Richard Turton Award

Richard Turton Award 2025 - Winner

The Richard Turton Award Panel is pleased to announce that the 2025 winner is Dorjana Xhamaqi from Albania.

Dorjana is a licenced attorney and court-appointed bankruptcy administrator for insolvency proceedings. She is currently working as a legal advisor for a commercial company, as well as a legal consultant in bankruptcy cases handled in court. As part of her continued professional journey, she has recently completed the mediation training and is expected to graduate in this field later this year.

Dorjana's paper seeks to provide a deeper understanding of the human experience following financial collapse and to propose new ways to support individuals through this challenging process.

Read the paper: Bankruptcy and its Psychological Impact on Individuals: Challenges and Opportunities for Growth

As part of the award, Ms Xhamaqi attended the INSOL Europe conference in Vienna, Austria in October.

The panel adjudicating this year’s applications was made up of:

Barry Cahir, INSOL Europe
Neil Cooper, INSOL International
Nicky Fisher, R3
Yin Lee, IPA

We would like to congratulate Dorjana on her excellent application.

We also thank all the candidates who applied for the award this year and wish them a successful career in their chosen field. We had 49 applicants from 14 countries, all of a very high calibre, making this a difficult decision for our judges.

"The Richard Turton Award will always remain one of the moments that changed my path - a shining moment in my career - and also a promise I make to myself to continue working with passion, to never lose my sense of humanity and to never forget that a true professional is measured by the positive impact they leave behind.

I want to contribute even more to this field, to create solutions that give businesses a second chance and to strengthen my role as a bridge between the parties, as a voice that protects the interests of ordinary people affected by economic decisions. This field is my favourite because where others read balance sheets, I see people. Where others see losses, I see new opportunities. Where others fear challenges, I see reasons to fight. Looking ahead, I believe that this award will open doors to more discussion forums, new projects and collaborations that will allow me to have an even greater impact."
Dorjana Xhamaqi, 2025 Winner

“In addition to granting me access to the INSOL Europe community, winning The Richard Turton Award serves as a springboard to my career in Global Restructuring and Insolvency Practice.”
Emily Onyango, 2024 Winner

“Achieving the Richard Turton Award is more than an award for me. It is a unique and rare opportunity to be part of such a conference and be surrounded by the best professionals and practitioners in the insolvency area. It is also a lifetime experience and a huge motivation for me as a young researcher.”
Marinela Majnova, 2023 Winner

"In the context of systemic crisis caused by COVID-19, the Richard Turton Award represented a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the problems of insolvency legislation in Latin America. [...] Winning the award has allowed me to consolidate as part of the new generations of lawyers who spread this branch of law."
Carla Cervantes Villacorta, 2020 Winner

"This award meant a lot to me. I was the first person in Hungary who won this award. My name has become known in the Hungarian judicial and academic community, and my paper also brought international recognition through Eurofenix: it was cited [...] and read all over the world."
Róbert Muzsalyi, 2016 Winner

"The Richard Turton Award was for me, in 2005, and continues to be today, a launching pad for young people in the field of insolvency. I definitely urge my colleagues, who are at the beginning of the road, to capitalise any chance offered [...] because people of indisputable value are waiting for them, with open arms, to guide their steps in the world of insolvency.”
Lavinia-Olivia Iancu, 2005 Winner

To read more on these testimonials, click here for the article in Eurofenix, INSOL Europe's Journal.