International Firm of the Year

Submissions are invited from leading independent law firms operating in mainland Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australasia, the Middle East and Africa. Key factors taken into account by our judges include a clear demonstration of growing market share, stellar financial performance, strong management, a successful recruitment and retention strategy and a significant client development programme.

Previous Winners:

Gleiss Lutz remains one of the most admired German firms in the market.In the course of 2010 it acted on an impressive range of deals and made a number of notable strategic moves. The firm continued the expansion of its Düsseldorf office, which it opened in 2009 and by the end of 2010 had reached nine partners and 25 lawyers overall. In addition, in June 2010 it launched in Hamburg through a merger with highly respected boutique Rittstieg, adding six partners and four associates to Gleiss’s headcount.

Highlight deals for the firm included acting for a consortium comprising Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus on the German aspects of the €2.9bn acquisition of Interactive Data Corporation. The firm also acted for Infineon Technologies on the disposal of its wireless solutions business to Intel for €1.1bn. Gleiss Lutz’s impressive growth and excellent portfolio of deals make it a worthy winner of International Firm of the Year.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Arthur cox

Pádraig Ó Ríordáin

Arthur Cox has become synonymous with advising the Irish government from the outset of the recession through to the most recent tranche of work on the National Asset Management Agency. The firm remains the class act for Irish corporate work and once again featured in the upper echelons of the local M&A tables in 2010. The practice has also benefited from clear and strong leadership, which means that it is one of the best managed firms in the market.

Garrigues

Fernando Vives; Ricardo Gómez-Barreda

The largest Spanish law firm in terms of revenue, Garrigues continued to dominate the local legal landscape last year. The co-managing partners have put renewed emphasis on training, winning plaudits for launching an EMBA in managing professional services firms and a course on succeeding in global business.

GÓmez-acebo & Pombo

Manuel Martín

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo has continued to grow at an impressive rate, posting a double-digit hike in revenues in 2009 of 10%, which it then followed with a 2% increase in 2010. The firm opened an office in Lisbon at the start of the year, its third international office. Now at 330 lawyers, Gómez is firmly established amongst the Spanish elite.

NCTM

Paolo Montironi

Italian independent NCTM continued its impressive rate of expansion in 2010, with new offices, new hires and new clients, all against a backdrop of double-digit revenue and turnover growth. The expansion of its London office and a launch in Shanghai in 2010, along with the appointment of a COO, underlined NCTM’s progressive attitude.

Schoenherr

Christoph Lindinger

Schoenherr had an excellent 2010 making a number of significant strategic moves. The Austrian giant entered the Turkish market by formalising its relationship with a local firm; it opened its equity to the firm’s CEE partners; and also hired former UBS chairman Peter Kurer to advise the firm on strategy.

Tuca Zbârcea & Associatii

Florentin Tuca; Gabriel Zbârcea

Tuca Zbârcea & Asociatii has impressed by moving from an unknown start-up in 2005 to one of Romania’s top performers today. The firm became the first Romanian practice to launch in Madrid in 2009 and has managed to post some impressive financial results, with revenues up 21% to €22.7m. The firm has taken an unflinching approach to expansion, with 25 new hires since the start of 2010.