More than 500 guests from across Scotland’s legal profession came together at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central last night for the 23rd annual Scottish Legal Awards, celebrating the outstanding individuals, teams and firms shaping the country’s legal sector.
The annual awards brought together solicitors, advocates, in-house legal teams and professionals from across the sector for an evening recognising excellence, innovation, leadership and achievement.
Among the major winners of the night were Ergo Law named Firm of the Year (up to 250 employees) and Jones Whyte which took home the title of Firm of the Year (over 250 employees), sponsored by Scottish Legal News.
The two awards recognise outstanding performance among Scotland’s legal firms, with judges considering achievements across areas including business performance, client service, people, innovation and contribution to the wider profession.
The evening also celebrated excellence across a broad range of individual and team categories, recognising the depth of talent working throughout Scotland’s legal sector.
Among the winners on the night, Hamiltons Law Accountants received the award for Excellence in Support Services, while Jamieson Law took home Excellence in Client Care, sponsored by Groundsure. The two In-House Legal Team of the Year awards recognised excellence across both the public and private sectors, with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service winning the public sector title and Skyscanner named the private sector winner.
Lorna Jack, Chair of the Scottish Legal Awards judging panel, said: “Once again, the standard of entries has been exceptional and reflects the talent, commitment and innovation across Scotland’s legal profession. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and finalists – their achievements are thoroughly deserving of recognition.”
The evening also marked an exciting development for Scotland’s legal technology sector with the official launch of LEAP Scotland at the Scottish Legal Awards.
Guests were among the first to see the new identity unveiled during the event, marking the coming together of Denovo and LEAP and the beginning of a new chapter for the legal technology business.
Denovo has been a long-standing supporter of the Scottish Legal Awards and returned as Headline Sponsor for 2026. The launch provided a fitting opportunity to introduce LEAP Scotland to hundreds of representatives from across Scotland’s legal community.
Alongside the competitive categories, the 2026 awards also recognised individuals who have made significant contributions to Scotland’s legal profession.
This year’s special award recipients included Lesley Larg, Managing Partner at Thorntons, who received the Business Leadership Award; Andy Sirel of JustRight Scotland, named Law Champion of the Year; Aidan O’Neill KC, named Lawyer of the Year; and Malcolm Mackay, recipient of the Achievement Award.
This year’s special award recipients included Lesley Larg, Managing Partner at Thorntons, who received the Business Leadership Award; Andy Sirel of JustRight Scotland, named Law Champion of the Year; Aidan O’Neill KC, named Lawyer of the Year; and Malcolm Mackay, recipient of the Achievement Award.
Full List of Winners:
Firm of the Year (over 250 employees), sponsored by Scottish Legal News
Winner
Jones Whyte
Finalists
Gilson Gray
Thorntons Law
Firm of the Year (up to 250 employees)
Winner
Ergo Law
Finalists
Livingstone Brown
Matheson Lawson
MJC LAW
RD Legal Solicitors
Rollos Law LLP
Weightmans (Scotland) LLP
Business Leadership Award, sponsored by Daily Business
Winner
Lesley Larg, Thorntons Law LLP
Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by The Times
Winner
Malcolm Mackay
Excellence in Community Care & Social Responsibility, sponsored by Frasia Wright Associates
Winner
MJC LAW
Highly Commended
Gillespie Macandrew LLP
Finalists
Clarity Simplicity
Jackson Boyd Solicitors
Jones Whyte
Raeburn Christie Clark & Wallace
Shared Parenting Scotland
Excellence in Client Care, sponsored by Groundsure
Winner
Jamieson Law
Finalists
Clarity Simplicity
Ergo Law
RD Legal Solicitors
Excellence in Support Services
Winner
Hamiltons Law Accountants
Highly Commended
Millar & Bryce
Finalists
Brown Owl Legal Support
Cashroom
Denovo
Estatesearch
Exizent
ReceptIO
Excellence in Support & Wellbeing, sponsored by Law Society Scotland
Winner
Aegon UK
Finalists
Clarity Simplicity
Excellence in Equity & Inclusion
Winner
Thorntons Law
Finalists
Aegon UK
Hey Legal
Weightmans (Scotland) LLP
Litigation Team of the Year, sponsored by Hamiltons Law Accountants
Winner
Livingstone Brown
Finalists
Halliday Campbell WS
Residential Property Team of the Year, sponsored by Property Searches Scotland
Winner
Matheson Lawson
Finalists
Delaney Graham Solicitors
RD Legal Solicitors
Marketing & Business Development Team of the Year, sponsored by Forbes Tailoring
Winner
Jones Whyte
Finalists
TC Young
Family Law or Private Client Team of the Year
Winners
Family Law: Family Law Matters Scotland LLP
Private Client: Anderson Strathern
Finalists
Jones Whyte
Stronachs
Weightmans (Scotland) LLP
Criminal Defence Team of the Year, sponsored by Leap Scotland
Winner
Adams Whyte
Finalists
Adams Whyte
In-House Legal Team of the Year
Winners
Public: Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
Private: Skyscanner
Finalists
Aberdeen City Council
Aegon UK
The City of Edinburgh Council
Dana Petroleum
MDDUS
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Paralegal of the Year
Winner
Abbie Weir, Jones Whyte
Highly Commended
Sarah Dooey, Jones Whyte
Finalists
Louise Johnston, Anderson Strathern
Ibel Ellershaw, BayWa r.e. UK
Laura Brown, Brown Owl Legal Support
Laura Rankin, Jackson Boyd Solicitors
Karen Deans, Matheson Lawson
Rising Star of the Year, Frasia Wright Associates
Winner
Meg Jeynes, Gilson Gray
Highly Commended
Frances Taylor, McGovern Reid
Finalists
Flora Smith, Ergo Law
Sam Conington, Gillespie Macandrew LLP
Corie Wilson, Jamieson Law
Louise McGhee, Jones Whyte
Abigail Meek, Matheson Lawson
Rebecca Coltart, Thorntons Law
Law Champion of the Year
Winner
Andy Sirel, JustRight Scotland
Lawyer of the Year, sponsored by Law Society of Scotland
Winner
Aidan O’Neill KC, Matrix Chambers