CMS Cameron McKenna partner Fiona Woolf, the former Lord Mayor of London, and Allen & Overy's (A&O's) Philip Wood QC are among a number of senior lawyers to have been recognised in the New Year Honours list.

Woolf (pictured) has become a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to the legal profession, diversity and the City of London, while Wood, currently a special global counsel at A&O, has been awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to English and financial law.

Woolf's forty-year career has included a number of important milestones. She became the first female partner at CMS in 1981 and the first female lawyer to be elected Lord Mayor of London in 2013. She also served as president of the Law Society between 2006 and 2007.

More recently, she was appointed to lead the Government's inquiry into historical child abuse after retired judge Baroness Butler-Sloss stepped down from the role last summer. However, she quit the role in October amid questions over her links to a senior government official set to come under scrutiny in the inquiry.

Wood, who made partner at A&O in 1973, was the magic circle firm's head of banking for ten years. He currently heads up the firm's global law intelligence unit, which was established in 2010. He is also a renowned dealmaker, leading on mandates such as the UK's £3.2bn bilateral loan agreement with Ireland during the financial crisis.

Other lawyers recognised include Lynda Rowbotham, head of legal for the Royal Mencap Society, who was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire title (OBE) for services to people with learning disabilities and their families, and Robert Messenger, deputy director for the treasury solicitor's department, who was awarded an OBE for services to government legal services.

Related: