In-house Rising Star Award
Every year we recognise emerging talent within our in-house community. The In-house Rising Star Award celebrates and rewards the brilliance of trainees and NQs with up to five years' PQE who are shining in their early careers.
Working in-house brings a huge range of challenges and opportunities. The landscape of career options is forever changing and constantly attracts the brightest and the best to work for a vast array of in-house employers. Currently around 30 per cent of our members work in-house spread across public, private and third sector roles.
In-house Annual Conference 2025
Your In-house Rising Stars will be announced at this year's In-house Annual Conference which runs from 31 April to 1 May. Free to members, we will discuss the key challenges and opportunities facing in-house lawyers.
Meet some of our previous winners
“I’m truly honoured to receive the In-House Rising Star Award 2025. A heartfelt thank you to the panel and the Law Society for this incredible recognition. I’d also like to extend my congratulations to all the nominees for their remarkable achievements and contributions to the legal profession in Scotland.
I feel very privileged to be part of such a supportive team at Trip.com, to work alongside talented colleagues around the world, and to contribute to exciting, varied, and innovative projects. I’m especially grateful to have a leader and mentor who empowers me, trusts my work, and inspires me every day.
I’m passionate about the legal profession and dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion. I hope to continue supporting and uplifting others in their legal careers.”
I am thrilled to have been awarded the In-House Rising Star Award in the trainee category for 2025. I'm fortunate to work with a group of legal colleagues who provide excellent support and offer opportunities to engage in diverse and stimulating work. This award was definitely a personal highlight for me. It's fantastic be a part of the in-house community!
Thank you very much to the panel and the Law Society for this award (and to everyone for the congratulatory messages!). I am absolutely thrilled to have won from such a talented shortlist of finalists.
I've been lucky to work with lots of amazing people and great mentors in my career so far. I am especially grateful to work with such a supportive and innovative team at Cirrus Logic who afford me the opportunity to get involved in such diverse and exciting work.
Huge congratulations to Ikra and Niamh for the runners up positions!
Thank you so much to the panel and Law Society for this privilege. I’m extremely grateful to Too Good To Go for creating such a supportive environment where I can help contribute to saving food waste.
I’ve been very lucky to work with such great lawyers over the years and this really feels like recognition of the challenges they have been patient enough to help me learn from and importantly to grow as both a lawyer and a person. I hope I can continue to help others in the legal profession in the same way as I’ve been supported in my career.
I was over the moon to be awarded the In-House Rising Star Award in 2022. All of the nominees were more than deserving winners, and it was lovely to be chosen from a group of such talented young lawyers. I am very grateful to my colleagues, past and present, who have been so supportive of my career to date. Since winning the award, I have taken on a new role at the Scottish Law Commission. I am thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to further develop my career in a new area of in-house legal work.
I am thrilled to have been chosen as the winner of the Rising Star award. Having moved in-house relatively recently, I’m delighted to have my work recognised internally and by the judges at the Law Society. I’ve been very lucky to work with such a supportive and innovative team at BoxMedia and as the sole General Counsel I’ve been involved in some terrific projects. This is a professional highlight for me, there was such a talented shortlist of nominees and I can’t quite believe I won in the end!
Being awarded the In-house Rising Star Award has been a career highlight for me so far. This was particularly so given the strong talent amongst the shortlist and within our in-house legal community - it was wonderful to be recognised by the judges. I’m very grateful to all of those who have spent time mentoring me and to the Bank for allowing me such a varied and enjoyable role in which to develop.
I was absolutely delighted to have been shortlisted and am over the moon now. I've been very lucky to work with lots of amazing people and great mentors in my career so far. It was great to meet everyone at the conference and congratulations again to all those nominated. We already have plans to stay in touch and share our in-house experiences and challenges!
Being awarded the In-house Rising Star Award was a professional highlight, and a brilliant reflection of the training and experience I received at Glasgow City Council. It was a particular honour to receive the award given the high calibre of shortlisted candidates, and I am very grateful to my colleagues for the nomination and to the judges for picking me. Winning the award has encouraged me to develop professionally and I have since moved to Optical Express where I’m looking forwarding to learning from a new in-house environment.
I was delighted to have been shortlisted, and to have won the Rising Star Award, particularly given the high calibre of lawyers who were shortlisted. It was lovely to be recognised, not only by the judges but also by my organisation for doing a job I love. For me, winning the award was also acknowledgment of the trust, commitment and support my organisation had placed in me as their sole in-house legal counsel. Winning the award has created numerous opportunities for me in terms of career progression and professional development.
I was really delighted to be nominated for, and win, the Rising Star Award. It was great to have my role at The Royal Bank of Scotland recognised by the judges, and to my mind the award was equally a reflection of the high calibre of support provided by the wider legal function at the bank. Winning the award has created further opportunities to shadow and be coached by senior in-house lawyers in Scotland, all of which has been great for my on-going development.
FAQs
Who can I nominate?
Nominees must be trainees or solicitors with up to 5 years PQE, working in-house. We ask that the nominator has agreement from both the nominee and the employer before submitting the nomination.
How many prizes will be awarded?
Assuming the appropriate calibre of entries is received, we will award a winner in each of the trainee and newly qualified solicitor (up to five years PQE) categories. The judging panel may, at their discretion, make additional commendation awards or recognise a runner-up in each category.
Do I need to be working in-house to nominate someone?
No! If you work in-house, you can nominate a colleague. You can be a manager, senior leader or close colleague of an in-house lawyer (and have no legal background at all). Or, if you work in private practice you can nominate contacts or clients that deserve recognition.
Who is on the judging panel?
Each year, our judging panel is made up of In-house Lawyers Committee members, supported by the Society's Member Engagement team.
What's the prize?
We are delighted to offer the winners a free place on one of our upcoming CPD courses, worth up to six hours of CPD.
Working in-house
In-house lawyers make a critical contribution to the success of the companies and organisations that employ them. If you work in-house, we want to hear from you.
Additional
In-house Annual Conference 2025
Career Growth
We have developed practice management and leadership training as well as the opportunity to be accredited as a specialist in a number of fields.