WORCESTERSHIRE'S leading lawyers, top firms and rising stars have been shortlisted for Worcestershire Law Society's annual awards.

Awards are made for solicitor of the year, junior solicitor of the year (up to five years qualified), employment law department of the year and trainee solicitor of the year, as well as for administrative and support staff in a variety of roles within the legal profession.

Staff from Thursfields, Harrison Clark Rickerbys, Hallmark Hulme and MFG Solicitors are nominated for individual awards, with the latter three firms battling it out for the professional discipline in employment, award.

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in March by a panel of judges, who will make a final decision.

Guest speaker for the awards dinner is Lord Digby Jones, local entrepreneur and ex-solicitor. The event is being hosted by Hursty, from the Hursty and Helen Free Radio morning show.

More than 160 guest will be attending, enjoying a drinks reception, followed by dinner and the awards ceremony with extravagant raffle prizes donated by the local business community.

Priya Tromans, president of the Worcestershire Law Society, said: “We have a wealth of legal talent in the county and we celebrate that every year with these awards.

"This year’s event promises to be very entertaining too – Lord Jones has some great stories to tell and it is always good to have a chance to meet up with colleagues from across the county.

“We are especially grateful to our sponsors, including St Philips Chambers, Index Property Information, Brightwells Auctioneers and Anja Potze.”

The shortlisted nominees for solicitor of the year include Clare Emery of Harrison Clark Rickerbys, Helen Gough of MFG, and Claire Thompson of Harrison Clark Rickerbys.

Junior Solicitor of the Year nominees include Nathan Guest of Harrison Clark Rickerbys and Hailey Nip of Harrison Clark Rickerbys.

Trainee Solicitor of the Year nominees include Sarah-Jayne Martin of Harrison Clark Rickerbys, Jack Morley of MFG and Kirsty Underhill of Thursfields, while nominees for administration support staff include Nysha Dowling of Hallmark Hulme, Jodie Hawker of Harrison Clark Rickerbys and Lian Styring of MFG.

The nominees for support staff paralegal are Emma Kirkpatrick of Harrison Clark Rickerbys, Patricia Marleau of Harrison Clark Rickerbys and Nicola Pearce of Thursfields.

The nominees for support staff, office management, are Mandy Jones of Harrison Clark Rickerbys and Aimee Williams of Thursfields.

Nominees for professional discipline, employment, include Claire Cole of Hallmark Hulme, Sally Morris of MFG and Claire Thompson of Harrison Clark Rickerbys.