On Monday STEP announced that nominations for the 2014/15 Private Client Awards (PCA) had opened. Now in their ninth year, the PCAs are our opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the professional achievements of our peers in private client practice, be they solicitors, attorneys, accountant, barristers, bankers, family business consultants, trust managers or financial advisors. This year there are 19 award categories for individuals, teams, chambers or firms to enter and, for the first time, all categories will be open to practitioners worldwide.

I strongly encourage you to consider submitting a nomination for a STEP PCA. All entries are rigorously evaluated by the Presiding Judges and to be recognised as a top-tier performer in the industry is an occasion you can be proud of. Given the broad range of jurisdictions and respective regulatory frameworks in which practitioners work, I expect to see contrasting nominations that all share the same hallmarks of excellence.

Nominations close on 30 May with finalists announced on 1 July. The awards night will be held in London on 17 September and I look forward to seeing many of you there.

View the 2014/15 Private Client Awards website including award categories and nomination forms

David Harvey is Chief Executive of STEP