EXCELLENCE AWARDEE INFORMATION

Thursday 28 November 2024 | VIADUCT EVENTS CENTRE, AUCKLAND

Congratulations on being shortlisted as an excellence awardee in the 2024 New Zealand Law Awards!

The New Zealand Law Awards recognise and highlight the outstanding achievements of those at the forefront of industry best practices and leadership.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday 28 November 2024 at the Viaduct Events Centre, in Auckland. Make sure you are there to celebrate your success with your team!

THE PROCESS SO FAR

We conducted a call for nominations from June to July 2024 and received hundreds of nominations. This was followed by an intensive research period to verify the nominations and ensure that those selected as excellence awardees were the most deserving.

As the publisher of NZ Lawyer, we have an unparalleled presence in the industry, making the nomination and research process exceptionally comprehensive.

More information about the process is available here.

NEXT STEPS

As an excellence awardee in the 2024 NZ Law Awards, you will receive national recognition both in the lead-up to the event and in the post-event coverage (if you attend the awards ceremony). Please note:

You are welcome to share this achievement within your organisation immediately; however, all external announcements are embargoed until Thursday 5 September 2024, when we’ll announce the excellence awardees on NZ Lawyer and the New Zealand Law Awards website.
Your nomination will now be forwarded to an independent panel of judges comprising leaders and senior representatives from the legal industry. The panel will assess the nominations and vote for the winners in each category according to the relevant criteria.
To help us make the event more memorable, please provide 1 video following the instructions below, by Friday 20 September.
Winners will be announced on Thursday 28 November at the highly anticipated awards gala dinner. Book your table at the awards ceremony to ensure you are there to celebrate your success with your team. Bookings can be made online here.

VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS AND TIPS

The NZ Law Awards team will put together a compilation with all the excellence awardees videos to show at the awards night. This is an opportunity for the excellence awardees to showcase their work, or to simply put a face to their name! If you wish to be part of this, please provide a short video following the instructions below by Friday 20 September.

IMPORTANT SPECIFICATIONS AND TIPS

Video Length: Max 5-10 seconds
Orientation: 16:9 (horizontal/landscape) in high resolution
Content Ideas: You can film yourself or your team in the office, waving in front of your company logo, doing something fun, or showcasing interesting activities
Audio/Text: Please do not include any audio (such as speeches or music) or text. We will add background music and text to all videos
File Naming: Save the video with the name of the nominee (Name, surname, organisation name for individual awards; Organisation name for company awards)
Submission: Send your video to [email protected] via email, a shared folder or WeTransfer
Tips: If possible, use a tripod, try to avoid light behind you, and make sure that there is sufficient light on each face

KEY DATES

Thursday, 5 September, 2024	Excellence Awardees announcement The excellence awardees are announced on NZ Lawyer and the NZ Law awards website
Friday, 20 September, 2024	Excellence awardee video due Send your video to [email protected] via email, a shared folder or WeTransfer, following the specs above.
Friday, 1 November, 2024	Guest information due If you purchase a seat/table, all your guest details (including their dietary restrictions and email address) must be provided via the link in the registration confirmation email by this date.
Thursday, 28 November, 2024	New Zealand Law Awards gala dinner at the Viaduct Events Centre, in Auckland More information can be found below or here. Book your table here.

ON THE NIGHT

7:00 PM	Networking drinks
7:30 PM – 10:30 PM	Awards ceremony and gala dinner
10:30 PM – 12:00 AM	Drinks and dancing

VENUE

Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland

171 Halsey Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010, New Zealand

DRESS CODE

Black tie (tuxedo/business suit/long gown/cocktail dress)

ENTERTAINMENT

Urzila Carlson
MC

The Hipstamatics
Party Band

Urzila Carlson
MC

Multi-award-winning South African-New Zealander, Urzila Carlson, has become one of the biggest names in comedy in Australia and New Zealand.

Her trademark deadpan humour and cheeky wit has seen her win fans the world over for her television appearances and live shows. A touring powerhouse, Urzila has toured the globe and sells out live shows year after year.

In 2019, Urzila became the highest-selling comedian in the 33-year long history of The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, one of the three largest comedy festivals in the

world and made her Netflix debut as part of the streaming service’s unprecedented worldwide comedy series, Comedians Around the World which saw Urzila handpicked as was one of 47 comedians to perform a half-hour special filmed at Just For Laughs in Montreal.

Originally published in 2016, 2019 also saw the re-release of Urzila’s fascinating autobiography Rolling With the Punchlines, which added best-selling author to her evergrowing list of achievements.

An undeniable tour de force of the comedy world, Urzila hasn’t stopped since taking to the comedy stage in 2008. She has sold out seasons in London, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown and Christchurch.

