2025 Confirmed Judges

Our esteemed panel of judges bring expertise and experience from all areas of the legal sector. Each category is allocated three judges who will meet face to face with our finalists at the judging day on 8th of May 2025.

Judges are being announced daily so check back for more announcements.

 

To see one of your company representatives on the judging panel, contact Sonia for partnership opportunities: sonia@echoevents.org

Joe Brown
Client Manager, Robson Laidler

View Joe’s Biography

Professor Deveral Capps
Dean of Leeds Law School

View Deveral’s Biography

Richard Clark
Director at Barclays Wealth & Private Bank, Chartered Wealth Manager

View Richard’s Biography

Laura Coapes
Assistant Professor, Northumbria Law School

View Laura’s Biography

Ian Cosgrove
Costs Lawyer, Cosgrove Costings Limited

View Ian’s Biography

Mark Dale
Principal Consultant, Blair West

View Mark’s Biography

Michael Downs
Office Senior Partner and Head of Corporate Finance

View Michael’s Biography

Andrew Entwistle
Partner and Head of Valuations George F White, Chartered Surveyor

View Andrew’s Biography

Laura Farnworth
General Counsel, Atom Bank

View Laura’s Biography

Vicki Gilman MSc MCSP
Managing Director, Social Return Case Management Ltd

View Vicki’s Biography

Alison Gittins
CEO of Durham Business Group

View Alison’s Biography

Stephen D Gowland
Lawyer, Mediator Tribunal Judge HM Courts & Tribunal Service

View Stephens’s Biography

Jonathan Jowett
Former Company Secretary & General Counsel at Greggs PLC

View Jonathan’s Biography

Anu Kaura 
Barrister, Trinity Chambers

View Anu’s Biography

Angela King
Head of Teesside University Law School

View Angela’s Biography

Ammar Mirza CBE MBA FRSA FIoEE FIoL

View Ammar’s Biography

Richard Morgan
Director, Nigel Wright Group

View Richard’s Biography

James Pickford
Assistant General Counsel, Procter & Gamble

View James’s Biography

Andy Poole 
Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Finance Partner – Legal Sector, Armstrong Watson LLP

View Andy’s Biography

Joe Brown, Client Manager, Robson Laidler

Joe is an ICAEW qualified Chartered Accountant who has worked within Robson Laidler’s Audit and Accounts departments for more than 13 years, gaining experience across a wide range of businesses such as limited companies, partnerships and LLP’s. Joe specialises in managing Solicitors Accounts Rules Audits with solicitors and law firm partners to ensure compliance and manages and works closely with Robson Laidler’s full portfolio of legal clients. He was on the panel at the 2024 Northern Law Awards and is excited to be involved in the judging again this year.

 

 

Professor Deveral Capps, Dean of Leeds Law School

Deveral is the Dean of Leeds Law School, joining Leeds Beckett in 2015. A barrister and legal academic, he has taught extensively across undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional courses, publishing widely on legal education, skills, and eCommerce law. He is a door tenant at Trinity Chambers and has practiced both civil and criminal law.

With over 25 years in Higher Education, Deveral has played a key role in shaping legal education and training in the UK. He served on the steering panel for the landmark Legal Education and Training Review and was a member of the Bar Standards Board’s Future Bar Training Programme Board. He contributed to developing the new syllabuses and assessment strategies for bar courses introduced in 2020 and led a review of European Law in bar training post-Brexit.

An expert in Quality Assurance, Deveral has extensive experience as an external examiner and member of institutional panels for the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board. He served as deputy chair for the QAA subject benchmark statement review for law and is the Honorary Treasurer of the Committee of Heads of University Law Schools (CHULS).”

 

Richard Clark, Director at Barclays Wealth & Private Bank, Chartered Wealth Manager.

