Award Categories

Entry Submission is Open until 6 April 2026 (11:59 PM GST)

SUBMIT ENTRIES NOW

NOTE:

  • Use a separate entry form for each category.
  • There is no limit to the number of categories in which a candidate may submit an entry.
  • Award nominations are open exclusively to the GCC.
  • Please note: We do not accept third-party nominations. Law firms and legal departments must submit their own entries, and individual submissions must be made by the individual or his or her firm or company.
  • Entry Submission is open until 6 April 2026

In-House Awards

General Counsel of the Year (Large Team)

Open to non-government General Counsel, Heads of Legal or persons holding an equivalent title within the GCC who lead a legal team of at least six lawyers (including the candidate, excluding trainees and paralegals). General Counsel working in government ministries, agencies, and other non-commercial State entities should submit an entry for Government Lawyer of the Year. Sole in-house lawyers should enter in the Legal Counsel of the Year category.

Candidates will need to show how their leadership from January 2025 to the present has allowed their department to deliver an exceptional level of legal services to the company and enhanced the company’s performance.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Strategic vision
  • Team leadership
  • Legal expertise and innovation
  • A broad range of in-house responsibilities
  • Efficient and effective troubleshooting
  • Overall contribution to the success of the business in 2025-26.

General Counsel of the Year (Small Team)

Open to non-government General Counsel, Heads of Legal or persons holding an equivalent title within the GCC who lead a legal team of less than six lawyers. General Counsel working in government ministries, agencies, and other non-commercial State entities should submit an entry for Government Lawyer of the Year. Sole in-house lawyers should enter in the Legal Counsel of the Year category.

Candidates will need to show how their leadership from January 2025 to the present has allowed their department to deliver an exceptional level of legal services to the company and enhanced the organisation’s performance.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Strategic vision
  • Team leadership
  • Legal expertise and innovation
  • Ability to take on a broad range of in-house responsibilities

Legal Counsel of the Year

Candidates will need to show how their work from January 2025 to the present has allowed their legal department to deliver an exceptional level of legal services to the company and enhanced the company’s performance.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise in complex areas of the law
  • Work on a range of in-house legal work
  • Work ethic and initiative
  • Overall contribution to the success of the legal department in 2025-26.

Government Lawyer of the Year

Open to lawyers working for a government ministry, agency or other non-commercial State entity in a GCC country.

Candidates will need to show how their work from January 2025 to the present has allowed their legal department to deliver an exceptional level of legal services to organisation and enhanced its legislative, policy and/or compliance objectives.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise
  • Contribution to the development of policy and/or legislative instruments
  • Innovative and effective compliance work and initiatives
  • Contribution to achieving the strategic objectives of the government ministry, agency or other State entity in 2025-26

In-House Team of the Year (Small)

Open to in-house legal departments of private sector entities in the GCC region having 5 or fewer legal professionals, excluding paralegals, legal assistants, and trainees.

Legal departments of government ministries, agencies and other non-commercial State entities should submit an entry in the category of Government Legal Team of the Year.

Candidates will need to show how their legal team has delivered an exceptional level of legal services to their organisation and helped their organisation meet its objectives in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal expertise and innovation
  • Strategic vision
  • Teamwork
  • Career development for lawyers
  • The legal department’s contribution to the success of the business in 2025-26.

In-House Team of the Year (Large)

Open to in-house legal departments of private sector entities in the GCC region having 6 or more legal professionals, excluding paralegals, legal assistants, and trainees.

Legal departments of government ministries, agencies and other non-commercial State entities should submit an entry in the category of Government Legal Team of the Year.

Candidates will need to show how their legal team has delivered an exceptional level of legal services to their organisation and helped their organisation meet its objectives in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal expertise and innovation
  • Strategic vision
  • Teamwork
  • Career development for lawyers
  • The legal department’s contribution to the success of the business in 2025-26.

Government Legal Team of the Year

Candidates will need to show how their legal team has delivered an exceptional level of legal services to their organisation and helped their organisation meet its legislative, policy and/or compliance objectives.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise
  • The legal department’s contribution to the development of legal policy and/or legislative instruments
  • The legal department’s contribution to compliance initiatives
  • The legal department’s contribution to achieving the strategic objectives of the government ministry, agency or other State entity in 2025-26

Open to Legal Departments and Law Firms

AI Legal Innovator of the Year

Candidates need to show how through innovation and AI, introduced new and improved ways of providing legal services or new working practices that are influencing the future of law and practice.

Judges will be looking for evidence of original AI concepts that improve the speed and quality of legal services.

Best Workplace for Lawyers (In-House)

Open to in-house legal departments in the GCC (private and public sector).

This award will recognise the legal department that, in addition to its competitive remuneration package, has demonstrated the strongest commitment to a work environment that supports its lawyers’ career development as well as a healthy balance between work pressures and home life.

Best Workplace for Lawyers (Law Firm)

Law Firm Categories

Arbitration Team of the Year

Open to law firms with one or more offices in the GCC.

