2021 Women Lawyers Achievement Awards - Friday 3 September, Sydney

The NSW Women Lawyers Achievement Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of outstanding women lawyers, mentors and firms that have achieved excellence in their area of practice and helped create opportunities for women in the law.

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We thank the Law Society of NSW, the NSW Bar Association, the Department of Communities and Justice, and the Association of Corporate Counsel for their support of our Awards this year, and their representatives on our judging panel.

2021 Judging Panel


Women Lawyers’ Association of NSW Inc.	NSW Department of Communities and Justice	NSW Bar Association	Law Society of NSW	ACC Australia

Renée Bianchi	Lida Kaban	Ruth Higgins SC	Juliana Warner	Lori Middlehurst
President	General Counsel DCJ Legal	Treasurer	President	President ACC Australia NSW Division

In 2021, WLANSW will present awards in the following categories:

Woman Lawyer of the Year – sponsored by Bartier Perry Open to all current Members of WLANSW (‘Member’ includes Individual Members and staff of Corporate Members as defined in the Constitution). Nominees will have made an outstanding contribution to the legal profession, provided leadership and demonstrated supporting and advancing women in the legal profession.
Rising Star of the Year – sponsored by The College of Law Nominees will be women lawyers with less than five years in practice following their admission to practice.
Private Practice Lawyer of the Year – sponsored by David Talintyre Nominees will be women holding a current practising certificate and working in a private law firm.
Corporate Counsel of the Year – sponsored by The Law Society of NSW Nominees will be women working for non-government corporate entities or organisations.
Government Lawyer of the Year – sponsored by Melinda Griffiths Lawyers Nominees will be women working in a government organisation or for statutory bodies.
Community Lawyer of the Year – sponsored by Law CPD Nominees will be women lawyers working in community or not-for-profit organisations.
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Regional Lawyer of the Year – sponsored by Catherine Henry Lawyers Nominees will be women lawyers practising outside the Sydney Metropolitan Area at the time of the nomination, as a sole practitioner or in a private law firm.
Legal Academic of the Year Nominees will be women lawyers working in the legal academic field or legal academic organisations or entities.
Barrister of the Year – sponsored by New South Wales Bar Association Nominees will be women that hold a current practicing certificate issued by the NSW Bar Association and may be Senior or Junior Counsel.
Change Champion of the Year – sponsored by Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers Open to all women lawyers who have demonstrated advancing women in the profession and gender equality.
Mentor of the Year – sponsored by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Open to all men and women lawyers who have demonstrated mentorship, advocacy and sponsorship of female talent that is invaluable to the development, promotion and retention of talent in the profession.
ORGANISATIONAL AWARD Outstanding Law Firm of the Year – sponsored by Danny King Legal The successful law firm will demonstrate measures taken that have led to women being advanced in the legal profession by action taken to remove the gender wage gap, targets for partnership and advancement in managerial and senior roles, sharing of care arrangements, adoption and reporting on Equitable Briefing Policy and a framework for dealing with systematic sex discrimination and sexual harassment in a manner that alleviates the burden on individuals making complaints and places positive obligations on all employees to change the culture and encourage compliance; observance of the Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession, and mentoring. Firms interested in nominating for this award are not required to be current Corporate Members of WLANSW but must have offices situated in NSW and employ staff who are, or are eligible to be, members of WLANSW. A formal application outlining and capturing why the law firm should be selected for this Award should be no longer than five pages. It may be accompanied by additional supporting material as noted in the Application Process.