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The Law Awards are organised annually by NZLawyer magazine, with consumers of legal services, senior members of the profession and law firm employees being invited to nominate candidates for the various categories over a one-month period. Nearly 1,000 nominations were received and all registered, eligible voting participants completed an online qualitative questionnaire to record their votes. In the case of the barrister of the year award, law firm partners, in-house counsel and clients were also allowed to vote. Speaker Ron Pol, director of professional services company Team factors Ltd, summed up* what separated the Law Awards from other legal accolades when he said: "Clients decide who gets nominated and who wins each award... quite simply, every nominee is here because your clients thought you deserved to be nominated; because you’ve already delivered great client service... You are not here because of size, profitability, slick marketing machines, or a subjective panel of judges. You are here because of clients, and clients alone." To be chosen Barrister of the Year, the winning barrister has to provide excellence in client service, demonstrate excellence in the development of the law, and be committed to the advancement of the reputation of the New Zealand Bar. Voters said that Simon as a barrister was "customer focused" and "a pleasure to work with." They also said he demonstrated a strong entrepreneurial and modern approach and "understands the customer needs and timeline and gets on with the job in a logical and understandable manner without the legalese waffle." In the Environmental and Resource Management Law category, Simon Berry was up against a number of law firms, including Simpson Grierson, Kensington Swan and Brookfields. Simon's comments: Being nominated for both categories in the first place was a real surprise to me. I am honoured and humbled to have actually received both awards, and the recognition from my peers and clients that goes with them, especially when there are so many other very talented lawyers in both categories, including my fellow nominees. One thing that the awards say to me is that we must be doing something right. I have a particular way of doing things which is very outcome oriented and which can be pretty labour intensive for everyone involved (not just my team). I always look for the most efficient way to achieve what the client wants, which does not always involve litigation and sometimes includes advising my clients to "make haste slowly". Most often, the smart way through is to fully factor in the "human" factors - the law just sits alongside that stuff. Anyway, we seem to punch above our weight much of the time and have a very high rate of success on some pretty interesting and difficult cases. To the extent that the awards reflect support for our style and approach, I greatly value them.
(*NZLawyer 14 November 2008)
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