CC and InBev triumph with high-profile gongs at Legal Week Awards 2006
By Charlotte Edmond
November 29, 2006 at 07:03 PM
4 minute read
Clifford Chance (CC) and InBev's legal team led an array of teams that scooped the top prizes at the Legal Week Awards last night (29 November).
CC was named as the International Firm of the Year, after a period that has seen it manage a major turnaround, readdressing issues of three years ago including plummeting profits and a disordered US practice. CC won the award ahead of shortlisted US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, which was highly commended.
InBev's legal team was named as the Global Legal Department of the Year after strong feedback from advisers on the team's work in creating a cohesive department following years of rapid growth. The company was also praised for taking a number of steps to control and manage its many law firm relationships.
The practices were among 23 winners at the prestigious ceremony, which saw nearly 1,000 of the UK's leading business lawyers gather together at Old Billingsgate market.
Osborne Clarke was named UK Firm of the Year thanks to its revival of recent years and the consistent flow of strong corporate work it has achieved in the last 12 months, particularly in AIM. Simmons & Simmons was highly commended.
In the practice awards, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer took the coveted prize of M&A Team of the Year, scoring an outstanding run of mandates, which saw it land the lion's share of Europe's top deals, well ahead of many of its magic circle rivals.
Simmons & Simmons landed the Finance Team of the Year award for a strong performance, not just in its top hedge fund practice, but also its structured finance practice, which saw an impressive roster of banks post work its way.
Herbert Smith took home the award for Property Team of the Year, while Clyde & Co landed the litigation gong.
Individual awards went to Tony Angel from Linklaters, who bagged the Managing Partner of the Year prize for his management of the fast-evolving firm. Meanwhile, the accolade of General Counsel of the Year was handed to Terry Miller from the London Organising Committee of the 2012 Olympic Games.
The City of London Law Society/Legal Week lifetime achievement award was awarded to Janet Gaymer, for her legacy to employment law.
The awards, hosted by comedian and actor Rob Brydon, drew on independent interviews with corporate counsel and senior private practitioners, as part of extensive research by Legal Week's editorial team.
A full report of the winners will be published in the 7 December issue of Legal Week.
The full list of winners appears below:
City of London Law Society/Legal Week Lifetime Achievement Award: Janet Gaymer
International Firm of the Year: Clifford Chance
UK Firm of the Year: Osborne Clarke
Global Legal Department of the Year: InBev
UK Legal Department of the Year: Sainsbury's
Regional Firm of the Year: Shoosmiths
Niche Firm of the Year: Ogier
Chambers of the Year: Brick Court Chambers
Managing/Senior Partner of the Year: Tony Angel, Linklaters
General Counsel of the Year: Terry Miller, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games
Deal Lawyer of the Year: Mike Francies, Weil Gotshal & Manges
Young Corporate Counsel of the Year: Ian Woods, Virgin
Young Lawyer of the Year: Richard Youle, Linklaters
M&A Team of the Year: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Mid-market M&A Team of the Year: Travers Smith
Finance Team of the Year: Simmons & Simmons
Property Team of the Year: Herbert Smith
Litigation Team of the Year: Clyde & Co
TMT Team of the Year: DLA Piper
In-house Deal Team of the Year: SABMiller
In-house Litigation Team of the Year: Lloyd's of London
In-house Commercial Team of the Year: BSkyB
Best Use of IT: Allen & Overy
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