A television favourite in both countries, Urzila is a much-loved series regular on both the Australian and New Zealand versions of the award-winning comedy panel show Have You Been Paying Attention? And has appeared on Thank God You’re Here, Hughesy We Have A Problem, The Project, Spicks and Specks, Dirty Laundry, The Great Debate with Barry Humphries, ABC Comedy Up Late, 7 Days, Super City, Road Madness and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival galas. Urzila was also one of the key cast members of Nazeem Hussain’s comedy sketch program Orange is The New Brown which premiered on the Seven Network in 2018 to critical acclaim.

Urzila has earned an impressive array of awards, including 2019, 2022 & 2023 Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s prestigious People’s Choice Award; 2019 Rielly Comedy Award by the Variety Artists Club of NZ; Best Female Comedian at the New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards (no less than six times); New Zealand International Comedy Festival’s coveted People’s Choice Award (2014 & 2015); Sydney Comedy Festival’s Director’s Choice Award (2017); and was a nominee for Australia’s Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer in Furthermore, Urzila was the 2019 Australasian Ambassador of South African Tourism for both Australia and New Zealand, a great honour for the South African native.

In 2020, Urzila joined the dynamic panel of The Masked Singer Australia on Network Ten. The year also saw the release of Urzila’s standalone one hour Netflix stand-up special Overqualified Loser, which was recorded live in December 2019 and released in 190 countries.

Due to overwhelming demand, 2021 found Urzila returning to the stage across Australia & New Zealand with her stand up show Token African and back on screens as a panellist on season 3 of The Masked Singer Australia and a contestant on season 2 of Taskmaster NZ To add to the ever-growing credits, Urzila released her premiere podcast That’s Enough

Already! in 2021 that has shot to the top of the Comedy charts in Australia & New Zealand, winning best new podcast at the NZ podcast awards.

In 2022, Urzila toured throughout Australia & New Zealand to sold out crowds with her show, It’s Personal and in 2023 took the show to Montreal as part of the esteemed Just for Laughs festival and the UK, captivating sold-out audiences. Following this, she triumphantly returned to Australia with her new show, Just No! and added UK & Europe to round out the year.

In 2024, Urzila is poised to make her mark in the realm of feature animation by lending her voice to the character Honkus in the animated film Ozi. This exciting project boasts a starstudded cast, including Donald Sutherland, Laura Dern, Ru Paul, and Amandla Stenberg.

Furthermore, she will take on a world tour with her new show Just Jokes, touring UK, USA, Australia & New Zealand.

ORDER OF AWARDS PRESENTED ON THE NIGHT

Debt Market Deal Of The Year
Equity Market Deal Of The Year
Project Finance Deal Of The Year
M&A Deal Of The Year
Insolvency And Restructuring Deal Of The Year
Mid-Market Deal Of The The Year
Diversity & Inclusion Initiative Of The Year
Employment Law Specialist Firm Of The Year
Litigation & Dispute Resolution Specialist Law Firm Of The Year
Intellectual Property Specialist Law Firm Of The Year
Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Property & Construction Specialist Law Firm Of The Year
Insurance Specialist Law Firm Of The Year
Chisholm Clarke Young Private Practice Lawyer Of The Year (35 Or Under)
Young In-House Lawyer Of The Year (35 Or Under)
Financial Services In-House Team Of The Year
Energy In-House Team Of The Year
Telecommunications In-House Team Of The Year
Russell McVeagh In-House Team Of The Year
James & Wells In-House Lawyer Of The Year
Fluid Legal Recruitment Employer Of Choice (<100 Lawyers)
Realaml Employer Of Choice (>100 Lawyers)
LexisNexis Boutique Law Firm Of The Year
LEAP Legal Software Mid-Size Law Firm Of The Year
Robert Walters Large Law Firm Of The Year
Law Firm Leader Of The Year (>100 Lawyers)
Law Firm Leader Of The Year (≤100 Lawyers)

ABOUT THE AWARDS CEREMONY

Accepting the award
If your firm wins, please discuss beforehand who will go up on stage to accept the award from the presenter. As the program is running to strict time, please refrain from making a speech. N.B. If you are an excellence awardee in two categories in a row, please make sure you have two different people present to collect the award in case you win. The first person who collects the award may still be outside having their photo taken while the winner of the next award is being announced.

Photographs and video
Immediately after accepting your award, a Key Media staff member will escort you off stage to the media station for an official photograph and brief interview.

The New Zealand Law Awards is a spectacular black-tie gala evening, where over 600 industry leaders gather for a night of celebration, fine dining and exciting live entertainment. Every award winner present on the night will have their photo featured in the post-event coverage.

Book your table now and ensure you are there on the night to celebrate your success with your team.

Congratulations again and we look forward to seeing you at the event!

The NZ Law Awards team