Pinsent Masons, Linklaters and Vodafone were among the big winners at the British Legal Awards last night (24 November), which was this year held in London's Finsbury Square.

Pinsents saw off competition from firms including Clifford Chance (CC), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Latham & Watkins to scoop the coveted Law Firm of the Year award. The win follows a year in which the firm has continued a run of impressive recent growth with launches in Duesseldorf, Sydney and Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Linklaters took the award for M&A Team of the Year in the large deal category – coming out ahead of all four magic circle rivals – for its work on SABMiller's £71bn mega-merger with AB InBev.

Herbert Smith Freehills was named Banking and Finance Team of the Year for advising Virgin Atlantic on its of use its portfolio of landing and take-off slots at Heathrow Airport as security for long-term debt, with Paul Hastings taking the honour for Restructuring Team of the Year.

CC took the award for Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year, while other law firm winners included Noerr, which picked up European Law Firm of the Year; Stephens Scown, which was named UK Law Firm of the Year; and Proskauer Rose, which won the London Office of the Year award.

Meanwhile, the Legal Week Intelligence award for Client Partner of the Year – chosen from a shortlist of partners who received the most recommendations from GCs in the annual Best Legal Adviser survey – was this year jointly awarded to RPC commercial contract partner Oliver Bray and corporate and M&A partner Gillian Fairfield of Herbert Smith Freehills.

The in-house winners included CYBG's James Peirson, who was named General Counsel of the Year; Vodafone, which took the prize for Legal Department of the Year (TMT); and HCA Healthcare UK, which won the award for Legal Department of the Year (Commerce and Industry).

The City of London Law Society (CLLS) handed its Lifetime Achievement Award to Margaret Chamberlain, the founder of Travers Smith's financial services and markets department. Chamberlain, a specialist in private equity, venture capital and financial services regulation, is now a consultant at Travers after qualifying more than 30 years ago and making partner in 1991.

The judging panel, which was chaired by CLLS chairman Alasdair Douglas, featured a heavyweight line-up of senior lawyers including GCs from companies such as BAE Systems, Aviva, HSBC, Barclays, Virgin Media, ASOS, Telefonica and EE, as well as Dame Janet Gaymer, chair of the House of Commons management board.

The host for the evening was comedian, writer and Peep Show star David Mitchell.

British Legal Awards 2016 winners in full

Supplier of the Year: BigHand Best Use of Technology: Reed Smith CSR/Diversity Initiative of the Year: Travers Smith Chambers of the Year: Radcliffe Chambers Specialist Law Firm of the Year: Tapestry Compliance General Counsel of the Year: James Peirson, CYBG Legal Week Intelligence Client Partner of the Year: RPC's Oliver Bray and Gillian Fairfield of Herbert Smith Freehills (pictured) European Law Firm of the Year: Noerr Editor's Award: Quentin Poole, Gowling WLG Private Client Team of the Year: Irwin Mitchell TMT Team of the Year: Allen & Overy Commercial Team of the Year: Eversheds Competition Team of the Year: Mishcon de Reya Regulatory and Investigations Team of the Year: Shearman & Sterling Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year: Clifford Chance Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year: Burges Salmon Property Team of the Year: Norton Rose Fulbright Restructuring Team of the Year: Paul Hastings Banking and Finance Team of the Year: Herbert Smith Freehills Private Equity Team of the Year: Baker & McKenzie M&A Team of the Year (Medium-Sized Deal): Winston & Strawn M&A Team of the Year (Large Deal): Linklaters Legal Department of the Year (TMT): Vodafone Legal Department of the Year (Commerce and Industry): HCA Healthcare UK Legal Department of the Year (Financial Services): Swinton Insurance Legal Services Innovation Award: Hogan Lovells London Office of the Year: Proskauer Rose UK Law Firm of the Year: Stephens Scown Law Firm of the Year: Pinsent Masons City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement Award: Margaret Chamberlain, Travers Smith