LEGALCOMMUNITY FORTY UNDER 40 AWARDS

13th Edition

ART. 1 – Promoters, purpose and period of validity: as an initiative promoted by Iberian Legal Group, the ‘Iberian Lawyer Forty Under 40 Awards’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘the event’) is announced for the year 2025 with the aim of awarding recognition to the excellences of the legal sector (i. e. Associated Law and Tax Firms and/or Individual Lawyers and Professionals) that have distinguished themselves for the activities carried out in the year 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Reference Period of Activities’).

The Initiative is governed in the manner set forth below.

ART. 2 – Modalities of participation and selection: participation in the Initiative is reserved for Associated Legal and Tax Firms and Individual Professionals who have provided assistance, with particular merit, to domestic and international companies in Spain and Portugal during the Reference Period of the Activities (separately and jointly, hereinafter the ‘Participants’).

1. Phase One: Identification and Classification of Participants

The Participants will be preliminarily identified and nominated through questionnaires; based on the results of the searches carried out during the Reference Period of the Activities, Iberian Legal Group, through the iberianlawyer.com portal, will draw up lists of Participants by placing them within one or more of the following predetermined categories:

Team of the Year

Lawyer of the Year

Team of the Year Arbitration

Lawyer of the Year Arbitration

Team of the Year Banking & Finance

Lawyer of the Year Banking & Finance

Team of the Year Capital Markets (Debt and Equity)

Lawyer of the Year Capital Markets (Debt and Equity)

Team of the Year Energy

Lawyer of the Year Energy

Team of the Year EU & Competition

Lawyer of the Year EU & Competition

Team of the Year Fintech

Lawyer of the Year Fintech

Team of the Year Infrastructure & Constructions

Lawyer of the Year Infrastructure & Constructions

Team of the Year Insolvency & Restructuring

Lawyer of the Year Insolvency & Restructuring

Team of the Year Insurance

Lawyer of the Year Insurance

Team of the Year IP & TMT

Lawyer of the Year IP & TMT

Team of the Year Labour

Lawyer of the Year Labour

Team of the Year Life Sciences & Pharma

Lawyer of the Year Life Sciences & Pharma

Team of the Year Litigation

Lawyer of the Year Litigation

Team of the Year M&A

Lawyer of the Year M&A

Team of the Year Private Equity

Lawyer of the Year Private Equity

Team of the Year Public Law

Lawyer of the Year Public Law

Team of the Year Real Estate

Lawyer of the Year Real Estate

Team of the Year Startup

Lawyer of the Year Startup

Team of the Year Tax

Professional of the Year Tax

Team of the Year White Collar Crime

Lawyer of the Year White Collar Crime

Sustainability Team of the Year

Gender Equality Team of the Year

Thought Leadership

1. Phase Two: Finalist Ranking

Iberian Legal Group will draw up a list of finalists on the basis of qualitative and quantitative research (which also includes market research among customers and/or prospects and peers) carried out from the time of receipt of submissions to the time of putting the finalist list online.

1. Third stage: Ranking of the Finalists by the Jury.

Iberian Legal Group will select one name of Associated Legal and Tax Firm and one name of Individual Lawyer and/or Professional that it will propose to the Jury as a candidate for victory in each category, giving reasons for its vote.

The Jury, having received the lists (i.e. ‘Associated Law and Tax Firms’ and ‘Individual Lawyers and/or Professionals’) of the finalists for each of the categories identified and having heard the vote and the motivation of the vote from Iberian Legal Group, through its own vote (a per capita, open vote), will decide the winners to whom to award the prize.

The Jury will be composed of:

• Recognized experts, from the corporate world, in the energy sector;
• A representative of legalcommunity.it, appointed by Iberian Legal Group (even in the case of more than one representative Iberian Legal Group will have only one vote)
• Possible representatives of industry associations.

The Jury will be chaired by the representative of Iberian Legal Group.

The criteria taken into consideration by the Jury for awarding the prizes to the best ‘Law Firm’ finalists will be as follows

• Transactions carried out (value and number) during the Activity Reference Period;
• Relevant growth factors during the Activity Reference Period (e.g. promotions, entry or exit of new professionals, mergers or acquisitions with other firms or international networks, national or international expansion);
• Positioning and image.

The criteria taken into consideration by the Jury for awarding the prizes to the best ‘Individual Professional’ Finalists will be as follows:

1. Technical, Legal and negotiating skills;
2. Knowledge of industry-related business dynamics (industry);
3. Commitment and ability to relate to customers;
4. Professional reputation among colleagues.

In view of the above-mentioned criteria, it is hereby specified that no overlapping and/or repetition of awards will be possible for natural or legal persons belonging to Associated Legal and Tax Firms already awarded within the same category respectively as Professional or Team of the Year.

In addition, in this edition, and for the first time, with the intention of pushing more and more towards gender equity in law firms, we will consider for the firm awards, compatibly with what the market offers, only and exclusively teams composed of at least 30% women. In addition, teams consisting of more than 30% women will be awarded a bonus of 1 vote during the jury meeting and those consisting of more than 50% women will be awarded a bonus of 2 votes.

ART. 3 – Communication of the finalist projects and award ceremony: the communication of the names of the best Finalists (i.e. ‘Associated Legal and Tax Firms’ and ‘Individual Professionals’ and ‘Industry Protagonists’) for each of the identified categories will be communicated during the Gala Evening of the Forty Under 40 Awards.

Iberian Legal Group reserves the right to promptly communicate to the Participants/Finalists further details regarding the participation and holding of the Gala Evening.

ART. 4 – Formalization and withdrawal of the award: the assignment of the award to the best Finalists (i.e. Associated Legal and Tax Firms and/or Individual Professionals) for each of the identified categories will be formalized by Iberian Legal Group, during the gala evening.

Participation in the event is preferred for the awarding of the recognition, as a sign of respect for the jury. In cases of absolute inability to attend and collect the award, the jury reserves the right to review the situation and may reassign the award if deemed necessary.