Terms of service.
1. All entries must be submitted online and must be received by midnight on XX May 2023.
2. No liability for entries lost or delayed in transmission will be accepted.
3. Confirmation of receipt of your online application will be sent by email immediately after you submit your application. If you do not receive this confirmation, please contact Monique Bertoni on 01392 366333.
4. All entrants must be over the age of 18 and represent a business that is a current member of the Devon & Somerset Law Society.
5. The business can be a sole trader, a private or public limited company, a partnership or limited liability partnership, a business unit within a company.
6. There are no restrictions to the number of categories you may enter.
7. Third parties can make applications on behalf of businesses or individuals, providing the business or person nominated is aware of the entry and has corroborated the content in the application form.
8. The organisers cannot be responsible for any failure in confidentiality, so applicants must ensure confidential aspects are protected before submission.
9. The organisers reserve the right to publicise the results of the competition and use winning entries in press releases and published case histories.
10. It is a condition of entry that participants will co-operate with the media. Winners may and are actively encouraged to refer to the competition in their own publicity material following approval by the organisers of such material.
11. All entrants must declare whether they, or the business they represent, are/could be involved in any dispute or judgement that could in any way significantly interfere with the proper conduct or reputation of the organisers of the Devon and Somerset Law Society Awards 2020.
12. The judges reserve the right to move applicants from one category to another if they believe it to be appropriate.
13. The organisers reserve the right to change the judging deadlines should circumstances necessitate.
14. There can be no appeal against the decisions of the judges and no correspondence will be undertaken.
Judging Process
The Judges will draw up a list for each category to include one Winner and those Shortlisted as appropriate.
In addition, the Judges can make at their discretion a Highly Commended award in any category where felt meritorious.
The Judges have the right to shortlist an entry in a different category than the one originally entered if considered appropriate.
The Judges have the right to disqualify entries that do not meet the criteria.
Scoring Guidelines
RatingDescription of how well the entry meets the criteria
Score Available
Weak Unconvincing, weakly evidenced description 0 – 19
Limited Some weak areas, limited evidence, not strong story 20 – 39
Adequate Good description, some good evidence, one or two weak areas 40 – 59
Strong Very good story, well told, good evidence and good results achieved 60 – 79
Outstanding Compelling, robust, full evidenced description and excellent results achieved 80 – 100
There is a standard set of 4 criteria across all of the categories. Each criterion has 100 marks available.
For each of the 4 sections, a mark is given out of 100 following the above rating.
Criterion 1 – Organisation / Individual Introduction
Brief description of the organisation, any specialisms, the market and locality in which it operates and its main customer base.
Criterion 2 – Executive Summary
Summary of the compelling story. Why the entry deserves recognition and a brief description of the person or project or team or organisation success.
Criterion 3 – Success Story
The story of what has been achieved and how. This should describe the objectives, the process, the role, the changes, and the key successes that led firm/individual to an award winning entry in this category.
Clear evidence should be given. This should include any supporting relevant documentation.
Criterion 4 – Business Impact and Results Achieved
Describe the key measurements for success in this category.
What goals have been achieved?
What positive benefits or contributions has this individual, project, team or organisation achieved and how has this impacted on the firm?