Criteria: Open to barristers and advocates. The winner will have achieved exceptional results for her clients, thereby inspiring the next generation of women advocates to reach their full potential. The jury will be looking for evidence of technical legal excellence, innovation, leadership and client satisfaction as well as a commitment to promoting the highest ethical and professional standards. A demonstrable contribution to diversity, and inclusion, is also essential.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  Valid Bar Council License to appear as an Advocate
•  5 years of relevant PQE
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement
•  Appeared as a lead counsel in at least 2 cases in past 5 years which demonstrate your legal excellence, innovation, leadership and/or client satisfaction

Criteria: Open to lawyers working as corporate or transactional lawyers. The winner will have achieved exceptional results for her clients, thereby inspiring the next generation of women advocates to reach their full potential. The jury will be looking for evidence of technical legal excellence, innovation, leadership and client satisfaction as well as a commitment to promoting the highest ethical and professional standards.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  5 years relevant PQE
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement
•  Must have independently handled at least 2 transactions or have had a leading role in their handling and conclusion in the past 5 years

Criteria: Open to lawyers serving as public prosecutors. The jury will be looking for evidence of technical legal excellence, innovation, leadership as well as a commitment to promoting the highest ethical and professional standards with a gender/child sensitive lens.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  Valid Bar Council License to appear as an Advocate
•  3 years of relevant PQE
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement
•  Appeared as a prosecutor in at least 2 cases in past 3 years which demonstrate your legal excellence, innovation, leadership and gender sensitive approach towards prosecution of the case.

Criteria: This award recognizes the academic who is not only effectively shaping their students and through their work instilling passion for law, excellence and expertise, she will also be a person who is able to demonstrate original contribution to legal scholarship as an evidence of their skill of being a thought-leader in their area/subject. The winner must be able to provide hard evidence of their achievements.

Min. Requirements:

•  Post Graduate Degree in law
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  3 years of relevant PQE
•  supporting documents/statement
•  at least two recent original papers showing contribution to legal scholarship in past 3 years

Criteria: To be considered for this award applicants/nominees should be able to demonstrate how their specific involvement in programmes or initiatives benefitted female lawyers and led to the development and retention of talent in the profession.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  7 years PQE
•  duly filled nomination form
•  supporting documents/statement
•  Details of the programme/initiative quantifying development and/or retention of female lawyers in the profession

Criteria: Open to women whose overall achievements and work within the Pakistani legal profession has helped raise the profile of the sector as a career for women either through education, training, leadership, mentoring or as a role model. The award is open to all roles and the nominee must be able to demonstrate influence in making the legal profession more inclusive and conducive for marginalized classes such as pushing for a more enabling environment, or legal and/or policy reforms increasing access to justice.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  At least 3 years relevant experience in promoting gender, diversity, equality, access and inclusion in law
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating influence and impact towards making legal profession more gender sensitive and inclusive

Criteria: Open to women who can provide an inspirational example of returning successfully to any role within the legal sector, highlighting both personal commitment and drive. Career breaks may have been due to maternity leave or any form of long term absence such as illness or a sabbatical.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating a career break as well as a successful return to the profession to any role within legal sector

Criteria: Open to in-house lawyers/company secretaries. The winner will have achieved exceptional results for her employer, thereby inspiring the next generation of women in-house lawyers to reach their full potential. The jury will be looking for evidence of technical legal excellence, innovation, leadership and employer satisfaction as well as commitment to promoting the highest ethical and professional standards. A demonstrable commitment to corporate social responsibility, including diversity is essential.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B degree
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  5 years relevant PQE
•  Supporting documents/statement
•  The candidate must have achieved exemplary results for the employer and/or otherwise demonstrate leadership and innovation in the legal department.
•  The candidate must be a team player demonstrating ethical, professional standards and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Criteria: Open to ADR practitioners. The applicant/nominee will have achieved outstanding results in negotiations or other ADR means for her clients such as enforcement of arbitral awards or settlement of disputes through ADR. The jury will be looking for evidence of technical legal excellence, innovation, leadership and client satisfaction as well as a commitment to promoting the highest ethical and professional standards amongst other things.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  5 years relevant PQE
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating legal excellence and satisfactory results/settlements for their clients
•  Must have been a counsel in at least 2 negotiations/arbitrations etc. in past 3 years

Criteria: Open to lawyers, academics, in-house counsels etc. who have made a strong impact in a short span of time and show most potential for future growth. The jury will be looking for evidence of making most efforts, growth in the individual learning arc showing impact and utility of the work completed by them, on their employer and/or on access to justice on the whole.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  2 years relevant PQE
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating their individual growth and impact of their work on their employer and/or legal profession/access to justice

Criteria: The nominee of this category will be someone her colleagues regard as indispensable to the profession but whose hard work often goes unnoticed. This could be championing a person or idea, rescuing a failing project or going the extra mile to help others. Open to women in non-practicing roles within the legal services market.

Min. Requirements:

•  B Degree
•  5 years PQE
•  Duly filled nomination form

*For this category, the person nominating must be different from the person being nominated.

**The person nominating under this category must know the nominee in a professional or academic capacity and must NOT be related to the nominee in a personal capacity.

