The Wills and Probate sector once again came together to recognise and celebrate excellence at the sixth annual British Wills and Probate Awards, sponsored by CTT Group, with over 700 people attending either in person, or virtually.
Hosted for the first time in Manchester the attendance was nearly double that of 2022, held in Birmingham, as 450 practitioners packed out The Ballroom at The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel on the evening of Wednesday 11th October. Across 26 hotly contested categories the British Wills and Probate Awards uniquely recognises the individuals and organisations across the solicitor, will-writing and probate communities.
The evening began with the awards, which were simultaneously live streamed via The British Wills and Probate Awards website. You can review the recording of the evening here. The evening then moved on to host the Networking Reception, sponsored by Exizent, Dinner, and After-Party sponsored by Estatesearch.
A glance down those who were winners and highly commended suggests the future of the industry is in safe hands with a mix of established market players and newer entrants on the night.
Hugh James made it a hat-trick as the firm took home the coveted Solicitor Firm of the Year – National for the third year with Weightmans Highly Commended, who were themselves usurped in the Best Place to Work category by Oliver & Co who took top spot with a Highly Commended’s for Confidence Wills and NewLaw.
The Will Writing categories were updated in 2023 to recognise the growth of the online will writing market with Which! Taking home top spot in the new Will Writer of the Year – Online category. Heritage Wills were crowed Will Writer of the Year – National with Touch Solicitors Highly Recommended and Dunham McCarthy were recognised in the Regional category ahead of Confidence Wills.
New entrant Wilkinson & Fox beat off the competition to land Legal Supplier of the Year with Inheritance Data Highly Commended and Just Clear claimed the sought after Customer Service Champions.
Laurelo followed up their success in 2022, retaining the Probate Provider of the Year – South crown with the North & Midlands region going to Emmersons Solicitors.
In the newly split, and always hotly contested, Contentious Probate Team of the Year Irwin Mitchell were Winners with Freeths Highly Commended in the Large category, and Kingsley Napley were winner ahead of Thomson Snell & Passmore in the Boutique category.
The final category at The British Wills and Probate Awards recognises the individuals who have made a significant contribution to the life and times of the wills and probate sector over the last 12 months. For the first time since it’s launch in 2021 there would be a female recipient of the Today’s Wills and Probate Industry Champion, sponsored by arken.legal, as the final shortlist contained Helen Claydon of Fidelis Legal Services, Holy Chantler of Morr & Co and Gill Steel of LawSkils.
Following the public vote Helen Claydon was confirmed as the 2023 Industry Champion, following in the prestigious footsteps of Michael Culver, now of Culver Law and Chair of SFE, and Trevor Worth of Portcullis Legals and former chair of the BEST Foundation.
Commenting on the evening, Andrew Houston of Headline Sponsor CTT Group said
“As we look back on the BWAP Awards, it’s evident that the event was a remarkable testament to the hard work, innovations and inspiration from our industry leaders. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and anticipation, with each nominee deserving of recognition for their outstanding contributions. We hope you all enjoyed the event as much as we did, and we can’t wait to see you all again next year!”
Aleks Tomczyk, Founder & COO at Networking Sponsor Exizent added
“A massive congratulations to all the nominees and winners, it was fantastic to see so many people doing a great job and invested in the work they do.”
Congratulations to all those shortlisted, highly commended, and of course the winners from the team at Today’s Media, the publishers of Today’s Wills and Probate.
The British Wills and Probate Awards will return on 10th October 2024 at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel Manchester. Save the date!
The British Wills and Probate Awards 2023: The winners and highly commended
Best Use of Technology | Sponsored by Best Foundation
Winner: Estate Research
Highly Commended: Estatesearch and Cashroom
Paralegal/Support Team Member of the Year | Sponsored by Fraser & Fraser
Winner: Jaimmie Poon, Confidence Wills
Highly Commended: Janice Connolly, Grant Saw Solicitors LLP
Court of Protection Team of the Year | Sponsored by Anglia Research
Winner: Morr & Co LLP
Highly Commended: Anthony Gold Solicitors
Community & Charity Champions | Sponsored by Simpler Law
Winner: Squiggle Consult
Highly Commended: Farewill
Probate Provider of the Year – North & Midlands | Sponsored by Prosperity Insurance
Winner: Emmersons Solicitors Ltd
Highly Commended: Thursfields Solicitors
Probate Provider of the Year – South | Sponsored by CLS Property Insight
Winner: Laurelo
Highly Commended: Thomson Snell & Passmore
Innovation & Transformation of the Year | Sponsored by CTT Group
Winner: Dunham McCarthy
Highly Commended: AL-HQ Law & More
Estate Planning Consultant of the Year | Sponsored by Ochresoft
Winner: Sid Mohanty, Amadeus Legal Services Ltd
Highly Commended: Helen Davies, Heritage Estate Planning
Best Place to Work| Sponsored by Estgro
Winner: Oliver & Co Solicitors
Highly Commended: Confidence Wills & NewLaw
Solicitor Firm of the Year – North | Sponsored by Ochresoft
Winner: Taylor Emmet
Highly Commended: Private Client Solicitors
Solicitor Firm of the Year – Midlands | Sponsored by LEAP
Winner: Sills & Betteridge LLP
Highly Commended: Shakespeare Martineau
Solicitor Firm of the Year – South | Sponsored by Wilkinson & Fox
Winner: Clarkson Wright & Jakes & Phillips Law
Highly Commended: Judge & Priestley
Solicitor Firm of the Year – National | Sponsored by Inheritance Data
Winner: Hugh James
Highly Commended: Weightmans LLP
Legal Supplier of the Year | Sponsored by Institute of Paralegals
Winner: Wilkinson & Fox
Highly Commended: Inheritance Data
Contentious Wills & Probate Team of the Year – Large | Sponsored by Finders International
Winner: Irwin Mitchell
Highly Commended: Freeths
Contentious Wills and Probate Team of the Year – Boutique | Sponsored by Aviva
Winner: Kingsley Napley
Highly Commended: Thomson Snell & Passmore
Charity Legacy Probate Collaboration of the Year | Sponsored by Institute of Legacy Management
Winner: Shakespeare Martineau
Highly Commended: Hugh James
One to Watch Practitioner of the Year | Sponsored by The Law Superstore
Winner: Nicola Combe, Morecambe Bay Wills & Estates Ltd
Highly Commended: Emily Robertson, Burgess Mee
Probate Research Firm of the Year| Sponsored by Modern Law
Winner: Finders International
Highly Commended: Anglia Research
Private Client Team of the Year – Boutique | Sponsored by Ampla Finance
Winner: Levi Solicitors
Highly Commended: HTF Legal & Rowlinsons
Private Client Team of the Year – Large | Sponsored by Pro-Gen Research
Winner: Mayo Wynne Baxter
Highly Commended: Brabners LLP & Brachers LLP
Customer Service Champion | Sponsored by Exizent
Winner: Just Clear
Highly Commended: Morecambe Bay Wills & Estates Ltd
Will Writing Firm of the Year – Online| Sponsored by Zedra
Winner: Which?
Highly Commended: Farewill
Will Writing Firm of the Year – Regional| Sponsored by Property Ladder Group
Winner: Dunham McCarthy
Highly Commended: Confidence Wills
Will Writing Firm of the Year – National| Sponsored by WillSuite
Winner: Heritage Wills
Highly Commended: Touch Solicitors Ltd
Industry Champion | Sponsored by Arken.legal
Helen Claydon| Head of Legal | Fidelis Legal Services
