International Firm of the Year

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KING & WOOD MALLESONS - Stuart Fuller; Robert Hanley

The tie-up between China’s King & Wood and Australia’s Mallesons Stephen Jacques, announced at the end of 2011, is a game-changer for global legal services. All attention has been focused on a top-drawer transatlantic combination for the past decade. But this combination points emphatically to a new world order.

 

 

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.

 

The tie-up between China’s King & Wood and Australia’s Mallesons Stephen Jacques, announced at the end of 2011, is a game-changer for global legal services. All attention has been focused on a top-drawer transatlantic combination for the past decade. But this combination points emphatically to a new world order.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

BEZEN & PARTNERS
Yesim Bezen

Small but perfectly formed, this was the best performing Turkish firm in 2011. It has doubled headcount and revenue year on year since 2007 and has advised on the largest energy deals in Turkey. Just five years old, with a democratic management structure and 100% lawyer retention rate, this is the firm to watch in Istanbul.

EGOROV PUGINSKY AFANASIEV & PARTNERS
Dimitry Afanasiev

This key player in the Russian market merged with Ukraine-headquartered Magisters at the end of 2011 to create one of Europe’s largest independent legal players, and a dominant force in the CIS. It is also a lead member of the 12-strong group of firms that are pushing for civil code reform in Russia.

GIANNI, ORIGONI, GRIPPO, CAPPELLI & PARTNERS
Francesco Gianni

This firm has made an impressive rise to prominence of late, seizing a significant chunk of the mid-market work, which is where most of the action has been recently. The firm has recently pulled off the coup of the year by hiring star M&A lawyer Roberto Cappelli from Grimaldi, which puts its corporate offering on an entirely different level.

MAPLES AND CALDER
Henry Smith

Successfully straddling the Atlantic, offering pre-eminent funds practices in the BVI, Cayman and now Ireland, as well as an alliance with Carey Olsen in the Channel Islands, Maples has added quality to its rapid growth in recent years to create a formidable global offshore player.

NOERR
Tobias Bürgers; Dieter Schenk

In 2011 Noerr made further inroads into the international arena and became Germany’s second largest independent law firm. Following the launch of the London office in October 2010, the firm continued its expansion in 2011, with a new office in Spain, new hires and clients. This was achieved against a backdrop of double-digit revenue growth.