Social Impact Awards 2025 expanded to reflect legal innovation

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Social Impact Awards 2025 expanded to reflect legal innovation

LBG SI Awards tagline 1200x627 (1).png

New categories have been added to reflect a changing legal and social landscape


The 2025 Social Impact EMEA Awards, hosted by Legal Benchmarking Group, remain open for submissions with new categories introduced to reflect the evolving priorities of the legal industry.

Now entering its second year, the awards celebrate the most innovative, inclusive, and responsible legal work taking place across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

For the 2025 edition, the programme has introduced a set of new and expanded categories designed to better capture the full spectrum of law firms' social responsibility efforts and the growing importance of purpose-driven legal practice.

What’s new in 2025?

The latest awards guidelines, available here, outline several new categories that reflect shifting priorities across the EMEA legal sector. These additions represent a more inclusive and forward-thinking vision of what social impact looks like in practice.

Key new categories include:

Ethical AI Initiative of the Year

This category honours legal teams that are guiding clients or internal operations through responsible, transparent, and rights-based approaches to artificial intelligence development and deployment.

Climate Justice Advocacy

Recognises legal work that protects vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by climate change, including litigation, policy reform, and cross-sector partnerships.

Excellence in ESG Legal Services

Celebrates the firms delivering standout counsel in environmental, social, and governance matters, with a focus on innovation, regulatory alignment, and sustainable client solutions.

Community Impact Award

Acknowledges initiatives that have created lasting, measurable benefits for local communities — from legal education and outreach to housing, health, and social equity programmes.

Mental Health & Wellbeing Initiative

Recognises firms that have implemented bold, effective, and scalable approaches to support the psychological health and emotional wellbeing of legal professionals.

Multigenerational Advocacy Award

Honours efforts that address legal issues affecting multiple age groups, from youth justice and education access to elder law, workplace equity, and intergenerational rights.

Why these changes matter?

Each new category aims to capture the evolving pressures and opportunities law firms face today — from advancing equity in legal systems, to helping clients align with ESG regulations, to investing in internal culture change.

As global markets increasingly hold institutions accountable for their societal impact, these awards look to honour those who respond to a rising demand for transparency, accountability, and sustainable progress.

Submit Your Story:

We welcome submissions from private practice law firms, in-house legal teams, and legal networks across the EMEA region. The extended deadline to submit is July 25 2025.

Key dates

EMEA submission window open: April 16

EMEA extended deadline: July 25

(Americas: Not running in 2025)


Entry & Category Guidelines

To view the full list of categories and download the Entry Guidelines, see here.


All entries should be submitted via the dedicated portal.



Contact us

If you have any questions regarding the Legal Benchmarking Group Social Impact Awards, please contact Shailyn Tirado at socialimpact@legalbenchmarkinggroup.com


Please note that the Legal Benchmarking Group Social Impact Awards is supported by MIP but run independently to the IP STARS research.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Benjamin Kelly, the firm’s fifth IP partner hire in a little over one year, has experience in patent and trade secret disputes involving complex technologies
Half-year Talent Tracker data shows Pierson Ferdinand was among the most prolific hirers in the US, while in Europe, there has been a notable UPC swing
Exclusive data reveals in-house counsel want external legal advisers to build better client relationships and add value beyond routine work
Brett Sandford acted for Perplexity AI, which fended off the threat of a preliminary injunction to launch an AI-powered web browser
Stephen Yang joins us for our ‘Five minutes with’ series to explain why his role requires him to wear many hats
The complaint follows a declaratory ruling issued by the England and Wales High Court last month that said Samsung is entitled to an interim licence
Tobias Hahn explains how the firm's multi-jurisdictional setup enabled it to secure an injunction on behalf of Fujifilm relating to defendant Kodak’s non-UPC activity
Reckitt Benckiser is to divest its Essential Home business, which includes more than 70 brands, to private equity firm Advent International
Litigator Neel Chatterjee, who has joined the firm as a co-leader of the IP team, reveals tech ambitions and expansion plans
A settlement between Philips and Transsion and a loss for AstraZeneca in the UK were also among the top talking points
Gift this article