Nominations for the 2025 ILANZ Awards are now open.

You can nominate by downloading the nomination form here. 

The ILANZ Awards celebrate the in-house legal profession’s leadership and excellence in the provision of legal services in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

From small beginnings, we have grown to ten awards across three categories and the number of nominations increases year on year, highlighting some of the impressive work being carried out in our profession. 

Please review the specific award criteria to assist with your nomination. 

Individual awards

• Private Sector In-house Lawyer of the Year
• Public Sector In-house Lawyer of the Year
• MAS New In-house Lawyer of the Year

Team awards

• Chapman Tripp Private Sector In-house Team of the Year
• Greenwood Roche Public Sector In-house Team of the Year
• Small In-house Team of the Year* 

Special awards

• Artemis In-house Innovation Award
• Simpson Grierson People & Culture Excellence Award
• ComplyWith Community Contribution Award 

Visit our Terms and Conditions and Awards Criteria for the full awards breakdown.
*no more than 10 full-time equivalent lawyers

Key dates:

• Friday 14 February: Nominations close at 5pm
• Week of 17 March: Finalists announced 
• Friday 9 May: Winners announced at the Awards Dinner in Auckland at the Viaduct Events Centre

Award category limits

• A person can only be nominated in one of the individual award categories
• An in-house team can only be nominated in one of the team award categories
• A person or team may also be nominated for one or more special award categories
• If nominations are received for a person or team outside these award category limits, the judges may disregard, re-categorise or merge the entries in their sole discretion.
• ILANZ Executive Members (being the ILANZ President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary) cannot be nominated in any individual award categories (but their colleagues and teams can be nominated for any other individual or team award categories)
  
  

Eligibility

All lawyers employed or engaged by organisations in an in-house capacity and holding a current NZLS in-house practicing certificate are eligible for the 2025 Awards.
Please note the Artemis In-house Innovation Award may also be awarded to another employee of the in-house legal team’s employer (who may or may not hold a current practising certificate).
The 2025 award period runs from 1 March 2024 until nomination closing date. Activities started prior to 1 March can be included in nominations as long they continued into the award period.
Please note there are specific eligibility criteria for some awards. Members of the judging panels and the ILANZ Executive Committee members are not eligible for consideration in the individual award categories.