On Wednesday 14 November, ILSPA co-sponsored and attended the Legal PA of the Year Awards 2012, which was hosted by Strictly Legal – a globally operating recruitment agency based in London. The awards ceremony took place at McQueen in Shoreditch, which won an award itself for being London’s best bar in 2010. Representatives from more than 30 law firms attended the event, and there was a wonderful array of legal professionals eagerly anticipating who, from hundreds of entries across the UK, had won the awards.
The awards comprised of four categories – Legal PA of the Year, Up and Coming Legal PA of the Year, Secretarial/PA Manager of the Year and Document Production Operator of the Year. The atmosphere as the finalists and winners were announced by Paul Kelly, Director at Strictly Legal, was exciting and fun.
ILSPA wholeheartedly supported this fantastic event which recognised the essential work performed by Legal PAs and the value of their role. One of the ways ILSPA helps Legal Secretaries and PAs with their careers is by encouraging professional development, so we felt it was apt to donate a training course as a prize to one of the winners. Chief Executive Emma Stacey presented an award and our prize to the Up and Coming PA of the Year, Rebecca Saville, who is from Clarke Willmott in Bristol. Rebecca has the opportunity to study a training course of her choice through us, giving her the opportunity to further her knowledge and skills in an area which is of the most benefit to her. After receiving the award, Rebecca said, “It’s nice to get some recognition for all the hard work I do. I have been shaking and crying like it’s the Oscars!”
The winner of the Legal PA of the Year award was Angela Dyos from Clifford Chance in London. Clifford Chance is one of the top five law firms known as the ‘Magic Circle’. Angela was shocked to win the award and said, “I can’t believe I have won. I have never done anything like this before. It has taken me out my comfort zone, as I have been with the same company for 18 years. It has been so rewarding.”
Strictly Legal will be hosting another awards ceremony in 2013, so if you would like information on how to nominate yourself or a colleague for an award, you can contact Paul Kelly at paul@strictly-legal.com.
You can read more about the awards in this month’s article ‘Strictly the Best! Angela Dyos Wins Legal PA of the Year Award’. You can also take a look at photos of the awards ceremony on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Institute-of-Legal-Secretaries-and-PAs/219408131421432?ref=hl. Please show your support for the Institute by ‘liking’ our page.