Maxwell McCartney has collected his second Yorkshire-based accolade inside a year, marking an unusual double for someone still completing their legal training.
The Trainee Legal Executive at Freeths claimed the Yorkshire Emerging Male Leader title at the Business Hero Awards 2026 on Tuesday. Twelve months earlier, he’d won Professional Services Apprentice of the Year at the West Yorkshire Apprenticeship Awards.
Back-to-back regional honours for junior staff remain relatively uncommon in the legal sector, where recognition typically flows towards partners and senior practitioners.
The Business Hero Awards focus on impact beyond core job functions—leadership, community work, social responsibility. Judges singled out McCartney’s energy and the influence he’d already carved out within Freeths’ Leeds office, despite his early-career status.
His involvement centres on charity fundraising, particularly for Martin House Children’s Hospice, alongside internal initiatives that pull colleagues together. Learning sessions, office activities, and what the firm describes as “culture-building” work.
“Winning Yorkshire Emerging Male Leader is something I never expected, and I’m incredibly grateful,” McCartney said. “Freeths places such a strong emphasis on charity, inclusion, learning and togetherness, and I’ve been lucky to develop in an environment where junior voices are encouraged and supported.”
The Leeds office has developed a reputation for active participation in charitable work. Martin House, a children’s hospice serving West, North and East Yorkshire, has become a focal point for the team’s fundraising efforts.
“The Leeds office has a real culture of getting involved, particularly through our ongoing support for Martin House Children’s Hospice, as well as across lunches, learning sessions and wider initiatives,” McCartney added. “I’m thankful for the continued investment the firm makes in its people, and I’m excited to continue building on that momentum.”
Freeths operates as a certified B Corporation—a designation that requires firms to meet verified standards on social and environmental performance. Among the UK’s top 50 commercial law practices, the firm has positioned itself around what it terms responsible business practice.
That positioning extends to talent development. The firm holds Gold accreditation from Investors in People as of 2025, Proud Employer ‘Champion’ status from Stonewall, and appears in the Top 30 Employers list compiled by Working Families.
The legal sector has seen a gradual shift in how firms approach junior talent, moving away from the traditionally rigid hierarchies that once defined the profession. Apprenticeship routes into legal careers have expanded significantly over the past five years, offering alternatives to the conventional university-then-training-contract pipeline.
McCartney’s role as Trainee Legal Executive represents one such alternative pathway—a route that combines on-the-job learning with formal qualifications, typically attracting school leavers or career changers rather than law graduates.
Freeths itself secured Law Firm of the Year honours at both the City AM Awards 2025 and the Legal Business Awards 2024. The firm finished runner-up for UK Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2025.
The practice gained broader public recognition for its representation of 555 sub-postmasters in their High Court case against the Post Office—a matter widely regarded as one of Britain’s most significant miscarriages of justice. The firm continues to advise on the subsequent compensation schemes.
Whether McCartney’s double win signals a trend towards greater recognition of junior contributions in professional services, or simply reflects an individual’s particular drive, remains an open question. For now, the Martin House fundraising continues, and the Leeds office keeps scheduling those learning sessions.
