A CITY law firm is in the running for prestigious Birmingham Law Society award.

Thursfields Solicitors has been named in the shortlist for the law firm of the year, for five to 15 partners, while Michelle Chamberlain from the firm is one of five hoping to be named partner of the year.

The award winners will be announced on Thursday 9 March at a gala dinner being held at the International Convention Centre, when former BBC chief political correspondent and Strictly Come Dancing contestant John Sergeant will be guest speaker.

Thursfields Solicitors has seven offices and 137 staff across the wider West Midlands, including Worcester, Kidderminster and Stourport.

Managing director Nick O’Hara said: “We pride ourselves on being your local legal specialists and we have grown rapidly in recent years on the back of a commitment to providing expertise and personal service to our clients.”

The firm is accredited with Investors in People silver status, the industry quality standard Lexcel, and is a Legal 500 accredited firm with multiple entries in the annual directory including corporate and commercial, insolvency and corporate recovery, family, contentious trusts and probate.

Thursfields is also a proud member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme campaigning for sexual orientation equality within the workplace and to its client base.

The firm has established its own equality and diversity group, Equal Allies as part of this.

Nick O’Hara added: “We aim to make Thursfields Solictors a firm you would be proud to work for and one that our clients recognise not only for our expertise but also for our client care.”

Michelle Chamberlain, who is shortlisted as Partner of the Year, joined Thursfields in 2007 having trained and worked at a major law firm in Birmingham.

She is now a board member and commercial director for Thursfields, responsible for developing the firm’s high calibre commercial services offering through a targeted HR and business development strategy.

“Thursfields has a unique culture combining the passion and ambition of a start up business with the experience and quality of the long established organisation that we are," she said.

"We look forward to this year’s Awards dinner.”