22 October 2009, Science Museum, London 

The Financial Times is delighted to announce that the 3rd Annual FT Innovative Lawyers Awards will take place on 22 October 2009 at the Science Museum, London.

Now in its fourth year of publication, the FT Innovative Lawyers Report has become one of the top legal rankings in Europe, and the accompanying awards are widely regarded as the best researched in the market. It presents a unique analysis of the legal industry and is the only ranking of lawyers by innovation. We base both the report and awards on thorough research and robust journalism.

Why Attend?

After a sell out event in 2008 with over 400 senior attendees, including the managing and senior partners of many of the leading law firms, the 3rd Annual FT Innovative Lawyers Awards will be attended by the award recipients, as well as over 400 noteworthy professionals in the legal community, for an evening of socialising with their peers and recognising those who have achieved honours.

We are also changing the way in which we run the awards. Breaking with the format of announcing the winners at a traditional black-tie dinner, we intend to combine the awards ceremony with what could be best described as an innovation forum. The awards will be held at the beginning of the evening in the IMAX theatre at the Science Museum, and compered by a leading QC. This will enable us to showcase the reasons as to nominees have been selected with any relevant commentary from the research. The result should be an exploration of what constitutes innovation in legal services from the perspective of the many clients and lawyers interviewed in the research process.
 
After this session, there will be a formal dinner at which Martin Dickson, Deputy Editor of the FT will make an after-dinner speech, alongside a high-profile, keynote speaker. (The identity of the speaker will be confirmed shortly.) The keynote speaker will give out the final award of the evening to the most innovative European law firm. To close the evening, advance copies of the FT Innovative Lawyers report will be released to the dinner guests.

For photos of the 2009 event click here
For photos of the 2008 event click here