Judging Process

One question that is often asked of STEP is ‘How do you pick the winners? We are incredibly fortunate to have the leading lights of the industry comprising our Presiding Judges and Panel of Experts – these hand-picked practitioners form a powerful mix of experts and professionals, members and non-members. 

The Presiding Judges consider entrants objectively and shortlist teams as appropriate. The judges score each entry using the five criteria listed for the category.

The finalists are then considered by our Panel of Experts and their recommendations are returned to the Presiding Judges who meet to make their final decisions. These collective judgments draw on the judges’ combined experience and knowledge of the industry.

The STEP Private Client Awards are completely impartial and because of this, if any of the experts or judges have a conflicting holding in, or are connected by employment with, an entered firm in a particular category, they are asked to declare it and excuse themselves from judging that category.