or categories and review the questions and supporting information required.

Before you begin writing, check the eligibility requirements and qualifying period, and consider which examples and evidence best demonstrate your achievements and impact during that period.

If you are unsure about eligibility, contact the awards team before preparing your submission.

No. Entry is free, and you may enter as many categories as you are eligible for.

Tickets to attend the Corporate Counsel Awards are purchased separately.

Yes, provided you have their permission and are authorised to provide the information included in the submission.

Make sure the entry accurately reflects the individual or team’s achievements and addresses the relevant category criteria.

Yes. You must meet the eligibility requirements for each category and complete a submission that addresses its specific criteria.

Rather than repeating the same entry across several categories, tailor each submission to demonstrate why the achievements, outcomes and evidence provided are relevant to that particular award.

You can log in to amend your submission or add attachments until submissions close.

If you encounter a problem or require assistance after the deadline, contact the awards team to discuss whether changes are possible.

Answer each question directly and use specific examples to demonstrate your achievements during the qualifying period.

Explain what you or your team did, why it mattered and what changed as a result. Wherever possible, support your submission with clear evidence of impact, such as improvements to legal operations, risk management, governance, commercial outcomes, stakeholder relationships, innovation, efficiency or other measurable results relevant to your category.

Strong submissions are clear, specific and evidence-based. Avoid relying on broad statements about success; give judges the context and detail they need to understand the significance of the work and its impact on the organisation.

Once submissions close, entries undergo an eligibility and compliance review before being assessed against the relevant category criteria.

Eligible submissions are reviewed as part of the finalist shortlisting process, with finalists selected based on the strength of their submission against the published criteria.

The number of finalists may vary between categories.

Finalist submissions are assessed by a panel of respected legal professionals, senior business leaders and other relevant industry experts.

Judges independently score each submission against the published criteria for the category. Scores are then combined to produce a blended assessment, with the highest-scoring submission in each category deemed the winner.

Judges are required to declare any conflicts of interest before scoring begins and are excluded from assessing any category or submission where a conflict exists.

Commercial relationships—including partnerships, advertising or editorial relationships—have no bearing on judging, scoring or award outcomes.

Finalists will be contacted directly by the awards team before being announced publicly via Lawyers Weekly and the Corporate Counsel Awards website.

Refer to the key dates section of the website for the finalist announcement date and other important deadlines.

Finalists will receive confirmation from the awards team along with information about the next steps, the awards event and available finalist collateral.

Finalist collateral can be used to share the achievement across professional networks, websites, social media and other relevant channels.

Finalists are strongly encouraged to attend the Corporate Counsel Awards, where winners will be announced and presented with their awards.

Tickets to the event are purchased separately from the submission process.

Full eligibility requirements, submission questions and judging criteria for each award are available on the Corporate Counsel Awards categories page.

Review the criteria carefully before beginning your submission to ensure you are entering the most appropriate category and addressing everything the judges will assess.

If you have questions about eligibility, nominations, submissions, judging or attending the Corporate Counsel Awards, contact the awards team via the contact page.