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Finalist for Business Services Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2026

Finalist for Business Services Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2026

We have been shortlisted for Business Services Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2026.

The Legal Business Awards is a key annual event in the UK legal sector, highlighting excellence in law across more than 26 different categories. The awards aim to showcase individuals, teams and firms in the UK legal space who have made a significant mark in the profession or within their firm. The awards ceremony will take place on the evening of Tuesday 29 September at the JW Marriot Grosvenor House London, where the winners will be announced.

Our shortlisting recognises the contribution of our business services function in shaping the firm’s strategy and driving its success, with particular focus on the achievements of our People & Culture team, including its provision of HR consultancy directly to our clients. Through our innovative Client Sight framework, which forms the architecture of how the firm operates, we put our clients and their priorities first by understanding how they see us, what they value and what they need.

Client Sight underpins the firm’s approach to all aspects of its business service function and guides our decision-making, from people and recruitment, to innovation, to business development and marketing. This enables us to foster genuine collaboration and build relationships across all functions, pushing us outside the more restrictive lines of a traditional law firm. We are delivering measurable outcomes, attracting remarkable talent and creating deeper client relationships.

This latest recognition of the firm’s business services function follows the news of us winning Business Development Team of the Year at the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026. We were also recently named as a finalist for Law Firm of the Year: The Independents at The Lawyer Awards 2026.

RELATED PEOPLE

Andy Wansell Chief Operating Officer

Andy Wansell is the chief operating officer at Harbottle & Lewis. His role is about ensuring that we have the right people, in the right roles, doing the right thing. This leads to delivering the strategic ambitions of the firm alongside all its operational activities.

Andy Wansell is the chief operating officer at Harbottle & Lewis. His role is about ensuring that we have the right people, in the right roles, doing the right thing. This leads to delivering the strategic ambitions of the firm alongside all its operational activities.

Andy’s background in professional services, alongside his work across a range of other businesses including real estate, contemporary dance and talent management, has prepared him for his role in the leadership team of a dynamic law firm with great ambition.

Carly Hubbard Director

Carly is the firm's director of people and culture and has over 20 years of HR experience, having worked at both strategic and operational levels in professional and financial services environments, both in the City and internationally.

Carly is the firm's director of people and culture and has over 20 years of HR experience, having worked at both strategic and operational levels in professional and financial services environments, both in the City and internationally.

Carly brings extensive experience in designing and delivering people strategy, alongside a passion for organisational design, employee engagement, health and wellbeing, talent management and reward.

In her role, Carly is responsible for HR, graduate recruitment, DEI, and learning and development, and strives to ensure the people strategy aligns with the culture, accelerates change and supports the delivery of excellence. In her role, Carly strives to ensure the wellbeing of the firm’s people so that they are equipped to fuel the growth and success of the firm.

Sarah Zokay-West Director

Sarah is the firm’s director of business development and marketing. She works in close collaboration with other senior leaders in the business to identify and achieve the firm’s strategic objectives.

Sarah is the firm’s director of business development and marketing. She works in close collaboration with other senior leaders in the business to identify and achieve the firm’s strategic objectives.

Sarah and her team are responsible for the provision of all business development, marketing and communications activity. Embedded largely within the legal teams, they play a key role in the development of client relationships, the expansion of the firm’s network, and the advancement and promotion of the brand.

Sarah has been a core member of the London International Disputes Week (LIDW) strategy committee since 2021. 

Michael Vasalos Director

Michael is the firm’s director of innovation. He is responsible for our innovation strategy, including the ethical adoption of AI and emerging technologies to streamline legal service delivery.

Michael is the firm’s director of innovation. He is responsible for our innovation strategy, including the ethical adoption of AI and emerging technologies to streamline legal service delivery.

Michael leads the innovation department, leveraging a comprehensive legal technology stack to deliver services to clients and create efficiencies for our lawyers. As part of his role in the firm’s Innovation Fund steering group, Michael is responsible for delivering the initiatives into which the fund has invested.

With a legal background and significant experience in legal tech and automation roles at international law firms, including the magic circle (Clifford Chance) and professional services firms (Thomson Reuters), Michael brings extensive expertise in identifying process improvement opportunities and delivering technology-driven business transformation projects.

Michael has studied law and holds an LLM. in international shipping law from QMUL.