Oxford Law Pro Claims Two Gold EPIC Awards, Oxford 2026 

Key Points

• Oxford Law Pro won Gold in two categories at the 2026 SSP EPIC Awards: Hosting Platform Features and Branding
• The awards were presented by the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), the publishing industry’s most prestigious awards for digital excellence
• Mirkka Jokelainen, Product Director for Oxford Law Pro, praised the team’s commitment to creating an intuitive knowledge resource
• Oxford Law Pro launched in May 2025 as Oxford University Press’s first dedicated legal knowledge platform
• Silverchair developed Oxford Law Pro in partnership with Oxford University Press and also won the Gold award
• The 2026 EPIC Awards received 347 entries from 89 organisations across 23 countries
• David Kohn, Senior Vice President of Silverchair’s Publishing Solutions division, validated the joint commitment to exceptional digital experiences
• Oxford Law Pro serves barristers, solicitors, law firms, academic institutions, and researchers worldwide
• The platform features advanced search capabilities, personalised dashboards, mobile optimisation, and integration with legal research workflows
• SSP Executive Director Sarah Mitchell noted the exceptionally high quality of entries this year

Oxford(Oxford Daily) June 02, 2026 – Oxford University Press announced today that Oxford Law Pro, its knowledge resource for legal professionals and researchers, has won Gold in two categories at the 2026 EPIC Awards presented by the Society for Scholarly Publishing. The awards recognise excellence in Hosting Platform Features and Branding, marking a significant achievement for the platform that launched just one year ago in May 2025.

What Categories Did Oxford Law Pro Win at the 2026 EPIC Awards?

As reported by the Oxford University Press official announcement, Oxford Law Pro secured Gold awards in two distinct categories: Hosting Platform Features and Branding. The Hosting Platform Features category recognises technical excellence in platform functionality, while the Branding category honours outstanding design and visual identity. This double win demonstrates that the platform successfully combined cutting-edge technology with exceptional design, according to Mirkka Jokelainen, Product Director for Oxford Law Pro.

The 2026 EPIC Awards received 347 entries from 89 organisations across 23 countries, making the competition exceptionally rigorous. The awards were judged by a panel of publishing professionals based on criteria including innovation, design, usability, and technical excellence.

Who Led the Oxford Law Pro Team to This Achievement?

Mirkka Jokelainen, Product Director for Oxford Law Pro, expressed delight at the double Gold win. “We are delighted that Oxford Law Pro has won Gold in two categories at the 2026 EPIC Awards,” Jokelainen stated. “This recognition validates our team’s commitment to creating an intuitive, powerful knowledge resource for legal professionals and researchers”.

Jokelainen further explained the significance of the dual awards: “Winning Gold in both Hosting Platform Features and Branding demonstrates that we’ve successfully combined cutting-edge technology with exceptional design. Our users told us they needed a platform that was both powerful and easy to use, and this award confirms we’ve delivered on that promise”.

David Kohn, Senior Vice President of Silverchair’s Publishing Solutions division, also commented on the achievement. Silverchair developed Oxford Law Pro in partnership with Oxford University Press. “We are proud to have developed Oxford Law Pro with Oxford University Press,” Kohn said. “This Gold award in both Hosting Platform Features and Branding validates our joint commitment to creating exceptional digital experiences for legal professionals”.

Why Does This Award Matter for the Legal Publishing Industry?

The EPIC Awards are the publishing industry’s most prestigious awards for digital excellence, honouring outstanding achievements in electronic publishing across all sectors. The awards have been presented annually since 1996 by the Society for Scholarly Publishing, a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing scholarly communication and publishing.

SSP Executive Director Sarah Mitchell commented on the quality of this year’s submissions: “The quality of entries this year was exceptionally high. These awards recognise organisations that are pushing the boundaries of digital publishing and creating meaningful experiences for their users”.

What Features Does Oxford Law Pro Offer to Legal Professionals?

Oxford Law Pro launched in May 2025 as Oxford University Press’s first dedicated legal knowledge platform. The platform combines deep legal expertise with modern technology to serve barristers, solicitors, law firms, academic institutions, and researchers worldwide.

Key features of Oxford Law Pro include advanced search capabilities, personalised dashboards, mobile optimisation, and integration with existing legal research workflows. The platform contains content from Oxford’s extensive legal publishing programme, including titles on English law, EU law, international law, and comparative law.

How Quickly Did Oxford Law Pro Achieve This Recognition?

Oxford Law Pro achieved this significant recognition just one year after its launch. The platform launched in May 2025 and has quickly become a recognised resource for legal professionals seeking comprehensive legal knowledge combined with modern platform capabilities.