Richard, a Director at Barclays Wealth & Private Bank is a Chartered Wealth Manager. He has been advising individuals, trusts, charities and companies on their Wealth Management needs for approaching 25 years across the North of England and beyond.  Prior to his 11 years at Barclays Wealth he was a Wealth Manager at a National Law Firm, which allowed him insight into how intrinsically linked clients Wealth Management, Legal and Tax affairs are.  This experience allows Richard to work closely with is clients and support them in navigating the myriad of options available to them in protecting, managing and growing their wealth, encompassing areas such as succession planning and wealth structuring

 

Laura Coapes, Assistant Professor, Northumbria Law School

Laura is an Assistant Professor in law at Northumbria University and lectures on both undergraduate and Bar Programmes. She is a barrister at Trinity Chambers (nee Nagel) and has a research interest in family law, with publications in Child & Family Law Quarterly and the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. Laura also acts in various consultancy roles for the Bar Standards Board, including as an Associate Examiner for the Professional Ethics Pupillage/Work-based learning assessment

Ian Cosgrove, Costs Lawyer, Cosgrove Costings Limited

Ian Cosgrove has been engaged in the world of legal costs since 1990.

As a Costs Lawyer  he advises on both Claimant and Defendant costs issues and regularly appears in court on Detailed Assessment hearings and Costs Budgeting hearings

 

 

Mark Dale, Principal Consultant, Blair West

Mark is responsible for the recruitment of senior professional services talent for clients based in the North of England.

Typical assignments cover roles within accountancy practices, legal disciplines and back office support roles for corporate clients, including Property, Company Secretarial, Compliance as well as Financial Services Risk and Regulatory disciplines.

Mark is responsible for permanent recruitment, and due to the diverse nature of the desk, has experience of contingent and retained search recruitment processes.

Mark has recruited for a number of international & regional clients across both the public and private sector including Big 4 & regional accountancy firms, North Yorkshire Police, Redde Northgate Plc, UBS, Cumberland Building Society, END Clothing, Inn Collection Group and many more.

Michael Downs, Office Senior Partner and Head of Corporate Finance, KPMG

Michael is the Office Senior Partner and Head of Corporate Finance for KPMG in the North East. As the Office Senior Partner Michael leads KPMG’s multi-disciplinary team covering Audit, Tax, Deal Advisory and Consulting in the in the region. KPMG supports organisations from across all sectors including Financial Services, Local Government, Healthcare and the private sector from the largest PLCs through to the region's family businesses and emerging startups.

As Head of Corporate Finance Michael is working with clients to raise funding for growth and execute acquisition strategies. He has significant experience working with owner-managed and Private Equity-backed businesses in both preparing for and executing successful sales of their businesses. Working with clients from a broad range of sectors, including many owner-managed businesses in technology, software, business services, pharmacy and pharmaceuticals, retail, distribution and wholesale, catering, waste management, and construction.

 

Andrew Entwistle, Partner and Head of Valuations, George F White

The son of Northumberland vet, Andrew began his career as a Chartered Surveyor in Northumberland before furthering his development the Midlands. Andrew returned to the North East in 2000 to join GFW and became partner in 2006.

Appointed Head of Valuation for GFW in 2010, Andrew also sat on the Global Valuation Standards Board (GVSB) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) representing the Rural faculty for 11 years. The GVSB oversaw production of the RICS Appraisal and Valuations Standards (The “Red Book”).

Andrew is well known for his appointments as Expert Witness in property disputes, with restrictive covenant matters being a particular speciality, receiving instructions throughout England. Andrew gave evidence in Father’s Field v Namulas, considered by Property Week as one of the top 10 property law cases of 2021

 

Laura Farnworth, General Counsel, Atom Bank

The son of Northumberland vet, Andrew began his career as a Chartered Surveyor in Northumberland before furthering his development the Midlands. Andrew returned to the North East in 2000 to join GFW and became partner in 2006.

Appointed Head of Valuation for GFW in 2010, Andrew also sat on the Global Valuation Standards Board (GVSB) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) representing the Rural faculty for 11 years. The GVSB oversaw production of the RICS Appraisal and Valuations Standards (The “Red Book”).

