Is Getting Honors & Awards Actually Helpful for Your Career?

Most lawyers I know are pretty humble and don’t go out of their way to collect awards and honors. The question is, should they? The answer is yes for awards given by a credible group, ideally by a professional organization with recognized members of the industry. And the answer is no if it’s obviously a pay-to-play situation, like being listed in a commercial directory for a fee.

How is an award from a credible professional organization helpful? It’s helpful in the same way when you look up professionals on LinkedIn and see they have good credentials, a clear professional trajectory, and interesting articles/presentations. Honors and awards can give additional evidence that you are good at what you do. The award alone may not get you hired but can add to your credibility.

Who gives awards? Often large employers give quarterly and annual awards for employees who have contributed meaningfully, e.g., closed a big deal, led a successful initiative, etc. The Super Lawyer designation is another commonly seen one. Super Lawyers describes itself as a “ratings service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievements” whose “selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.” Additionally, legal publications give awards. See The Recorder’s California Legal Awards covering Women Leaders in Tech Law, 40 under 40, ESG, Lit Department of the Year, etc. Law schools often recognize alums for their contributions to the law. (See, e.g., Santa Clara’s Rising Star Awards; Hastings’ Outstanding Alumni, etc.). Further, ethnic bars regularly award top lawyers, firms, and companies. (See, e.g., NAPABA, AABA; APABA-SV; Charles Houston Bar Association; La Raza.)

How do you get an award? You generally have to put in effort. For company awards, your boss or clients may have noticed you worked on something high profile. For the other awards, you likely have to be nominated (often self-nomination is acceptable). I recommend mentors and sponsors nominate their mentees. These senior folks have benefited from winning awards themselves and will know what are hot topics that organizations want to recognize people for, so they can help you shape your application and fill out the forms.

Bottom line: is it worth it to try for an award if you have achieved something? The answer is yes. It’s helpful, not +100 in the game of life but maybe +1 or +5. And then you should help other who don’t know all the rules to the game of life to get recognized as well. (Note Recorder nominations are due July 14!)