Law awards Australia & New Zealand
Recognising top law firms based on their clients' feedback.
Honouring the best in the legal profession as judged by clients
The Beaton law awards are a prestigious program designed to honour the top law firms across Australia and New Zealand.
In an industry built on trust, expertise, and service, the Beaton law awards are the most credible indicator of a firm’s performance. That’s because they reflect the actual experiences and perceptions of clients.
The awards celebrate excellence across the legal sector as judged by clients of law firms. They recognise firms that perform strongly across areas such as:
- Outstanding client service
- Responsiveness and communication
- Value for money
- Commercial understanding
- Legal expertise
- Overall client satisfaction and impact
Law awards
Free to enter
How to enter your firm for an award
The Beaton law awards form part of the Client Choice Awards, a recognition program based on direct feedback from clients who use legal services. The awards recognise firms that deliver outstanding client experience, as judged by the people who know them best: their clients.
Beaton conducts independent and confidential research with clients, asking them to rate and comment on their experience with the law firms they use. Feedback covers areas such as client service, value, communication, responsiveness, expertise, and overall satisfaction.
Award results are determined by client feedback, not by judging panels, written submissions, lobbying, or self-promotion.
This methodology gives clients a clear voice and provides the legal profession with an independent benchmark of excellence.
Your firm’s annual revenue determines your award category eligiblity. There are different entry requirements for each revenue band. As such, be sure to read the entry form carefully.
Law award categories
Law & Related Services Awards
- Best Law & Related Services Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Australian Law Firm ($30-$100m revenue)
- Best Australian Law Firm ($100-$300m revenue)
- Best Australian Law Firm (>$300m revenue)
- Best New Zealand Law Firm (>$30m revenue)
Law & Related Specialist Services Awards
- Best Banking, Finance & Insurance Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Commercial & Business Firm (<$30m revenue
- Best Criminal Law Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Dispute Resolution & Litigation Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Employment & Industrial Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Family & Relationships Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Immigration Law Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Intellectual Property & Technology Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Personal Injury Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Property & Planning Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Wills & Estates Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Conveyancing Firm (<$30m revenue)
Overall Professional Services Firm Awards
- Best Professional Services Firm (<$30m revenue)
- Best Professional Services Firm ($30-$100m revenue)
- Best Professional Services Firm ($100-$300m revenue)
- Best Professional Services Firm (>$300m revenue)
Industry Awards
- Best Provider to Construction & Infrastructure (>$30m revenue)
- Best Provider to Financial & Insurance Services (>$30m revenue)
- Best Provider to Government & Community (>$30m revenue)
- Best Provider to Mining, Oil & Gas (>$30m revenue)
- Best Provider to Power & Utilities (>$30m revenue)
- Best Provider to Property (>$30m revenue)
Other Awards
- Most Trusted Firm (>$30m revenue)
- Best Provider of ESG Services (>$30m revenue)
Research timeline
How the Beaton law awards help firms
Research trusted by more than 700 participating firms
FAQs
How are the awards judged?
Entry into the Client Choice Awards is free.
The awards are judged purely on the survey scores we receive back from your clients.
Our online survey asks your clients to rate and comment on your firm’s performance in delivering services on a range of criteria including quality, value for money, pricing, and trust.
Who is eligible to enter the Law & Related Services category?
Law firms of all sizes who have an office in Australia and/or New Zealand are invited to enter the awards.
As you complete your entry form you will be asked for types of services you provide so that we can assess your eligibility for the above categories.
Can we enter if we operate in multiple countries?
You have one of three entry options if your firm has operations in both Australia and New Zealand.
Australia only
By choosing ‘Australia only,’ you are entering your Australian-based operations into the Client Choice Awards as a single firm. Your Australian operations may have overseas clients, including clients in New Zealand. You should include all these clients in your submitted client list if they have commissioned work from your Australian operations.
New Zealand only
By choosing ‘New Zealand only,’ you are entering your New Zealand-based operations into the Client Choice Awards as a single firm. Your New Zealand operations may have overseas clients, including clients in Australia. You should include all these clients in your submitted client list if they have commissioned work from your New Zealand operations.