Andrew is well known for his appointments as Expert Witness in property disputes, with restrictive covenant matters being a particular speciality, receiving instructions throughout England. Andrew gave evidence in Father’s Field v Namulas, considered by Property Week as one of the top 10 property law cases of 2021

 

Vicki Gilman MSc MCSP, Managing Director, Social Return Case Management Ltd

Vicki is an accomplished and dynamic leader with a proven track record of start-ups and exits, steering organisations towards excellence whilst bringing a wealth of knowledge in strategic planning, operational leadership and stakeholder engagement in health and social care settings.

Currently Vicki leads Social Return, a clinical service company she founded 10 years ago. She is also the current chair of a national membership organisation – The British Association of Brain Injury and Complex Case Management and has steered both organisations towards significant growth and transformative change.

Vicki’s entrepreneurial approach inspires and motivates others with her commitment to quality, innovation, governance balanced with sustainable outcomes for communities and stakeholders. Vicki is adept at fostering collaboration, driving policy advocacy, and navigating complex regulatory environments, whilst upholding the vision and values of teams and organisations.

 

Alison Gittins, CEO of Durham Business Group

Alison is the CEO of Durham Business Group (Durham Business Club, Durham Office Services and The Executive Group).
Alison has a passion for people and a love of networking, so feels she landed her dream job in 2010, and is lucky to work with businesses from all sectors across the region, and bring them together while showcasing some wonderful venues. DBC holds monthly breakfast and evening events for its 200 members, while The Executive Group’s lunches, are must-attend events for North East business leaders. To recharge her batteries Alison enjoys escaping to the sun on a cruise ship.

Stephen D Gowland, Lawyer, Mediator & Tribunal Judge, HM Courts & Tribunal Service
Stephen sits as an employment judge and as a judge in the social entitlement chamber. He also works as a legally qualified advisor for twenty-two police forces across England and Wales, having chaired police misconduct hearings since 2016. He also chairs hearings for UK registered doctors for the medical practitioner’s tribunal service.
In his spare time, he enjoys reading about travel and history and spending holidays in his campervan.

Jonathan Jowett, former Company Secretary & General Counsel at Greggs plc

Jonathan recently retired as Company Secretary & General Counsel at Greggs plc, a position he held for almost 15 years, He spent most of his executive career working in-house in international manufacturing companies, across a variety of sectors including food production and retailing, medical product and consumer healthcare.

Jonathan’s experience includes running international legal teams and procuring legal services around the world, government affairs, risk management & insurances, internal audit, food safety, health and safety, corporate communications, social responsibility, and pensions administration.

Jonathan also has extensive experience as a non-executive director and trustee. He was Senior Independent Non-Executive Director at Newcastle Hospitals, and currently chairs the Board of Trustees of the Great North Air Ambulance Service. Jonathan is also the FA Respect Director and Company Secretary of Darlington Football Club.

 

Anu Kaura, Barrister, Trinity Chambers

Anu Kaura joined Trinity Chambers as a barrister in February 2025, bringing over 20 years of legal experience spanning in-house leadership, private practice, and consultancy. She specialises in corporate governance, commercial law, data protection, property law, employment law, and dispute resolution. Prior to joining Trinity Chambers, Anu served as Head of Legal at a large Northeast care company, providing strategic legal advice at board level and managing complex disputes and high-value transactions. Anu is also the former Chair of the Law Society In-House Division and has been recognised for her contributions to the legal profession through various industry accolades. She is experienced in tribunal work and regulatory compliance, ensuring practical and effective solutions for her clients.

 

Angela King, Head of Teesside University Law School

Angela is Head of Teesside University Law School, which encompasses Law, Policing, Investigation and the Social Sciences. With over 20 years of experience in legal education, Angela has worked with and supported the local legal profession in nurturing legal professionals of the future. The student-led Law Clinic which operates within the Law School has twice won the Pro Bono Legal Initiative Award in 2022 and 2024.

 

Ammar Mirza CBE, MBA, FRSA, FIOEE, FIoL

A multi-award-winning enterprise and innovation expert who has helped establish and scale several thousand businesses globally through the design, development and delivery of world leading accelerator and scale up programmes. With a portfolio of interests spanning across numerous sectors including property, edtech, health-tech and investment support Ammar is recognised as a leading authority on organisational growth.

