Legal Week chief reporter Claire Ruckin has won the Bar Council's 2010 legal reporting award for her extended feature on the collapse of Halliwells.

The award for print journalism was presented by the Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC MP at the conclusion of the Bar Council's annual conference on Saturday (6 November). The broadcast category was won by BBC Radio 4′s Thinking Allowed series for its coverage of white-collar crime.

The winning entry, an extended examination of the collapse and fire-sale of Halliwells, was published in September 2010.

The award was decided by a panel including Bar Council chairman Nicholas Green QC, vice chairman-elect Michael Todd QC and James Baxter, a media consultant and a former editor of Legal Business.

Green commented: "The judges had a very tough decision, choosing between some incredibly high quality entries. However, we managed to reach a unanimous decision in both categories.

"We felt that Claire's in-depth and thoroughly researched piece took a timely and considered approach to the biggest collapse in the legal sector for some years. It was felt particularly relevant, as the Bar looks to adapt and modernise its structures, to understand the business of legal entities and the potential pitfalls."

Winners of the Bar Council award, which was launched in 1991, have previously included Joshua Rozenberg, The Times' Frances Gibb and Mary Riddell of The Daily Telegraph.

Legal Week editor Alex Novarese commented: "Claire has done a fantastic job of covering Halliwells over the last two years, culminating in what was an extremely ambitious piece. We're all very proud to get this recognition from the Bar Council for that article and Claire's work in general."

Picture by Laura Lean.