Celebrating excellence in legal IT: Winners of the first ever British Legal Technology Awards announced
Insurance specialists, global law firms and AI solutions vendors were among the winners of the first ever British Legal Technology Awards (BTLA), organised by Netlaw Media. The winners of these prestigious new awards were announced last night (Wednesday 15 November) at a glittering ceremony, held at the Plaisterers’ Hall in central London. The event, hosted by comedian Marcus Brigstocke, was attended by almost 300 dignitaries and shortlisted candidates from the world of legal IT and security.
The announcement of the BLTA winners followed a rigorous vetting process, undertaken over several months, overseen by a 12-strong expert judging panel. Between them, members of the judging panel have more than 150 years’ experience in legal technology, both as suppliers and consumers.
Two groups of award winners were announced at last night’s Plaisterers’ Hall ceremony – one for UK and EU law firms, barristers chambers and in-house legal teams, and the other for legal IT vendors and consultants. The award winners were as follows:
Categories for Legal Services Providers
Technology Venture of the Year – sponsored by CenturyLink
Winner: Keoghs LLP
Legal Technology Team of the Year – Sponsored by InfoTrack
Winner: Keoghs LLP
Excellence in IT Security – Sponsored by SaltDNA
Winner: DAC Beachcroft
Leader of the Year – Sponsored by Ricoh
Winner: Sayid Hussein, Head of IT (UK and Middle East), Dentons
Categories for Legal IT Suppliers
Innovation in Legal Services – Sponsored by CenturyLink
Winner: slicedbread
New IT Product of the Year
Winner: Luminance
IT Security Provider of the Year
Winner: iManage
Supplier of the Year – Large Enterprise
Winner: AnyData Solutions
Supplier of the Year – Small & Medium Enterprise
Winner: Tikit
The BLTA judging panel also bestowed a lifetime achievement award on Professor Richard Susskind, in recognition of his decades-long role in shaping and driving the use of technology within the legal sector. Professor Susskind’s trophy was collected on his behalf by legal IT consultant Janet Day.
Closing the event’s proceedings, Jacqueline de Rojas, president of techUK, said the BLTA ceremony “has offered us the opportunity to pay tribute to the invaluable contribution of innovative technology within the legal sector, as well as recognising the proactive and driven teams and leaders that are driving processes forwards.”
Ms de Rojas’ comments were echoed by Netlaw Media UK and EMEA Managing Director Frances Armstrong, whose company organised the BLTAs. “Since we announced the BLTAs in June, it’s been fascinating to uncover the sheer scale of innovation that is now taking place in the UK and EU legal sectors, driven by legal practices and solutions providers alike,” she said. “Netlaw Media is delighted to have helped showcase and celebrate the role that technology can play in transforming the UK and European legal professions.”
About ‘The British Legal Technology Awards 2017’
Nominations for the first ever British Legal Technology Awards opened in June this year. A shortlist of finalists was announced at the combined London Law Expo / European Legal Security Forum. This sell-out event, attended by more than 2,000 visitors, took place on 10 October 2017 at the Old Billingsgate in Central London.
The 12-strong BLTA judging panel was chaired by techUK president Jacqueline de Rojas. The panel also included IT heads from several international law firms, professors and consultants who specialise in the legal sector, and representatives from the legal IT vendor and consultancy community.
The British Legal Technology Awards ceremony was the 19th event organised by Netlaw Media since the company was formed in 2008.