This year’s awards, to be presented at The Establishment in Sydney on 5 June, have attracted exceptional lawyers from the big firms to boutiques, as well as up-and-coming in-house lawyers within major corporates.

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Ashurst and Minter Ellison took the most finalists spots, with eight lawyers from each firm in the running for an award.

Norton Rose Fulbright, Herbert Smith Freehills, Maddocks, Gilbert + Tobin and DLA Piper are also strongly represented among the finalists.

Lawyers from smaller firms have also made the short list, including Curwoods Lawyers, Hardey Legal, JHK Legal, McKean Park Lawyers and the recently launched South Australian firm, NDA Law.

All entrants were required to answer five questions, including how a candidate’s nominated practice area and the legal profession as a whole could be improved for clients and lawyers.

Finalist responses ranged from improving billing practices to tackling the high rate of depression in the legal profession.

Lawyers Weekly would like to thank all the impressive young lawyers who entered.

The submissions of the selected finalists will be sent to a high-profile judging panel. Three winners will be selected in each category.

See below for a full list of finalists.

Banking & finance

Anna Bennett, King & Wood Mallesons

Jason Bernard, Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Varun Bhatia, Lander & Rogers

Lucienne Cassidy, Ashurst

Steven Catanzariti, Herbert Smith Freehills

Ashleigh Kable, Ashurst

Brian Kirkup, DibbsBarker

William Kontaxis, Salvos Legal

Corinne Rathie, Norton Rose Fulbright

Christopher Shute, Gadens

Mitchell Thorp, Baker & McKenzie

Michael Zheng, Gilbert + Tobin

Corporate Counsel

Sarah Buggy, AMP

Clara Edwards, Australia Council for the Arts

Alison Eveleigh, Nova Entertainment

Charlotte Lau, Telstra Corporation Limited

Sarah Lukies, Wesfarmers Limited

Tess Lynch, REA Group

Scott Newlan, Transport Accident Commission

Michael Simmons, Playfair Visa and Migration Services

Bianca Xerri, Suncorp Group

Courtenay Zajicek, Wendy’s

Dispute resolution

Nina Abbey, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers

Andrew Bass, Minter Ellison

Diana Biscoe, Webb Henderson

Jason Carlson, Thynne + Macartney

Patrick Hanrahan, JHK Legal

Alexandra Kirby, DibbsBarker

Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz, Levitt Robinson Solicitors

Jin Ooi, Allen & Overy

Andrew Poulton, McCullough Robertson

Holly Sara, Jones Day

Kirk Simmons, DLA Piper

Garth Towan, Lander & Rogers

Energy & resources

Suzanne Kathryn Brown, McKays Solicitors Pty Ltd

Liam Davis, McCullough Robertson Lawyers

Eugene Edward James McAuley, McCarthy Durie Lawyers

Tom Heading, Norton Rose Fulbright

Louise Lee, Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Libby McKillop, Ashurst

Emma McLeod, Gilbert + Tobin

Callum Strike, King & Wood Mallesons

Prue Warner, Clayton Utz

Carolyn Wong, King & Wood Mallesons

Government

Suzanne Kathryn Brown, McKays Solicitors Pty Ltd

Tom Galvin, Minter Ellison

Daniella Gennari, DLA Piper

Luke Grayson, Colin Biggers & Paisley

Jacinta Goutama, Minter Ellison

Stella Loong, Ashurst

Darshini Nanthakumar, Minter Ellison

Jin Ooi, Allen & Overy

Elise Paynter, Maddocks

Sharon Sangha, Mills Oakley Lawyers

Insurance

Emily Archer, Minter Ellison

Joshua Carton, Norton Rose Fulbright

Laura D'Alessandri, Curwoods Lawyers

Kelvin Liew, Clyde & Co

Dearne Matheson, Wotton + Kearney

Nicole Morgan, Minter Ellison

Stephen Morrissey, Gilchrist Connell Lawyers

Daniel Robinson, Clyde & Co

Michael Rumore, Colin Biggers & Paisley

Tejas Thete, Gadens

Rachel White, Colin Biggers & Paisley

Melissa Zen, Sparke Helmore Lawyers

Intellectual property

Tracy Lu, Allens

Jessica Norgard, Ashurst

Rebecca Silberberg, Baker & McKenzie

James Neil, Clayton Utz

Bridie Egan, Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Eliza Forsyth, DibbsBarker

Anna Smyth, Gilbert + Tobin

Anna Spies, King & Wood Mallesons

Elizabeth Stary, Maddocks

Paul Gordon, NDA Law Pty Ltd

Mollie Daly Tregillis, Norton Rose Fulbright 

James Skelton, Swaab Attorneys

M&A

Elliott Cheung, DLA Piper

Amy Chinnappa, K&L Gates

Michael Compton, Herbert Smith Freehills

Gavin Hammerschlag, Arnold Bloch Leibler

Jason Hewitt, Ashurst Australia

Jacqueline How, Minter Ellison

Jason Jordan, Herbert Smith Freehills

Nicholas Kipriotis, Norton Rose Fulbright

Kate Latta, Maddocks

Chris Rosario, Squire Patton Boggs

Jen Tan, Piper Alderman

Reuben van Werkum, Gilbert + Tobin

Pro bono

Emma Anderson, Herbert Smith Freehills

Kara Cook, Women's Legal Service

Reece Corbett-Wilkins, Norton Rose Fulbright

Alice Greenwood, Ashurst

Steven Craig Hardey, Hardey Legal

James Johnston, Ashurst

Cindy Lim, DLA Piper

Philippa Macaskill, King & Wood Mallesons

Elise Paynter, Maddocks

Michael Simmons, Playfair Visa and Migration Services

Workplace relations, employment & safety

Katherine Zoe Adams-Lau, Herbert Smith Freehills

Michelle Blewett, Printing Industries Association of Australia

Kaitlyn Gulle, Lander & Rogers

Kristen Hammond, Holman Webb

Alana Heffernan, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers

Ajay Mukesh Khandhar, Minter Ellison

Jessica Main, McKean Park Lawyers

Nathan Moy, Clayton Utz

Elise Paynter, Maddocks

Kyle Scott, Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors

Martin Watts, K&L Gates

Amy Zhang, Harmers Workplace Lawyers