Mirkka Jokelainen celebrated the milestone on LinkedIn, noting the platform’s first birthday coincided with the double Gold award win. “Celebrating Oxford Law Pro’s first birthday, we just went ahead and won TWO gold awards in SSP EPIC Awards!” Jokelainen posted, adding “Have to admit – I was giddy”.

What Is the Background of Oxford Law Pro’s Development?

Oxford Law Pro represents Oxford University Press’s entry into dedicated legal knowledge platforms. Before this platform, Oxford’s legal content was distributed through various channels rather than a unified, purpose-built platform.

The platform was developed through a partnership between Oxford University Press and Silverchair, a leading provider of publishing and workflow solutions for the research community. Silverchair, based in Charlottesville, VA, brings extensive experience in digital publishing platforms to the collaboration.

The development focused on addressing specific user needs identified through research with legal professionals. According to Jokelainen, users explicitly requested a platform that was both powerful and easy to use, a balance that the Gold awards in both technical and design categories confirm was achieved.

The platform’s content draws from Oxford’s extensive legal publishing programme, which has decades of established expertise in legal scholarship. This combination of authoritative content with modern platform technology distinguishes Oxford Law Pro from general legal research tools.

What Does This Mean for Legal Professionals and Researchers?

The double Gold award validates Oxford Law Pro’s approach to legal knowledge delivery for its target audience. barristers, solicitors, law firms, academic institutions, and researchers worldwide now have access to a platform that industry judges have recognised for both technical excellence and design quality.

For legal professionals, this means access to advanced search capabilities that can navigate Oxford’s extensive legal content more efficiently than traditional methods. The personalised dashboards allow users to customise their research experience, while mobile optimisation ensures access across devices.

The integration with existing legal research workflows means the platform can fit into established professional practices rather than requiring complete workflow changes. This practical consideration was clearly important to the EPIC Awards judges, who recognised the platform’s usability alongside its technical features.

Background of the Development

Oxford Law Pro emerged from Oxford University Press’s strategic decision to create a dedicated legal knowledge platform rather than continuing to distribute legal content through general academic platforms. The platform launched in May 2025, marking Oxford University Press’s first dedicated legal knowledge platform.

The development partnership with Silverchair brought technical expertise in publishing platforms. Silverchair is a leading provider of publishing and workflow solutions for the research community, headquartered in Charlottesville, VA. The company’s experience spans multiple sectors of scholarly and professional publishing.

The 2026 EPIC Awards, organised by the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), have been presented annually since 1996 and represent the publishing industry’s most prestigious recognition for digital excellence. The SSP is a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing scholarly communication and publishing.

This year’s competition was particularly competitive, with 347 entries from 89 organisations across 23 countries. The judging panel consisted of publishing professionals who evaluated entries based on innovation, design, usability, and technical excellence.

Oxford Law Pro’s content includes titles on English law, EU law, international law, and comparative law, drawn from Oxford’s extensive legal publishing programme. This content foundation represents decades of Oxford University Press’s established expertise in legal scholarship.

Prediction: How This Development Will Affect Legal Professionals and Researchers

This double Gold award recognition will likely increase adoption of Oxford Law Pro among barristers, solicitors, law firms, academic institutions, and researchers worldwide. The prestige of the EPIC Awards serves as third-party validation that can influence purchasing decisions for law firms and institutions evaluating legal research platforms.

Legal professionals seeking comprehensive legal knowledge combined with modern platform capabilities now have a verified option that industry judges have confirmed delivers on both technical and design fronts. The recognition may accelerate migration from older research methods to the platform’s advanced search capabilities and personalised dashboards.

For academic institutions, the award validation may justify subscription investments in Oxford Law Pro for law libraries and research centres. The platform’s integration with existing legal research workflows means minimal disruption during adoption, potentially reducing implementation barriers for institutions.

The double Gold win in both Hosting Platform Features and Branding signals to competitors that the legal publishing sector is competing on both technical excellence and user experience, not just content depth. This may drive industry-wide improvements in legal research platform quality as competitors respond to the new standard Oxford Law Pro has set.

Researchers focusing on English law, EU law, international law, and comparative law will benefit from the platform’s advanced search capabilities and mobile optimisation, enabling more efficient literature reviews and cross-jurisdictional research. The personalised dashboards allow researchers to track relevant developments in their specific areas of focus.

The timing of this recognition, just one year after launch, suggests Oxford Law Pro has achieved product-market fit quickly. This rapid adoption trajectory may indicate growing demand for specialised legal knowledge platforms over general academic databases among legal professionals who require jurisdiction-specific and practice-oriented content.