Pinsent Masons, Shearman & Sterling and Clyde & Co were among the major winners at the 2016 Legal Business Awards, with Slaughter and May’s outgoing senior partner Chris Saul named Lawyer of the Year in recognition of an outstanding career.
Pinsents was the night’s main winner, picking up two awards, first Energy & Infrastructure Team of the Year and then the coveted Law Firm of the Year award, thanks to a sustained period of strong financial performance and a firm commitment to a meaningful sector focus.
Meanwhile, Clydes’ managing partner James Burns was named Management Partner of the Year for being central to the success of the Global 100 firm since taking on the role in 2013.
Shearman picked up one of the most-prized practice area awards, selected as Corporate Team of the Year for its role advising Qatar Investment Authority on its complex £2.6bn bid for Songbird Estates, ultimately leading to the takeover of Canary Wharf Group. Herbert Smith Freehills picked up two awards – Finance Team of the Year for its role advising Virgin Atlantic on the innovative secured bond financing of its Heathrow airport slot portfolio, while it was jointly named Dispute Resolution Team of the Year with Jones Day after the firms collaborated to successfully represent the Standard Bank on entering into the UK’s first ever Deferred Prosecution Agreement.
Other major awards saw Skyscanner’s legal team named In-House Team of the Year for the team’s role in helping it become the world’s fastest-growing travel site, while Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan was named US Law Firm of the Year for the third time in five years, while Stevens & Bolton picked up National/Regional Firm of the Year after a very strong 2015.
The awards were presented to more than 1,000 guests in a gala ceremony last night (7 April) hosted by former Labour party chief press secretary and communications strategist Alastair Campbell. The event was preceded by a reception to mark the launch of this year’s GC Power List report.
The winners were selected by an external judging panel comprising the following senior general counsel: Nilema Bhakta-Jones (Ascential); Claire Chapman (Daily Mail and General Trust); Kirsty Cooper (Aviva); former vice-president and GC of group legal affairs & compliance at RB, Claire Debney; Chris Fowler (BT); Dan Guildford (FT); Michael Herlihy (Smiths Group); Robert Ivens (Marks and Spencer); Alison Kay (National Grid); Ned Staple (Zoopla); Nyeem Syed (Thomson Reuters); and Suzanne Wise (Network Rail). The panel was completed by Jomati founder Tony Williams as well as Alex Novarese and Mark McAteer from Legal Business.
Our May edition will include a full report of the night.
For more details click here. See #lbawards2016 on Twitter or click here for photos from the night.
mark.mcateer@legalease.co.uk
Legal Business Awards 2016 – The Winners
King & Wood Mallesons – TMT Team of the Year
Herbert Smith Freehills – Finance Team of the Year
Weil, Gotshal & Manges – Restructuring Team of the Year
Linklaters – Competition Team of the Year
Pinsent Masons – Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year
Herbert Smith Freehills/Jones Day – Dispute Resolution Team of the Year
Irwin Mitchell – Private Client Team of the Year
Eversheds – Insurance Team of the Year
Shearman & Sterling – Corporate Team of the Year
Travers Smith – Private Equity Team of the Year
Burges Salmon – Real Estate Team of the Year
Tapestry Compliance – Boutique of the Year
Chris Saul, Slaughter and May – Lawyer of the Year
ITV – CSR Programme of the Year
Al Tamimi & Company – International Firm of the Year
Daniel Whitehead, Citibank – Rising Star In-House Counsel of the Year
Skyscanner – In-House Team of the Year
James Burns, Clyde & Co – Management Partner of the Year
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan – US Law Firm of the Year
Lawyers On Demand – Legal Innovator of the Year
Kennedys – Legal Technology Team of the Year
Stevens & Bolton – National/Regional Firm of the Year
Pinsent Masons – Law Firm of the Year