Allen & Overy, Freshfields and Slaughters among finalists for 2017 Global Legal Awards

The American Lawyer has announced the finalists for the 2017 Global Legal Awards, which honours matters that demonstrate the industry’s ability to navigate complex international legal issues.

With well in excess of 200 entries from firms across the globe, the competition was fierce and the high-stakes nature of the work was on full display. Finalists have been honoured across four main categories: citizenship, disputes, M&A and finance.

Grand prize winners from each of the four categories will be announced at a dinner celebration on 25 September at the Edison Ballroom in New York.

This year’s honourees handled matters from Argentina to Indonesia and many places in between. They worked on refugee matters, alcoholic beverage company acquisitions, Chinese chemical company deals and much more. We saw one of the first post-Brexit deals, inversion structures and firms overcome major regulatory hurdles to get their clients’ deals done.

Multibillion-dollar arbitration disputes abounded, as did comprehensive corruption investigation work. Awards were given out for work in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, eastern and western Europe, Latin America, Africa, Canada, the US and more.

• Citizenship

Global CSR Project of the Year

Winner: Legal Ethics Training Programme in Ghana

Honourees: White & Case; Fordham University School of Law; Faculty of Law, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration

Global Pro Bono Deal of the Year

Winner: Shining a Light On Rural India: Advising Mera Gao Power

Honouree: Latham & Watkins

Global Pro Bono Dispute of the Year

Winner: International Death Penalty Project

Honourees: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Cornell Law School’s Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide

Global Pro Bono Advocacy Project of the Year

Winner: European Refugee Crisis

Honourees: Morrison & Foerster; Latham & Watkins; TrustLaw; British Institute of International and Comparative Law; Debarliev, Dameski & Kelesoska Attorneys at Law; Glinska & Miskovic Law Firm; joint law office Maric & Mujezinovic in cooperation with Kinstellar; CARE USA legal department; The American National Red Cross legal department; Norwegian Refugee Council legal department; Mercy Corps legal department

• Finance

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Capital Markets (Equity)

Winner: Postal Savings Bank of China IPO

Honourees: Clifford Chance, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Haiwen & Partners, King & Wood Mallesons

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Capital Markets (Debt)

Winner: Argentina sovereign debt offering

Honourees: Bruchou Fernandez Madero & Lombardi; Cleary; Errecondo Gonzalez Funes; Shearman & Sterling

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Insolvency and Restructuring (US)

Winner: Roust Corp restructuring

Honourees: Allen & Overy; Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft; CEDC International; Greenberg Traurig; Kirkland & Ellis; Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom; Wiercinski Kwiecinski Baehr

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Insolvency and Restructuring (UK)

Winner: EnQuest restructuring

Honourees: Ashurst; EnQuest; Herbert Smith Freehills; Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison; Weil Gotshal & Manges

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Insolvency and Restructuring (Africa)

Winner: Edcon restructuring

Honourees: Allen & Overy; Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr; Clifford Chance; ENSafrica; Glyn Marais; Kirkland & Ellis; Latham & Watkins; Norton Rose Fulbright; Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe; Ropes & Gray; Shearman & Sterling; Weil; Werksmans

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Insolvency and Restructuring (Latin America)

Winner: Enel Americas corporate reorganization

Honourees: Carey; Cariola Diez Perez-Cotapos & Cia; Chilectra; Claro & Cia; Cleary; Enel Americas; Norton Rose Fulbright; Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler; Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uria; Skadden

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Projects (Middle East)

Winner: Barakah nuclear power project financing

Honourees: Bae Kim & Lee; Baker McKenzie

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Projects (Japan)

Winner: Kansai Airports concession project

Honourees: Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu; Nishimura & Asahi

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Projects (Southeast Asia)

Winner: Bhimasena Power Indonesia project

Honourees: Ali Budiardjo Nugroho Reksodiputro; Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy; Mochtar Karuwin Komar; Shearman & Sterling

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Acquisition Finance

Winner: HNA/Hilton financing

Honourees: Davis Polk & Wardwell; Latham & Watkins; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Weil; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr

Global Finance Deal of the Year: Structured Finance

Winner: Credit Agricole “Green Capital Note”

Honourees: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; White & Case

• M&A

Global M&A Deal of the Year: Canada

Winner: Fortis/ITC Holdings

Honourees: White & Case, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg; Simpson Thacher; Torys; Jones Day

Global M&A Deal of the Year: China

Winner: ChemChina/Syngenta

Honourees: Simpson Thacher; Homburger; Linklaters; Davis Polk; Baer & Karrer

Global M&A Deal of the Year: Central and Eastern Europe

Winner: Asahi Group Holdings/SABMiller, Anheuser-Busch InBev

Honourees: Allen & Overy; Freshfields; Hogan Lovells

Global M&A Deal of the Year: Europe

Winner: Visa Inc/Visa Europe

Honourees: Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz; Macfarlanes; Skadden; Linklaters

Global M&A Deal of the Year: Ireland

Winner: Tyco International/Johnson Controls

Honourees: Simpson Thacher; Arthur Cox; Wachtell; A&L Goodbody; Cleary

Global M&A Deal of the Year: Japan

Winner: Tencent/Supercell Oy, SoftBank Group Corp.

Honourees: Slaughter and May; Covington & Burling; Morrison & Foerster; Fenwick & West; White & Case

Global M&A Deal of the Year: Latin America

Winner: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, CIC Capital Corp, GIC/Nova Transportadora do Sudeste, Petroleo Brasileiro

Honourees: Sullivan & Cromwell; Torys; Pinheiro Neto; Veirano Advogados; Lobo & de Rizzo; Mattos Filho Veiga Filho Marrey Jr & Quiroga Advogados; Hogan Lovells

Global M&A Deal of the Year: UK

Winner: SoftBank/ARM Holdings

Honourees: Morrison & Foerster; Freshfields; Cleary; Slaughter and May, Davis Polk

Global M&A Deal of the Year: US

Winner: British American Tobacco/Reynolds American

Honourees: Cravath Swaine & Moore; Herbert Smith Freehills; Jones Day; Weil Gotshal; Moore & Van Allen

• Disputes

Global Dispute of the Year: Investment Arbitration

Winner: Yukos v Russia

Honourees: Cleary; Hanotiau & van den Berg; Houthoff Buruma

Global Dispute of the Year: Transnational Litigation

Winner: Nortel Networks bankruptcy

Honourees: Herbert Smith Freehills; Debevoise & Plimpton; Hughes Hubbard & Reed; Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb; Davies Ward; Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney; Goodmans; Allen & Overy; Torys; Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell; Cleary; Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor; Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein

Global Dispute of the Year: Commercial Arbitration (Europe)

Winner: Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania v Atomstroyexport

Honouree: Sidley Austin

Global Dispute of the Year: Commercial Arbitration (Asia)

Winner: NTT Docomo v Tata Sons

Honourees: Skadden; Khaitan & Co; Ciccu Mukhopadhaya

Global Dispute of the Year: Investigations (Latin America)

Winner: Odebrecht investigation

Honourees: Paul Hastings; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; Siqueira Castro

Global Dispute of the Year: Investigations (Asia)

Winner: Takata airbag litigation

Honourees: Dechert; Covington; Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Global Dispute of the Year: Investigations (Europe)

Winner: Rolls-Royce investigation

Honourees: Debevoise; Slaughter and May

• Click here for more information on The American Lawyer Global Legal Awards 2017