Freshfields, Clifford Chance and Latham among firms shortlisted for British Legal Awards 2016

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance (CC) and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) are among eight firms in the running for the Law Firm of the Year prize at this year’s British Legal Awards.

The trio will go head to head with Clyde & Co, Osborne Clarke, Latham & Watkins, White & Case and Pinsent Masons for the flagship prize at the awards, which will take place at Finsbury Square on 24 November.

The full awards shortlist sees a range of leading law firms, legal departments and individual lawyers competing across categories including M&A Team of the Year, General Counsel of the Year, London Office of the Year and UK Law Firm of the Year.

Freshfields’ nomination for Law Firm of the Year follows a strong set of financial results, which saw the firm grow revenues by 6.6% to £1.327bn and profit per equity partner (PEP) by 7.5% to £1.47m. CC also delivered an impressive financial performance, pushing its revenue to a record £1.39bn while its PEP increased by 10% to £1.23m.

Latham & Watkins, meanwhile, has enjoyed a year of strong growth in the UK, bolstering its City finance practice with a series of senior recruits including a number of eye-catching magic circle hires.

The award for M&A Team of the Year (large team) sees firms including Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Slaughter and May and Macfarlanes striving for the top spot, while the firms fighting for the Banking and Finance Team of the Year award include Linklaters, Ropes & Gray and Simmons & Simmons.

Firms in the mix for the London Office of the Year award include White & Case, which increased its UK and Africa revenue by 39% during 2015, Proskauer Rose and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Other private practice prizes will recognise teams including property, restructuring and private equity, as well as areas such as technology and diversity.

The in-house legal community is also well represented at the awards, with a number of new prizes open to legal teams within corporates. Google, ITV, Sky and Vodafone are among those battling it out in the TMT category, with companies such as William Hill, Credit Agricole and Deloitte among those in the running for the team awards in the commercial and industrial, and financial services categories.

The judging process will be carried out later this month by an independent judging panel at an event hosted by Legal Week in conjunction with the City of London Law Society.

The panel comprises senior business lawyers from major corporations, banks and the public sector and includes Carol Hui, GC of Heathrow Airport Holdings; BAE Systems GC Philip Bramwell; Funke Abimbola, UK and Ireland GC of healthcare company Roche Products; and Tim Parkes, a former HSF partner who now chairs the Regulatory Decisions Committee at the Financial Conduct Authority.

Last year’s major winners include RPC, which won Law Firm of the Year, while Allen & Overy’s outgoing senior partner David Morley scooped the Editor’s Award for Managing/Senior Partner of the Year.

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Full shortlist of nominees for the British Legal Awards 2016

City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement Award Announced on the night

Law Firm of the Year Clifford Chance Clyde & Co Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Herbert Smith Freehills Latham & Watkins Osborne Clarke Pinsent Masons White & Case

Editor’s Award: Law Firm Leader of the Year Announced on the night

Legal Services Innovation Award Barclays Dentons Hogan Lovells LOD RPC Shoosmiths Simmons & Simmons Taylor Wessing

Legal Week Intelligence Client Partner of the Year Shortlist to be announced on 1 November

General Counsel of the Year Damian Morris, ICAP Dan Rose, Doddle Galit Gonen, TEVA James Peirson, CYBG

Legal Department of the Year (Financial Services) Credit Agricole CYBG ICAP Swinton Insurance

Legal Department of the Year (Commerce and Industry) Costain Group Deloitte HCA Healthcare UK JTI UK Tideway William Hill WSH

Legal Department of the Year (TMT) Google Hutchison Whampoa Europe Intel ITV Sky UK Virgin Media Vodafone

European Law Firm of the Year Asters Cuatrecasas Goncalves Pereira Garrigues Kinstellar Magnusson Mourant Ozannes Noerr Uria Menendez

UK Law Firm of the Year Brodies gunnercooke Harbottle & Lewis Mills & Reeve Mishcon de Reya Shoosmiths Stephens Scown Stevens & Bolton

Specialist Law Firm of the Year BLM GQ Employment Law Hughes Fowler Carruthers Kemp Little Roberts Jackson Stewarts Law Tapestry Compliance

London Office of the Year Gibson Dunn & Crutcher King & Spalding Morgan Lewis & Bockius Paul Hastings Proskauer Sullivan & Cromwell White & Case Gomez-Acebo & Pombo

Chambers of the Year 39 Essex Chambers Essex Court Chambers Hardwicke Quadrant Chambers Radcliffe Chambers Serle Court Wilberforce Chambers XXIV Old Buildings

CSR/Diversity Initiative of the Year Addleshaw Goddard Allen & Overy Ashurst Gowling WLG Roche UK & Byfield Consultancy Shearman & Sterling, Gibson Dunn, Ropes & Gray, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Reed Smith Travers Smith Winckworth Sherwood

Best Use of Technology Addleshaw Goddard Ashurst Linklaters My Home Move Osborne Clarke Reed Smith Shearman & Sterling Simmons & Simmons

Supplier of the Year Eclipse Legal Systems BigHand Intapp Janders Dean Justis SearchFlow Trevor Gilbert & Associates Yerra Solutions

Team awards

M&A Team of the Year (Large Deal) Allen & Overy Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters Macfarlanes Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Slaughter and May

M&A Team of the Year (Medium-Sized Deal) Ashurst Cooley Dentons King & Wood Mallesons McGuireWoods Travers Smith Taylor Wessing Winston & Strawn

Private Equity Team of the Year Baker & McKenzie Charles Russell Speechlys Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Hogan Lovells Kirkland & Ellis Shoosmiths Taylor Wessing Travers Smith

Banking and Finance Team of the Year Dechert Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Herbert Smith Freehills Latham & Watkins Linklaters Ropes & Gray Simmons & Simmons Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

Restructuring Team of the Year CMS DLA Piper Hogan Lovells Paul Hastings PwC Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Wikborg Rein and Osler Stephenson Harwood Sullivan & Cromwell

Property Team of the Year Gowling WLG Herbert Smith Freehills Norton Rose Fulbright Olswang Simmons & Simmons Taylor Wessing White & Case Winckworth Sherwood

Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year Addleshaw Goddard Burges Salmon Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells Mayer Brown Norton Rose Fulbright Pinsent Masons Simmons & Simmons

Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year Baker & McKenzie Charles Russell Speechlys Clifford Chance Gowling WLG Hogan Lovells Holman Fenwick Willan Mayer Brown Slaughter and May

Regulatory and Investigations Team of the Year Eversheds Herbert Smith Freehills, Jones Day and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft Linklaters and Centrica Shearman & Sterling Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Slaughter and May

Competition Team of the Year Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Hogan Lovells King & Wood Mallesons and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Mishcon de Reya Royal Dutch Shell and Slaughter and May

Commercial Team of the Year Eversheds Herbert Smith Freehills MacRoberts Olswang Simmons & Simmons Ward Hadaway

TMT Team of the Year Allen & Overy Clifford Chance CMS Dentons Eversheds Herbert Smith Freehills Linklaters White & Case

Private Client Team of the Year Baker & McKenzie Bircham Dyson Bell Irwin Mitchell Michelmores

• For more information on the event, click here