A&O Shearman trainee wins 2025 City of London Solicitors’ Company Prize
Jude D’Alesio, Associate at A&O Shearman LLP, has been awarded the 2025 City of London Solicitors’ Company Prize, awarded every year to an aspiring solicitor in the City who shows exceptional promise.
This year’s prize saw dozens of strong applications judged on the basis of a 500-word essay titled ‘Promoting the Rule of Law in economic growth: should the City be taking the regulatory handbrake off?’. A final shortlist of applicants then attended an interview with the President of the City of London Solicitors’ Company Rule of Law Society, Rafique Khan, and the Vice-Chair of the City of London Law Society’s Training Committee, Charlotte Wanendeya.
To be eligible, candidates needed to have passed the LPC or SQE1 and be in the last year of either their training contract or their solicitor apprenticeship, or have completed at least one year of qualifying work experience – in each case, with a firm of solicitors practising in the City and its neighbouring areas. Since submitting his application, this year’s winner has now qualified and will soon join A&O Shearman’s Litigation & Investigations team as an Associate.
Jude’s winning essay is currently featured on the CLLS LinkedIn and will appear in the upcoming edition of CitySolicitor Magazine. In his submission, Jude effectively argues that while the Rule of Law is fundamental to the City of London’s economic success, excessive or poorly designed regulation can stifle growth and innovation. He advocates for a balanced approach: maintaining legal certainty and investor confidence through sensible regulation but avoiding unnecessary rules and taxes that hinder business and investment.
Commenting on the prize, Jude D’Alesio said: “It is an absolute pleasure to be announced as the winner of the 2025 prize. Never in a million years did I expect my essay to get this far, but the opportunity to contribute to the pertinent debate set by the question was one I could not ignore! I would like to thank A&O Shearman for all the legal skills it has taught me. I would also like to thank the distinguished judges at the Company for reading my essay, and, finally, I’d like to thank my mum, who made me believe that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”