EOY - Scotland Awards Ceremony 22.06.17The Chief Executive of Cornerstone, one of Scotland’s largest social care organisations, has been honoured with a prestigious award from global accountancy giant EY.

Edel Harris was named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year overall Scotland winner – the first woman to claim the title – as well as taking home the Building a Better Working World award.

In the nine years Edel has been at Cornerstone she and her team have delivered business growth of £10million, diversified into new care markets and delivered an ambitious capital plan to create new homes for people with disabilities and autism. Cornerstone’s most recent transformational strategic plan, designed to embrace the challenges and opportunities presented by the ageing population, was recognised as having the potential to transform the social care sector in Scotland.

Edel said: “I am overwhelmed to have won such a prestigious award and I am delighted that the hard work of everyone at Cornerstone has been recognised on such a grand stage. Awards like this should never be about one individual because without such a fantastic team of colleagues none of this would be possible.

“Like all social care providers in Scotland Cornerstone is going through a period of change brought about by the growing challenges in our sector, however I am hugely excited about our organisation’s future and proud that we are pioneering a new and innovative way of working for the benefit of the people we support.”

There was tough competition for Edel who was up against eighteen other successful and accomplished entrepreneurs based in Scotland. As overall winner she goes forward to the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 UK final to be hosted in London in October.

Annie Graham, EY Partner and leader of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme in Scotland, said: “Edel Harris is an entrepreneur with wow factor. Her passion, drive and strategic mind-set have made a significant impact to the lives of the people who work and are supported by Cornerstone across Scotland. As a leader she is a shining example of Scotland’s vibrant entrepreneurial community.”

Founded in 1980 in Aberdeen, Cornerstone has grown to support more than 2,200 adults, young people and children across 18 local authority areas in Scotland including people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, autism, Dementia, and mental health problems.

More information on Cornerstone can be found by visiting www.cornerstone.org.uk or on social media at www.facebook.com/cornerstonecharity and www.twitter.com/cornerstonescot

Who's WhoBrodies was recognised as Scotland Law Firm of the Year for a record-breaking sixth time at the Who’s Who Legal Awards in London last night (15 May).

Brodies lawyers are listed more times in WWL’s editions than any other Scottish firm, and were selected 20 times across 14 practice area publications in total.

The winners were announced at a black tie awards ceremony at Plaisterer’s Hall in London, where the leading lawyers and firms from 35 practice areas and over 50 countries were recognised.

The winners are selected on a range of factors, including feedback received from clients and peers in the research process, past performance in the research and the overall aggregate number of weighted votes cast in their favour.

Rupert Wilson, editor of Who’s Who Legal, said: “Brodies continues to lead our Scottish research, and no other local firm can match the quality of counsel it can offer or the depth of its expertise. The clients and fellow practitioners we spoke to were united in their praise, and we are delighted to once more recognise Brodies as our Scotland Firm of the Year.”

Who’s Who Legal lists only the leading lawyers in each field, based exclusively on the findings of an independent six-month research process that encompasses feedback from private practitioners, clients and other experts in the sector. It is impossible to buy entry into the publication, only the lawyers who score most highly according to our independent international research criteria are listed.

The books are distributed free of charge to thousands of corporate counsel and private practice lawyers from around the world, and the information is also available on www.WhosWhoLegal.com and is updated daily.

Who’s Who Legal is strategic research partner of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law. In 2012, Law Business Research – the parent company of Who’s Who Legal – was recognised for the second time by The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the area of international trade. These awards are the most prestigious a British company can receive.

Commenting on the award, Bill Drummond, Managing Partner of Brodies, said: “We are very pleased that Who’s Who Legal continues to recognise our firm’s progress and our sustained investment in delivering high quality legal services that are relevant to our clients in Scotland, the UK and internationally. We are grateful to our clients for continuing to put their faith in us and to Who’s Who Legal and our peers in the legal profession for recognising Brodies as the stand-out law firm in Scotland for the sixth year running.”