Later this year, The American Lawyer will once again turn its attention to the international legal scene, focusing in on the high-quality work being done by lawyers around the world on complex global matters. With our Global Legal Awards, we aim to honor the work being done by teams of law firms and in-house counsel on some of the world's most noteworthy legal projects. These matters often require the involvement of creative lawyers across numerous jurisdictions, solving problems on the grandest scale.

Each of the four categories listed below is open to law firms or legal departments for work on a notable matter between January 2018 and the contest submission period. Contestants should submit an essay of no more than 750 words describing their role in the matter, the challenges they faced in working on it, how they overcame those challenges, and the impact on the client and industry. Please include the names of all firms and entities that played a significant role in the matter. Finalists will be announced this fall, and winners will be announced at The American Lawyer Industry Awards in December. The deadline for all submissions is June 14.

To submit a nomination, click here.

The categories are:

Global Pro Bono Deal of the Year

This award recognizes a legal team that had a major impact for the client or beyond when handling a matter or implementing an initiative pro bono. It could be anything from a pro bono deal to keep an orphanage open in another country to an organization-wide initiative to stem the European refugee crisis, as examples.

Global M&A Deal of the Year

This award recognizes a legal team that had a major impact for the client or beyond when handling an M&A deal with a strong global component. The monetary amount of the deal is only one component, with other factors including the complexity of the deal, the regulatory or business issues that needed to be overcome and the impact to the client. (M&A will be defined broadly to encompass any business combination, purchase or disposal. All deals must be global matters.)

Global Finance Deal of the Year

This award recognizes a legal team that had a major impact for the client or beyond when handling a financing deal with a strong global component. The monetary amount of the financing is only one component, with other factors including the complexity of the financing, the regulatory or business issues that needed to be overcome and the impact to the client. A finance deal (including a capital markets deal) will be eligible if it involves significant lawyering under the securities, banking or other relevant laws of more than one nation; or if it is conducted by a law firm with origins in one nation under the securities, banking, or other relevant laws of another nation.

Global Litigation/Dispute Resolution of the Year

This award recognizes a legal team that had a major impact for the client or beyond when resolving a piece of litigation or dispute with a strong global component.

To submit a nomination, click here.