CLOC Core Awards
You know someone who changed how their legal team works. Maybe it’s you. Nominations for the CLOC Core Awards open January 11, 2027, and winners take the stage at the CLOC Global Institute in Las Vegas.
Finalists receive complimentary registration to the CLOC Global Institute. Winners take the stage during the Wednesday general session in front of their peers and receive a physical award.
Award categories
Each category ties to competencies from the Core 12, CLOC’s framework for the skills legal ops professionals use every day. Choose the one that fits your work best.
Legal Ops Builder Award
For the legal ops professional or team who rebuilt how their organization works with outside counsel.
Core 12Firm & Vendor ManagementPractice OperationsProject/Program Management
Legaltech Changemaker Award
For the individual who drove adoption of a legal technology program.
Core 12TechnologyTraining & Development
Community Builder Award
For a CLOC member whose work shifted how legal ops professionals think and work.
Core 12Training & DevelopmentOrg Optimization & Health
Project Excellence Award
For a cross-functional team that solved a new problem with speed and measurable results.
Core 12TechnologyTraining & Development
Finalists receive complimentary registration to the CLOC Global Institute. Winners take the stage during the Wednesday general session in front of their peers and receive a physical award.
Each category ties to competencies from the Core 12, CLOC’s framework for the skills legal ops professionals use every day. Choose the one that fits your work best.
Legal Ops Builder Award
For the legal ops professional or team who rebuilt how their organization works with outside counsel.
Core 12Firm & Vendor ManagementPractice OperationsProject/Program Management
Legaltech Changemaker Award
For the individual who drove adoption of a legal technology program.
Core 12TechnologyTraining & Development
Community Builder Award
For a CLOC member whose work shifted how legal ops professionals think and work.
Core 12Training & DevelopmentOrg Optimization & Health
Project Excellence Award
For a cross-functional team that solved a new problem with speed and measurable results.
Core 12TechnologyTraining & Development
CLOC will also recognize legal ops excellence in local markets at each of its global summits. The first regional awards come to the CLOC Australia Summit in Sydney in August 2027. Nominations for the Sydney awards open in April 2027.
Leave your information and we’ll keep you updated on CLOC Core Awards dates and deadlines.
Can I enter?
The awards are open worldwide, and entries are in English. Most categories welcome members and non-members. The Community Builder Award is open to current CLOC members only. Project Excellence entries must include an in-house legal team, an outside law firm, and a legal service provider.
Eligible work took place, in whole or in large part, between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2026. Work that started earlier counts if the results landed in that window.
Yes. The committee scores impact in proportion to the size of your team. You don’t need extensive before-and-after benchmarks to make a strong case.
Yes. Work recognized by other industry programs is eligible for the Core Awards.
How do I enter?
Yes. You can nominate yourself or someone else, and the committee scores both the same way. Entry is free.
Each entry goes to one category. Your organization can submit up to two entries per category, and each person can be nominated once per category.
Share results as ranges or percentages. Leave out privileged material and any client names you don’t have consent to use.
Can I trust the process?
An independent awards review committee of in-house legal ops practitioners, law firm and provider leaders, academics, and journalists scores every entry against a published rubric. CLOC staff and board members do not score entries, and there is no public vote. We’ll publish the full committee and rubric before nominations open.
Committee members declare any conflicts before scoring begins. A member with a conflict steps away from that entry, and another member scores it in their place.
What do I get?
Finalists receive complimentary registration to the 2027 CLOC Global Institute. Winners receive a physical award and take the stage during the Wednesday general session. CLOC will also highlight winners and their work to the full CLOC community.
How else can I get involved?
Apply between October 6 and 31, 2026, through CLOC’s 2027 call for volunteers. You need five or more years in legal ops or related legal, academic, analyst, or journalism work. You also need time to score entries in March 2027.
Join the local review committee for Sydney. The call for volunteers opens in April 2027. Other regional awards will be announced at a later date.
CLOC is looking for one title sponsor for the 2027 Core Awards. Please reach out to sponsorship@cloc.org if interested. Benefits include the sponsor’s name on the program and inclusion in the recognition moment at CGI.
Sponsors play no role on the review committee and can’t be nominated in a year they sponsor.
For any other questions, please email awards@cloc.org.