TLT, Latham & Watkins and Compass Group were among the major winners at the 2023 Legal Business Awards, which welcomed more than 800 guests to the Grosvenor House hotel on Tuesday (19 September).
Hosted by actor, writer, and producer Sally Phillips, the evening saw TLT crowned Law Firm of the Year, with judges particularly impressed by its stellar performance over the past few years, with a strong financial performance in 2021/2022 underpinned by key client wins.
Elsewhere, Freshfields won Corporate Team of the Year for advising the London Stock Exchange Group on its 10-year strategic partnership with Microsoft, while Sidley won the Restructuring Team of the Year for representing China Fortune Land Development Co in the restructuring of its $4.96bn offshore debt. Latham & Watkins – Highly Commended in the Law Firm of the Year category – also picked up Private Equity Team of the Year for its work advising Energy Capital Partners on its acquisition of Biffa.
In the in-house categories, Compass Group won In-House Team of the Year, while GC of the Year is Tom Shropshire of Diageo. There were also wins for the London Stock Exchange Group – which won Most Transformative In-House Team of the Year – and Lida Khanverdi of EG Group, who picked up the award for Rising Star In-House Counsel of the Year.
Elsewhere Addleshaw Goddard, CMS, Taylor Wessing and Simpson Thacher also enjoyed successful evenings – each picking up an award and a Highly Commended mention.
A special thanks goes to our external judging panel of prominent general counsel who selected the winners. They are: Nicola Putland, GC – Data, Digital & Delivery at Lloyds Banking Group; Ruwan De Soyza, group GC and company secretary at Xplor; Alessandro Galtieri, deputy GC at Colt; Dan Guildford, GC, The Financial Times; Matthew Wilson, GC, Fremantle; Terra Potter, GC EMEA/AP, Hexcel; Clare Wardle, GC, Coca-Cola Enterprise Partners; Rosie Teo, GC & chief compliance officer, Salary Finance; Angus McBride, EVP and GC at News UK; Natalie Salunke, GC, Zilch; Lara Oyesanya, Group GC and Company Secretary, Zepz; Joy Van Cooten, Associate GC- EMEA & APAC, ACI Worldwide; Rupa Patel, GC, Awaze; Merley Okine, GC, Ebiquity; Vivienne Inmonger, Head of Legal, Risk and Compliance, McGee; Nigel Paterson, GC at Dixons Carphone; Nayeem Syed, senior legal director technology procurement at London Stock Exchange Group; and Samantha Thompson, consultant and former head of legal global M&A, Anglo American.
A full list of the winners can be seen here, and a forthcoming edition will include a full report of the night. For more detail on the awards in general, please click here.
mark.mcateer@legalbusiness.co.uk