The Cambridgeshire & District Law Society (CDLS) has named Katherine Hague and Lauren Coote Young Lawyer of the Year and Trainee Lawyer of the Year, respectively.
Each came out on top of many others nominated for the 2018 CLDS Excellence Awards, which were presented at a dinner and ceremony held at Jesus College last week.
A panel of experts picked the winners based on their achievements in areas ranging from creativity, accuracy and dedication to document preparation, high potential and overcoming adversity.
CDLS President Karl Dembicki said: “The judges were very impressed with Katherine and Lauren, both of whom are sure to go far in the legal field.
“These awards mark a significant achievement for not only them, but also Hewitsons and its training programme, which continues to deliver excellent results.”
Katherine joined Hewitsons as a trainee in 2013 and is now a Solicitor at the firm’s office in Newmarket Road, working within its Private Wealth team.
At 27 years old, she is the youngest Hewitsons solicitor to be named a recommended lawyer in the distinguished Legal 500 guide, which ranks law firms and solicitors across the UK.
Judges were also impressed by the wide variety of matters she has handled in her two years as a qualified solicitor. Many of these have been highly technical and demanding for an early-career solicitor, but Katherine has taken them all in her stride.
The judges further noted that, as co-chair of Horizons, a networking group established by Hewitsons to link young professionals across various disciplines, Katherine has demonstrated outstanding commitment to out of work activity.
Katherine (pictured right) said: “It was lovely just to be put forward for something like this, but to actually win is amazing. I’m so grateful to Hewitsons for their training and continued support in developing my career. I couldn’t have achieved this without them.”
Lauren (left), also 27, recently completed her traineeship with Hewitsons to qualify as a solicitor. She now works within the firm’s Real Estate Litigation team, also based at the Shakespeare House office.
The judges were impressed by her hard work, diligence and attention to detail. They also agreed that her ability to manage multiple deadlines for competing partners set her apart from others with her level of experience.
Lauren said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to have won. I wasn’t expecting it at all.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have received such a high level of training with Hewitsons. I can’t speak highly enough of their training programme. From day one I’ve felt completely supported and I couldn’t have asked from a better group of people to work with and learn from.”