Nominations are now open for the The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2012, which, consistent with the transformation of the overall ALB business, features revamped parameters, new criteria and additional award categories. The winners will be announced at a gala event on Sept. 7.

Parameters: Under the revamped parameters of The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards, nominees can only include law firms, in-house departments, banks and accountancy firms based in Hong Kong. All deals must have a significant Hong Kong element to qualify (exceptions are the three categories pertaining to the Korea and Taiwan markets). Additionally, the work must be completed, and services provided must be within the period of April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012.

Judging panel: There will be two external judging panels. The General Panel will consist of over 40 in-house counsel and private practice lawyers, while the Special Expertise Panel will comprise association and industry specialists.

Criteria: New minimum financial values have been established for individual deal categories, such as US$1billion for Debt Market Deal of the Year, US$1billion for Equity Market Deal of the Year, US$1billion for Korea Deal of the Year, and US$1.5 billion for M&A Deal of the Year. These values were determined by assessing previous deal values to set a threshold which would ensure that only the most significant and complex transactions are recognised.

Categories: Several new categories have been introduced this year, including Innovative In-House Team of the Year, which recognises the achievements of a corporate in-house team that has created or implemented novel compliance/training programmes or other systems/structures that assist the legal department in reaching its objectives.

The Corporate Citizen/CSR Law Firm of the Year is dedicated to those who are committed to developing the capacity of a firm to support and realise the value of diversity and inclusion (relative to developing and respecting human potential, creating a supportive and nurturing climate, and acknowledging legal responsibilities to historical inequalities), as well as giving back to the greater community.

For a full list of criteria and categories, click here. ALB

Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.