Awards are more than trophies; they showcase your firm’s expertise, leadership, and impact. From practice-area and firm-wide honors to leadership, diversity and pro bono recognition, keeping track of opportunities is key to making sure your team and attorneys get the recognition they deserve. This checklist makes it easy to monitor categories, deadlines, criteria, fees and announcement dates so your marketing and business development teams can stay organized, proactive and ready to highlight your firm’s wins. Each firm should also identify the key areas that make strategic sense for submission – doing everything all the time is impossible for the marketing department.

Identify Award Categories

• Practice Area Awards – Monitor industry-specific awards (e.g., Life Sciences, M&A, IP, Litigation).
• Regional Awards – Recognize local firm efforts or individuals.
• Firm-Wide Awards – Track general law firm recognitions (e.g., Best Firms to Work For, Am Law).
• Leadership Awards – Include awards for managing partners, CMOs, CIOs and other firm leaders.
• Attorney Awards – Recognize senior attorneys, rising stars and “40 Under 40” lists.
• Diversity & Inclusion Awards – Track awards for diverse attorneys, diverse teams or firm-wide D&I efforts.
• Directories – Chambers, Legal500, Benchmark Litigation, Best Lawyers. Euromoney, GAR/GIR/GRR/GCT, Super Lawyers.
• Pro Bono Awards – Monitor awards recognizing significant pro bono contributions.

Outlets & Platforms

In addition to traditional awards organizations, identify the outlets where recognition may be published or promoted:

• Bar Associations – National (ABA), state, and local bars often recognize attorneys, firms and pro bono service.
• Legal Publications – Am Law, Law360, National Law Journal, Legal Intelligencer, Corporate Counsel, etc.
• Business Media – Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., regional business journals, local business publications.
• Industry Sector Publications – Niche publications tied to practice areas (e.g., energy, healthcare, finance, tech).
• Chambers of Commerce & Business Associations – Local, regional and national organizations often run recognition programs.
• Community & Nonprofit Organizations – Philanthropic, civic and nonprofit groups frequently recognize community leadership and pro bono contributions.

Monitoring and Research

• Maintain a master list of award organizations and deadlines.
• Subscribe to industry newsletters, legal publications and association alerts.
• Use alerts and RSS feeds for relevant keywords like “law firm awards,” “M&A awards” or “diversity in law awards.”
• Assign responsibility for monitoring each award category to specific team members.

Internal Tracking System

Create a centralized spreadsheet or database to track:

• Award name
• Eligibility criteria
• Submission deadline
• Required materials
• Nominee(s) or team
• Responsible person
• Status (researching, in progress, submitted, won)
• Submission fees
• Link to award page for quick reference

Nominee Selection & Preparation

• Review internal metrics, achievements and publications to identify potential nominees.
• Review submission ideas with firm and group leadership. Remind leadership that a number of publishable matters must be included.
• Identify submissions that can be repurposed to maximize team efforts.
• Gather supporting materials: bios, case studies, client testimonials and photos.
• Ensure diversity and inclusion are reflected in nominations where applicable.
• Set internal deadlines for drafting, approvals, and submission review.

Submission Process

• Assign responsible staff to handle each submission.
• Maintain templates and standardized materials for recurring awards.
• Confirm all submissions meet award guidelines before submission.
• Identify other potential publications where the submission could be repurposed.

Post-Submission Tracking

• Track notification dates and announcements.
• Share updates internally to celebrate nominations and wins.
• Maintain an archive of submissions and outcomes for future cycles.
• When possible, request feedback or evaluations from the award organization to better understand what they value.

Reporting & Recognition

• Develop regular reports for firm leadership and practice groups.
• Highlight successes in internal communications, client newsletters, press releases, social media and on the firm website.
• Recognize and celebrate contributions of staff and attorneys involved in submissions.