With various roles across the public, private and third sectors Ammar has made a consistent and demonstrable impact, being considered the most influential Asian in the North East of England, connected globally with community, business and government leaders.

As Chair of the Business Advisory Board on the UK Government Body - North East Local Enterprise Partnership Ammar represents all SMEs and trade bodies in the North East Region. He is Founder and Chairman of not-for-profit social enterprise Asian Business Connexions (ABC), President of the Federation of Asian Business, and Chair of the Health and Lifesciences Pledge, alongside being a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership (FIoL), Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (FIOEE) and Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and holding a number of academic qualifications including a Masters in Business Administration (Distinction).

Ammar has a particular interest in enterprise education as ex-Chair of Governors of a Primary School, current Chair of the Newcastle Progression Forum and a David Goldman visiting Professor of Practice in Innovation and Enterprise at Newcastle University. Ammar launched the Primary Inspiration through Enterprise (PIE) Project Charity in 2013, the first of its kind within the UK to deliver enterprise vocational qualifications to primary age pupils and more recently developed the world’s first level 6 formal qualification in Business Model Innovation fully regulated and registered with Ofqual the UK education standards agency.

For the past three years Ammar has been commissioned by the Academic Health and Science Network part of NHS England to help develop the Innovation Pathway assisting clinical entrepreneurs spin in and out of the Health and Life Sciences Sector encouraging, enabling and empowering more and better innovation.

Ammar was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2014 for outstanding services to Business and the Community, and has been consistently recognised globally for his tireless efforts in supporting and promoting trade and industry, including British Asian Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019, Maserati top 100 Entrepreneur, Williams and Glyn top 50, Institute of Directors and British Community Honours Award to name but a few.

Other roles held by Ammar include Honorary Colonel 101 Regiment Royal Artillery British Army, immediate past Chair of the Institute of Directors North East North, Member and Northern Representative on the All-Party Parliamentary-Group for BAME Business, Private Sector Representative on European Structural Funds Advisory Board, Patron of Charlie Bear for Cancer Care Charity, Founder of the SME Centre of Excellence Group which helps SMEs start, survive and thrive, with a newly established international trade centre at Newcastle International Airport and he co-hosts a weekly radio show on Spice FM.

Richard Morgan, Director, Nigel Wright Group

Richard is a Director & Shareholder at Nigel Wright Group, responsible for leading multiple business areas of the Northern focused, Regional Business. Over a 20-year career, Richard has developed an extensive Business & Professional Services leadership network, specialising in connecting and collaborating to support leadership career transitions, advise on the management of people-centric businesses, and sharing valuable market insights.

 

James Pickford, Assistant General Counsel, Procter & Gamble

James is a European and UK Chartered Patent Attorney with over 16 years experience in the profession. Having been awarded a PhD in Molecular Microbiology and Biochemistry from the University of Sheffield, he completed a Diploma in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Manchester. He subsequently studied to become a European Patent Attorney and then UK Chartered Patent Attorney and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and Authorised Representative before the Unitary Patent Court.
At Procter & Gamble, James is part of the legal team that supports the Fabric and Homecare business (which sells products under well-known brands such as Ariel, Lenor, Fairy, Bold and Flash) with their patent and intellectual property needs and also has experience in Regulatory and Advertising law.

 

Andy Poole, Legal Sector Partner - Armstrong Watson

Andy is the Legal Sector Partner at Armstrong Watson, a top 40 UK firm of Chartered Accountants and Financial Advisers.  Andy heads the firm’s nationwide services to the legal sector, covering all of the firm’s 19 offices.  He has specialised exclusively in the legal sector since 2004.  He helps firms to improve by providing valuations, merger and acquisition advice, benchmarking, strategic consultancy and training courses. He understands and proactively informs law firms on issues that may impact on them. Andy speaks at national solicitors’ conferences and is a regular contributor to the legal press. Andy is co-author of the Law Society’s toolkit on financial stability and also co-author of Adjusting the Numbers: The Future of Finance in Law Firms, published by ARK Group.  Andy works with law firms throughout the UK