With over 800 attendees, the Women In Law Awards once again set the stage for an evening of empowerment, gathering Australia’s exceptional women in law and celebrating their excellence and contributions through its awards night held at Crown Melbourne on the 14th of November 2024.
Spearheaded by Lawyers Weekly and its Principal Partner, nrol, this year’s Women In Law Awards received more than 700 submissions, with 264 legal professionals advancing as finalists. The prestigious awards night concluded with a total of 29 winners, consisting of 26 individual awards and 3 group awards. With this incredible turnout, these figures are not just numbers to surpass; they are records that demonstrate women’s ability to break new ground, shatter glass ceilings, and continually exceed traditional boundaries.
HR Professional of the Year winner Kayla Seton, of Seton Family Lawyers, received the Excellence Award for scoring the highest number across the board among Australia’s exceptional women in law. Among the finalists for this distinguished award are the winners of the other individual categories:
- Naomi Pearce, Pearce IP (Executive of the Year)
- Joanna Abraham, Victorian Women Lawyers/College of Law (Mentor of the Year)
- Neane Carter, Terri Janke and Company (Indigenous Lawyer of the Year)
- Elle Faris, Develop Global (General Counsel of the Year)
- Belinda Furse, Be Well Be You (Wellness Advocate of the Year)
- Angela Harbinson, The Separation Guide (Innovator of the Year (Individual))
- Melissa Keen, Coleman Greig Lawyers (Marketing Communications Professional of the Year)
- Celine Khoury, SLKQ Lawyers (Rising Star of the Year – SME Law)
- Keryn Patman, Lander & Rogers (Legal Support Professional of the Year)
Leaders’ Power and Responsibility
Breaking the glass ceilings of today means paving the way for future generations. With the success of the Women In Law Awards for another year, we have collectively made significant strides toward achieving gender equality in the legal industry. As we recognise our profound progress, it is important to keep our reality in check and acknowledge that many women still experience gender-based discrimination and violence. This is how we keep our fire burning and fueled, continuing to push forward, fight for equal rights, and march toward a future where women can thrive without fear or limitations.
In the evening’s opening speech given by Jesse Shah, CEO and Founder of Principal Partner nrol, he mentioned that discussing equality in the workplace entails ensuring women are safe both at home and at work.
With that, he added that as leaders in the industry, we have the talent, drive, and responsibility to make meaningful change — we have the power to create a safe, inclusive world that we would want our daughters, younger sisters, and nieces to inherit.
As Principal Partner of the Women In Law Awards, a champion of diversity in the legal industry, and a leading legal recruitment firm, nrol aims to be an instrument in providing equal opportunities to all legal professionals and in continuously uplifting the legal industry by connecting top talent with opportunities not only in Australia but on the global stage.
All winners and finalists of the Women In Law Awards, since its first year, are already contributors to the future we are building for women, not just in law but in any industry.
Someday, our daughters, younger sisters, and nieces will venture into industries knowing that they are respected and treated equally, and will thrive as they carry the empowerment and inspiration brought by the courageous, dedicated, and exceptional women of today.
Someday, they will encounter and read this article as perhaps one of the sources of the profound progress of gender equality in Australia. Today, one thing is absolute: Their future depends on us, and it is our duty to leave them a world that is much better than the one we had.
