process
How does the WCGCA choose the Award Recipients?
NOMINATIONS
All nominations are ‘scrubbed’ of their nominator information in order to avoid any potential bias. Nominations are then compiled and sent to our Advisory Board comprised of 20+ voting members (senior members of Western Canadian bars, representing both in-house and private practice lawyers).
REVIEWS & DISCUSSIONS
Advisory Board Members review all nominations in order to shortlist each category down to 5-6 Finalists, before coming together at the Advisory Board meeting in order to review and discuss nominations in all 7 categories before voting by secret ballot to determine the award recipients.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The Lifetime Achievement Award recipient will be announced publicly following the meeting, while the results of all other categories will be revealed at the WCGCA gala.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Following the counting of votes for the finalists, we keep the identities of award recipients strictly confidential.
In the interest of transparency and fairness, no names are disclosed to the ZSA management or consultants.
Nomination Questions
All nominations must be submitted as Word documents.
I nominated a Western Canada lawyer for the 2024 CGCA Awards. May I resubmit them for the WCGCA?
Yes! We encourage you to resubmit any appropriate nominations to be considered for the 2024 WCGCA.
Is my nomination anonymous?
Yes. We will remove the nominator information from the form before it is submitted to the Advisory Board for review so there is less opportunity for any potential bias. It is at your discretion if you want to notify your nominee that you have submitted them for nomination.
Can I nominate the same person for more than one award category?
Yes.
Can I team up with another firm/company to nominate someone?
Yes, in fact we encourage this approach. The more nominators, the stronger the nomination. If you are collaborating with other firms/companies to nominate a single nominee, you are welcome to submit a single form listing all of the co-nominators. We will note how many nominations were received for each nominee when they are presented to the board.
For example: If three firms, and one company nominate John Doe for General Counsel of the Year, we will add a note to his nomination form that states as much.
How do I know if my nominee has been named as a finalist?
After the finalists have been contacted directly by our team, the finalist list will be released after the WCGCA Advisory Board meeting on our website, and on all of our social media channels.
Does the nominee have to be called to the bar in Canada?
Yes. While we recognize that there are individuals working in other jurisdictions (usually the USA) as the In-House Counsel of the company, they can only be nominated if they are called to a Western Canadian bar.
Along the same lines, we recognize that there are nominees that are in-house counsel for a subsidiary based in Canada - they are eligible for nomination.
My nominee works for a company that is located in Western Canada, but they actually work in a province outside of Western Canada. Is that nominee eligible for the WCGCA?
Yes, as long as they have been called to the bar in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta or BC.
If I nominate an in-house counsel does that mean they are a WCGCA finalist?
There are 3 distinct stages in the WCGCA process:
Nominations in 7 categories from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
Shortlisting by our Advisory Board to a group of 5-6 finalists per category (as applicable)
Selection by secret ballot of ONE award recipient per category
Do I need to include reference letters, or letters of support with my nomination form?
No. Any additional materials submitted in addition to your nomination form will not be shared with the board for consideration.
Is there a recommended nomination length?
There is no minimum/maximum word count for nominations, but we would advise that there is no need for more than 4 pages for a nomination. We encourage you to focus on answering the required questions on the nomination form.
