Legal Week remains somewhat arms-length from its own awards ceremony, the British Legal Awards. That's mainly because the awards have an independent judging panel – and a very high quality one at that – with the aim being to avoid the event turning into a prize-fest for our best contacts.

That said, we do try to draw on Legal Week's editorial experience to assist the process. That happens in several ways. Firstly, Legal Week – largely meaning me and our deputy editor, Georgina Stanley – help to whittle the award entries down to a shortlist for the judges to consider. Frankly, that was a pain this year, because for reasons I won't try to explain we had a record number of entries, up 20% on last year. So apologies to the considerable number of lawyers, firms and barristers sulking at our news team this week for not getting shortlisted – in most categories you were really up against a lot of competition.

Another way in which we are involved is the Law Firm of the Year award, for which Legal Week's editorial team draws up the shortlist. In the spirit of transparency, we publish a piece outlining the reasons for shortlisting those firms, which is also made available to the judging panel. The firms themselves are also invited to supply additional supporting material. So here is our Firm of the Year shortlist:

The smallest of London's 'big four' has been on a roll in recent years, sustaining an enviable growth track throughout the recession and mapping out an ambitious programme of global expansion. Revenue has grown by 52% over the last five years, while profits per equity partner are up by nearly 40% – making it the best performer in its weight class. The firm also boasts a management team that has demonstrated an effective combination of the vision thing and operational grasp. As such, the firm has frequently shown imagination with a host of initiatives, including its role in backing the cross-professional social diversity venture, PRIME, and last year's creation of its research arm, the Global Law Intelligence Unit.

While some would argue that its current move to set up a low-cost support operation in Belfast is a cultural risk for a firm that only went through a radical restructuring two years ago, A&O can at least be said to be actively responding to the times. The firm also ranks highly in Legal Week Intelligence's recent associate satisfaction report. A strong all-rounder.

Strong as the field is this year, Clyde & Co has to be the one to beat. The insurance leader has been a remarkably successful performer over the last 10 years. It has also comprehensively reinvented itself as both the top brand in UK insurance law and a distinctive global player with credible practices in trade, transport and energy to complement its contentious core.

The firm's growth has been powered by astute expansion, including a slickly managed programme of lateral hiring and targeted bolt-ons, including its acquisition last year of a large construction team from Shadbolt & Co and this year's launch in Canada with a takeover of 40-lawyer practice Nicholl Paskell-Mede. The firm also boasts a highly regarded management team in the shape of Michael Payton and Peter Hasson. The firm's ability to manage expansion is now facing its greatest test with its much-heralded merger with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert – the largest-ever union between two UK law firms. Yet, given its track record, hopes will be high that Clydes can make the deal deliver.

In recent years Kirkland & Ellis has seemed to be turning itself into a cross between Latham & Watkins and Skadden Arps: a thrustingly ambitious global practice combining scale, impatience and high-end transactional credibility. After an uneven period for its City arm a few years back, in which recruitment looked at times haphazard, Kirkland's practice has shown signs of maturing nicely with premium mandates in the right areas and a range of strong practitioners established.

Expectations are also very high for the firm in Asia in the wake of an eight-partner team the firm hired in Hong Kong this summer, which includes some exceptional lawyers. The firm's recent financial performance has been suitably impressive with Kirkland this year entering the top five most profitable firms in the US and hiking revenues by 13.8%.

Critics would question whether a firm making heavy use of lateral recruitment and non-equity partners has enough cultural glue to manage growth on this scale. But, judged on results, the answer would appear to be an emphatic yes.

Creating a top 10 global practice via a huge merger was never going to be easy and the birth of Hogan Lovells has had its share of challenges. A stream of partner departures have been seen in Europe, primarily from Hogan & Hartson's legacy practice, and it is clear that some cultural tensions still need to be resolved.

However, nothing should detract from the fact that the merger appears to be delivering on its huge promise. Since the 2010 tie-up the firm has also won a series of key panel appointments including Bank of America, Barclays, China Development Bank, Axa and Prudential and maintained expansive form, bringing in more than 30 partners since launch. It also helps that the legacy Lovells has been a strong financial performer in recent years, going a long to way shrug off its historic reputation as a quality City player without the ambition to ever keep pace with its peers. Huge progress been made for a practice some had recently written off as a serious international force.

The closest that City law has come to producing a glamour club, Mishcon de Reya hit the headlines this year after hiking its revenue by 30% in 2010-11 to reach £61.5m. Driving this has been an ambitious range of initiatives focused on investing through the downturn and identifying areas in which it can compete with larger firms. The firm has also built on its strengths in litigation, along the way cultivating a lucrative stream of Russian clients.

Perhaps most eye-catching was the creation of an umbrella brand, Mishcon Private, to bring together a range of services for high-net clients covering areas as disparate as family, reputation management and art law. The firm's work in this area received a handy boost thanks to headline-grabbing advisory roles in relation to the phone-hacking saga. Staff engagement is another strength, with Mishcons having one of the highest scores in Legal Week Intelligence's 2011 Employee Satisfaction Report. Not everyone will be convinced about the firm's attempts to break into the New York litigation market, but overall Mishcons looks like a star in the ascendancy.

The turnaround stock that keeps going in the right direction. Stephenson Harwood was named Law Firm of the Year two years ago in recognition of its dramatic transformation from fast-fading legal royalty to lean, upwardly mobile City player. And the firm shows every sign of sustaining that momentum, proving to be the best financial performer in its peer group in 2010-11 with revenues up by 16% while profits per equity partner broke through £600,000.

Observers of the firm note sustained expansion backed by a strong roster of lateral hires and focused international moves into Asia, to say nothing of the firm's efforts to cultivate Indian clients. Chief executive Sharon White is also regarded as having admirably filled the sizeable shoes of her predecessor Sunil Gadhia. The firm also emerges as a strong performer in Legal Week Intelligence's annual Client Satisfaction Report.

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So there you have it. Good luck to all the shortlisted firms and individuals on the night. And remember, I operate under a simple rule: I'm happy to take the credit if you win; if you lose, it's Guy Beringer's fault.

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