Criteria: This award recognizes the academic, community and legal achievements of female law students who, through their contribution have inspired other law students and have excelled in their subjects as well as at other co-curricular activities such as competitions, clerkships, law clinics or internship experiences. The applicant/nominee must be able to demonstrate hard evidence of their progress in these goals.

Min. Requirements:

•  Enrolled in an undergraduate law programme
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating academic and co-curricular achievements, as well as commitment to gender equality, diversity, access to justice, and inclusion

Criteria: This award recognizes lawyers who have demonstrated involvement with at least one significant pro bono initiative or project and can provide hard evidence of the outcome and impact. This need not necessarily relate to litigation but can extend to any field within law such as policy input, advocacy, trainings, research, teaching etc.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  5 years PQE
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating impact of involvement in a pro-bono case/initiative or project

Criteria: For lawyers who are working in their individual capacity and able to demonstrate their success with hard evidence of their progress in achieving the desired results and outcomes for their clients thereby inspiring other female practitioners to pursue their independent practice.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  Independent legal practice
•  3 years relevant PQE
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating desired results and outcomes for their clients
•  Commitment to gender equality, inclusion and diversity in law

Criteria: Open to men working within the Pakistani legal profession in any capacity who not only mentor women but who champion diversity within the industry. The applicant/nominee will be a role model and leader and someone who has used his position to help set up initiatives and spread positive messages aimed at helping to achieve equality in the workplace and across the market.

Min. Requirements:

•  LL.B Degree
•  Male
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  5 years relevant PQE
•  Demonstrated commitment to gender equality, inclusion and diversity within the legal profession
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating leadership in setting up initiatives and/or other efforts and contributions towards creating an enabling, accessible and inclusive legal profession

Criteria: Open to NGOs and other collectives with best rights based advocacy in a year. The jury will be looking for impact assessment and outcomes of the advocacy. The applicants/nominees must be able to provide hard evidence of progress in achieving their goals. Focus of the jury will be on the overall campaign design, outreach strategy and execution of the advocacy.

Min. Requirements:

•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating a quantifiable outcome and results of the stated rights based advocacy on issues of gender equality, child justice, access to justice and/or inclusive legal profession

Criteria: Open to all Pakistan based law firms, legal department, NGOs etc. This category focuses on a single project or initiative that has successfully improved gender diversity within the legal profession or access to justice on the whole. The jury will be looking to reward innovative, practical projects that inspire other teams to implement similar schemes. The applicants/nominees must be able to provide hard evidence of progress in achieving their goals.

Min. Requirements:

•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating a quantifiable outcome and results of the stated rights based advocacy on issues of gender equality, child justice, access to justice and/or inclusive legal profession

Criteria: The firm must be able to demonstrate effective retention and recruitment policies, flexible work arrangements, distinct policies implemented to lift number of females into senior positions, policies designed to encourage women, minorities and differently-abled at all levels to stay at the firm and remain within the profession and promote an inclusive workplace culture such as having maternity leave and benefits policy, sanitary facilities and accessibility for all etc. the winner must be able to provide hard evidence of their progress in meeting these.

Min. Requirements:

•  Law firms based in Pakistan
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating how the firm has ensured or enabled access, inclusion, equality and diversity within their firm

Criteria: Open to in-house legal departments based in Pakistan. The applicants/nominees will demonstrate to the jury an exemplary commitment to promoting gender diversity within the workplace. The jury will be looking for unique, imaginative and effective programmes that set out to transform the department’s diversity record. The winners must be able to provide hard evidence of progress in achieving their goals.

Min. Requirements:

•  Legal departments based in Pakistan
•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating how the applicant/nominee has ensured or enabled access, inclusion, equality and diversity within their department

Criteria: As the regulatory bodies Bar councils are expected to play a central and pivotal role in ensuring gender diversity, inclusiveness and accessibility within the profession. The applicants/nominees should be able to demonstrate steps taken and policies adopted in this regard and should be able to provide hard evidence of their progress in achieving these goals.

Min. Requirements:

•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating how the applicant/nominee has ensured or enabled access, inclusion, equality and diversity within the legal profession

Criteria: The reward will be for the association that is able to establish its commitment and progress towards gender diversity and inclusiveness within the profession. The applicant/nominee should be able to demonstrate steps taken and policies adopted to reform the culture and environment within their association so as to make it more accessible and conducive for all members and to promote among their members values of a gender-sensitivity and inclusivity. They should be able to provide hard evidence of their progress in achieving these goals.

Min. Requirements:

•  Duly filled nomination form
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating how the applicant/nominee has ensured or enabled access, inclusion, equality and diversity within the legal profession

Criteria: Open to all public and private law schools that have demonstrated commitment to gender-sensitivity workshops and trainings and who focus on developing their faculties as well as their students interest and capacity in gender and diversity issues. They should also be able to demonstrate their own inclusivity and accessibility through hard evidence showing how their infrastructure and policies promotes diversity and accessibility for all.

Min. Requirements:

•  Recognized public or private sector law school based in Pakistan offering undergraduate degree in law
•  Supporting documents/statement demonstrating a focus on gender sensitivity and trainings of faculty and staff
•  They should also be able to demonstrate their own inclusivity and accessibility through hard evidence showing how their infrastructure and policies promotes diversity and accessibility for all both within their school, their research and contribution and among their students.