The British Wills and Probate Awards 2024, sponsored by CTT Group, welcomed 450 practitioners in person, and over 200 online via the live stream, to recognise and celebrate the work of firms, individuals and businesses across the wills and probate community at a glitzy ceremony at Manchester’s Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.
Attendees were treated to an evening of magic, memories, and no little mayhem as magician and entertainer Ben Hanlin hosted the seventh annual ceremony; expertly compering the evening’s festivities and bringing the room to applause time and time again.
Chester-based Oliver & Co were the big winners on the night, scooping three major awards; “Best Place to Work” and “Customer Service Champions” while also taking home the inaugural “Wills and Probate Excellence Award” for the best overall submission. Other big winners on the night included Hugh James whose Court of Protection Team was considered top of the pile, alongside the “Private Client Team of the Year – Large” award.
The North West was well represented across the winners with Morecambe Bay Wills & Estates collecting two prizes, one for their charity work as “Community & Charity Champions” and another for “Estate Planning Firm of the Year – Boutique.” And Mayo Wynne Baxter took home the “Tax & Trust Team of the Year”, a new for 2024 category with head of the team Private Client team Fiona Dodd recognised as “Private Client Practitioner of the Year.”
Other winners on the night included Heritage Estate Planning, Kings Court Trust, and Simpler Law for “Estate Planning Consultant of the Year”, “Probate Provider of the Year – South” and “Estate Planning Firm of the Year – Large” respectively; and in the supplier categories, Capacity Vault, LEAP Estates and Estate Research were recognised for “Best Use of Technology”, “Legal Supplier of the Year” and “Probate Research Firm of the Year.”
A full list of winners can be found below and on the British Wills and Probate Awards website
The British Wills and Probate Awards were founded on the principles of recognising all those who work in the wills, tax, trust, probate and estate planning communities, whether regulated or unregulated, and 2024 was again representative of the whole community with the shortlist recognising 77 organisations from the 23 categories for excellence, innovation, and client service. Firms up and down the country enter with each entry scrutinised by the expert judging panel. The winners and highly commended drawn from across the legal spectrum
Now in its seventh year, organisers Today’s Media, the publishers of Today’s Wills and Probate, said they had refreshed many of the categories and criteria and introduced a number of new for 2024 categories to ensure The British Wills and Probate Awards remains as relevant in 2024 as it was when it launched in 2018. The 2024 ceremony introduced two new contentious and non-contentious Practitioner of the Year categories, a specialist “Tax and Trust Team of the Year” and revamped the Will Writing and Solicitor Firm of the Year categories.
Commenting on the success of the evening CTT Director, Clive Ponder TEP said
“It’s an absolute pleasure and a privilege to once again be headline sponsors. The British Wills and Probate Awards recognise the very best in our industry and having the honour of being a judge this year, I’ve seen firsthand the talent and dedication, and the heights of achievement this industry can reach”
“With so many talented firms and practitioners in the field alongside the growing innovation in the sector around technology and artificial intelligence, the judges have had a tough job on their hands. It is important now to carry on the important work we do and embrace the platform success provides.”
David Opie, Managing Director of Today’s Media, organisers of the awards added
“I am a firm believer that awards success contributes to a culture of innovation and excellence; improving the profile of a firm with prospective clients; the recruitment of new talent; and showcasing credibility and expertise. Every single firm on the shortlist, all our Highly Commended and Winners have demonstrated this in abundance to the judging panel and they should be rightly proud of having been recognised by this prestigious event.”
Further details about The British Wills and Probate Awards 2024, are available at www.britishwillsandprobateawards.co.uk.
British Wills and Probate Awards 2024 – Winners and Highly Commended
Best Use of Technology | Sponsored by The Estate Registry
- Winner: Capacity Vault
- Highly Commended: Cashroom
Legal Assistant of the Year | Sponsored by Fraser & Fraser
- Winner: Nicola Huseyin – Thackray Williams LLP
- Highly Commended: Jaimmie Poon – Confidence Wills
Court of Protection Team of the Year | Sponsored by Anglia Research
- Winner: Hugh James
- Highly Commended: Hugh Jones Solicitors
Community & Charity Champions | Sponsored by The HAIG Legal Group
- Winner: Morecambe Bay Wills & Estates Limited
- Highly Commended: Talbots Law
Probate Provider of the Year – North & Midlands | Sponsored by Institute of Legacy Management
- Winner: Ramsdens Solicitors LLP
- Highly Commended: ZEDRA
Probate Provider of the Year – South | Sponsored by CLSQ
- Winner: Kings Court Trust
- Highly Commended: Premier Solicitors
Innovation & Transformation of the Year | Sponsored by Level
- Winner: Culver Law Ltd
- Highly Commended: Digilegal Ltd
Estate Planning Consultant of the Year | Sponsored by Society of Will Writers
- Winner: Helen Davies – Heritage Estate Planning
- Highly Commended: Paul Stanford – Stanford Legal Services
Best Place to Work | Sponsored by FSL Finance
- Winner: Oliver & Co Solicitors
- Highly Commended: Shakespeare Martineau
Estate Planning Firm of the Year – Boutique | Sponsored by ZEDRA
- Winner: Morecambe Bay Wills & Estates Limited
- Highly Commended: Heritage Estate Planning
Estate Planning Firm of the Year – Large | Sponsored by WillSuite
- Winner: Simpler Law Ltd
- Highly Commended: Heritage Wills
Legal Supplier of the Year | Sponsored by CILEX
- Winner: LEAP Estates
- Highly Commended: Estatesearch
Contentious Practitioner of the Year | Sponsored by Women in Wills
- Winner: Mark Keeley – Freeths LLP
- Highly Commended: Debra Burton – Shakespeare Martineau
Contentious Wills & Probate Team of the Year – Boutique | Sponsored by Aviva
- Winner: Birketts LLP
- Highly Commended; Stevens & Bolton LLP
Contentious Wills & Probate Team of the Year – Large | Sponsored by CTT Group
- Winner: Rothley Law Limited
- Highly Commended: Moore Barlow LLP
Tax & Trusts Team of the Year | Sponsored by Provira
- Winner: Mayo Wynne Baxter
- Highly Commended:Irwin Mitchell LLP
One to Watch Practitioner of the Year | Sponsored by The Law Superstore
- Winner: Madison Earl – Sills & Betteridge
- Highly Commended: Isabella Glass – Blackstone Solicitors Ltd
Probate Research Firm of the Year | Sponsored by Probate.Auction
- Winner: Estate Research
- Highly Commended: Anglia Research
Private Client Practitioner of the Year | Sponsored by Finders International
- Winner: Fiona Dodd – Mayo Wynne Baxter
- Highly Commended: Jacqueline Emmerson – Emmersons Solicitors
Private Client Firm of the Year – Boutique | Sponsored by Ochresoft
- Winner: Hugh Jones Solicitors
- Highly Commended: SE-Solicitors
Private Client Firm of the Year – Large | Sponsored by LEAP Estates
- Winner: Hugh James
- Highly Commended: Irwin Mitchell LLP
Customer Service Champions | Sponsored by Exizent
- Winner: Oliver & Co Solicitors
- Highly Commended: Rothera Bray LLP
Wills & Probate Excellence | Sponsored by Arken.legal
- Winner: Oliver & Co Solicitors
Congratulations to everybody on their success at The British Wills and Probate Awards 2024. #BWAPAwards2024
One Response
Congratulations to all the winners and highly commended … we should also give a big shout out to all those nominated .. collectively pushing the levels of service to the next level.