Entries for this award should focus on a single stand-out arbitration dispute worked on in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Exceptional case preparation, strategy, client relations, and practice and advocacy during arbitration proceedings
  • Legal expertise and innovation
  • The importance of the dispute
  • Value added for the client.

Banking & Finance Team of the Year

Open to law firms with one or more offices in the GCC.

Entries for this award should focus on a single banking & finance deal worked on in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise
  • Exceptional strategy and innovation in getting the deal done
  • Project management skills
  • Legal, regulatory or other importance of the deal
  • Value added for the client.

Commercial Litigation Team of the Year

Corporate-Commercial Team of the Year

Open to law firms with one or more offices in the GCC.

Entries for this award should focus on a single non-M&A corporate or commercial deal or other matter worked on in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise
  • Exceptional strategy and innovation in getting the deal done
  • Project management skills
  • Legal, regulatory or other importance of the deal
  • Value added for the client.

Construction Team of the Year

Open to law firms with one or more offices in the GCC.

Entries for this award should focus on a single construction project worked on in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise
  • Exceptional strategy and innovation in getting the deal done
  • Project management skills
  • Legal, regulatory or other importance of the deal
  • Value added for the client.

Employment Team of the Year

Open to law firms with one or more offices in the GCC.

Entries for this award should focus on a single employment case or matter worked on in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Exceptional management of the matter considering its complexity, including background context, legal and regulatory complexity, and client
  • Legal expertise, innovation, and strategy in bringing the matter to a conclusion
  • Importance of the matter for employment law in the country or region
  • Value added for the client.

Energy & Infrastructure Team of the Year

Maritime & Transport Team of the Year

Open to law firms with one or more offices in the GCC.

Entries for this award should focus on a single maritime law matter worked on in 2025-26. This includes shipping and other transport contracts, marine insurance, marine accidents, shipping disputes, and environmental regulations related to the maritime industry.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Exceptional management of the matter considering its complexity, including background context, legal and regulatory complexity, and client
  • Legal expertise, innovation, and strategy in bringing the matter to a conclusion
  • Legal or other Importance of the matter
  • Value added for the client.

Real Estate Team of the Year

Open to law firms with one or more offices in the GCC.

Entries for this award should focus on a single real estate deal worked on in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise
  • Exceptional strategy and innovation in getting the deal done
  • Project management skills
  • Legal, regulatory or other importance of the deal
  • Value added for the client.

Tax Team of the Year

This award will be presented to a law firm in the GCC, Egypt, Jordan, or Lebanon demonstrating outstanding performance in the field of tax law in 2023/24. Entries for this award should focus *on a single tax dispute or other tax matter* worked on in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise
  • Exceptional strategy and innovation in resolving the case or other matter
  • Legal, regulatory or other importance of the case or other matter
  • Value added for the client.

Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) Team of the Year

Open to law firms with one or more offices in the GCC.

Entries for this award should focus on a single technology, media or telecom law matter worked on in 2025-26.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise
  • Exceptional strategy and innovation in bringing the matter to a conclusion
  • importance of the matter in the current legal landscape
  • Outcome and value added for your client.

Law Firm of the Year (GCC, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates)

Open to law firms with an office in the GCC.

A Law Firm of the Year award will be presented for each GCC Country and for the GCC.

Indicate on the entry form for which country you would like to be considered or if this is an entry for GCC Law Firm of the Year.

Please note:

  • A separate entry should be submitted for each country for which you would like the firm to be considered and for GCC Law Firm of the Year.
  • There is no requirement to submit an entry for a country Law Firm of the Year award if you would like to be considered for GCC Law Firm of the Year only.

Candidates will need to show how, in the period from January 2025 to the present, they have stood out from the competition in their jurisdiction (or in the GCC for the GCC Law Firm of the Year) and have been a trailblazer and market leader in a highly competitive legal market.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Strategic vision
  • Successful deals, cases and other matters
  • New business winnings
  • Client support initiatives
  • Practice expansion

Individual Categories

Arbitrator of the Year

Open to arbitrators who are resident in a GCC country.

This award recognises superior performance by an arbitrator in domestic or international disputes.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Superior legal and technical expertise
  • Contribution to the development of arbitration in the region
  • Added value for clients.

Rising Star of the Year

Open to associates employed in a law firm in a GCC country who have practised as a lawyer or legal consultant for less than four years as of 1 March 2026. This includes all time working as “Associate” in a law firm or as in-house counsel for a company or other organisation but does not include time worked as a trainee, articling student, legal assistant, or paralegal. Only one entry per law firm.

Candidates will need to show that they are the firm’s future lead associates.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Legal and technical expertise
  • An exceptional work ethic
  • Initiative
  • An exceptional contribution to the success of the matters the candidate has worked on.

Senior Associate of the Year

Managing Partner of the Year

Open to Managing Partners of a law firm or law firm office in the GCC and Executive officers of the GCC or Middle East Region of a law firm. Only one entry per law firm.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

  • Outstanding strategic thinking
  • Leadership
  • Effective communications
  • Business winnings
  • Success and growth of the business in 2025-26.