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published OCTOBER 27, 2009

Freshfields recognised as ‘Most Innovative European Law Firm’ at Financial Times awards

International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been recognised as the overall top law firm and 'Most Innovative European Law Firm' at this year's Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards. The firm received three individual awards for its innovative work in the following categories: Financial Crisis and the Downturn: For helping to establish the Bank of England special liquidity scheme Government: For the firm's role as the strategic adviser to the German government during the credit crunch. In particular, its work drafting initial legislation to the crisis and development of a unique expropriation act to deal with non-cooperative shareholders of Hypo Real Estate bank. Individual Innovation: Benedikt Wolfers, a partner within the firm's dispute resolution practice and a key adviser to Germany's federal and state governments during the downturn, was recognised as the most innovative lawyer of the year. Additionally, Freshfields received one further standout award, six highly commended awards and two commendations for its work in the following categories: Financial Crisis and the Downturn Highly commended - Advising sponsoring banks on recapitalisations including the largest ever rights issues in Europe and the first time a 'cashbox' structure was used for preference shares. Commended - Advising UK investor Topland on a joint venture agreement with Spain's second largest supermarket retailer Eroski using a global sale and leaseback transaction worth an estimated £1bn. Government Standout - Reshaping the rules around European Union state aid and helping to accelerate the European Commission's processes of approval for state aid. Financial Services Highly Commended - The firm established a new variant on the hybrid bond featuring the "replacement capital covenant", an elegant solution to the shifting ratings rules. Now adopted as the industry standard by Standard & Poor's. - Transferring Lehman businesses to Nomura, a delicate and complex process which was performed under immense time pressures, across 17 jurisdictions. Commended - Refinancing BAA's UK airports through the creation of a bond exchange mechanism and escrow arrangements for existing holders. Changing the Rules Highly Commended - Tesco's successful challenge to the UK Competition Commission. As an integral part of the Tesco team, Freshfields' legal strategy to make a Competition Commission remedy the subject of the judicial review was novel and should ensure that future remedies have a better consideration of benefits and costs. Resourcing Highly Commended - "Sleeper" lawyers with relevant experience were retrained to work in the increasingly busy restructuring practice, with a downturn "wiki" used to share know how. Management Highly Commended - Freshfields' Wiki intranet, a web 2.0 solution, has been implemented to allow collaborative knowledge sharing and provide a more dynamic service to clients. To read the full report please go to:  http://www.ft.com/reports/innovativelawyers2009