Australia & New Zealand
By choosing ‘Australia & New Zealand’, you are entering your Australian and New Zealand operations into the Client Choice Awards as one firm, and your entry will be treated as one firm in the results. In this situation, you should include all clients, including overseas clients, in your submitted client list if they have commissioned work from your Australian-based and/or New Zealand-based operations.
If both the Australian operations and the New Zealand operations of a firm with the same name choose to enter the Client Choice Awards with separate applications (i.e. ‘Australia only’ and ‘New Zealand only’), these entries will be treated as different firms in the Client Choice Awards, and we will add a suffix to the name of the firm in the Client Choice Awards results so that they are identified as such, e.g. Firm ABC – New Zealand.
How do the awards collect client data?
How feedback data is collected will change depending on the size of your firm.
Smaller firms
If you are a smaller firm by revenue (<$30m), you will be sent a unique survey link to send to your clients directly. Using this link, clients can provide feedback on the services you have provided.
Larger firms
If you are a larger firm by revenue (>$30m), you will need to provide us with a list of your client contacts before the fieldwork starts. We will clean this list, de-duplicate the list with other participating firms and Beaton will send the survey to all clients.
Irrespective of size, your client data will be held securely with the highest levels of confidentiality. We keep this data for only as long as is necessary to complete the research. For more information, please consult our Privacy Policy.
Is my client data secure and confidential?
Security
Beaton takes its obligations under Australian and New Zealand privacy law very seriously. Any data collected is stored in onshore servers. We pseudonymise (i.e. remove all identifying information) feedback data as soon as is practicable. For more information, please consult our Privacy Policy.
Confidentiality
By participating in Beaton research, you are engaging Beaton to act as your research agents to collect client feedback. Any disclosure to Beaton of client information is for the secondary purpose of collecting feedback, which is directly related to the primary purpose of providing services to your clients.
What do we do if we miss the cut-off for registration?
If you miss the cut-off for research and database submission, it’s okay; you can still participate in the study, however, commitment to purchase the final report is needed to do so.
The cut-off dates listed are for free participation and eligibility for an award.
Can we register in more than one category?
The award categories that you can take part in are determined by the revenue of your organisation. Each award category listed above has the relevant revenue band noted in parentheses, if your organisation sits within the noted revenue band then you will be eligible for adjudication in that category (subject to collecting sufficient client feedback).
Against whom are we competing?
For the Law & Related Services Awards you will be competing against other firms in the same revenue bracket who have entered into the Law & Related Services category.
For all the other relevant awards listed above, you will be competing against all firms who have entered the Client Choice Awards across all professions: Accounting & Consulting Services, Built & Natural Environment Consulting and Law & Related Services.
What kind of reporting can we get?
Judging of category winners will take place after the survey period closes and all winners will be announced per the timeline above.
Following the winners announcement, participants will be able to purchase feedback reports produced by Beaton and receive their free summary client feedback score card.
All entrants will be advised of the reports that are available to purchase.
Do we have to buy a report to participate?
No! All firms that participate will receive a complimentary summary client feedback score card. There is no obligation on any participating firm to purchase any of the in-depth Beaton Benchmarks reports.
Should I participate every year?
We strongly encourage all professional services firms to participate each year, even if you have no intention of purchasing a report that year. It is better to have collected the data than to realise you need the data later and not have it readily available.
Annual participation will also mean we will have robust tracking data available that will allow you to assess change on a long-term basis.
How can we fix a mistake in our entry form?
If you made a mistake in completing your entry form, email
ewa.foroncewicz@beatonglobal.com
and explain what needs to be changed. Save the confirmation email you received.
Still have questions? Please contact us and one of our team will be in touch to help.
View our terms and conditions for full details.
Enter your law firm in the Beaton industry awards for the legal profession
The Beaton law awards for Australia & New Zealand are the recognised and respected the Client Choice Awards. They are the annual industry awards for law firms that celebrate the top legal firms.
What sets these awards apart is their basis in client feedback.
Our awards are determined by the experiences and opinions of clients, ensuring that the recognition goes to those who have truly made an impact on their clients’ lives and businesses.
Entries are open
Seize the chance to gain national recognition and build a reputation for excellence for your law firm. The Beaton law awards are open to all businesses in Australia and New Zealand that support and elevate the practice of law.