[caption id="attachment_155852" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Credit: Shutterstock[/caption] The British Legal Awards 2020 took place virtually on Thursday evening rewarding law firms, leading individuals, chambers and in-house teams for their achievements over the past year. Each winner was selected by a panel of independent judges, chaired by Edward Sparrow of the City of London Law Society, and featuring the likes of former judge Sir William Blair, former Slaughter and May partner Nigel Boardman and BAE Systems group general counsel Philip Bramwell. Here, we explain who won in each category and why the judges chose them. Scroll down for longer descriptions.

TMT Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Addleshaw Goddard; Ashurst; Dentons; Goodwin Procter; Norton Rose Fulbright; Osborne Clarke; Pinsent Masons; Taylor Wessing. Highly-commended: Pinsent Masons. Winner: Addleshaw Goddard. The firm advised Volkswagen on an agreement with Ford to supply electric vehicle platforms. Judges were impressed by the fact that Volkswagen is the "largest industrial alliance in the world" and that the deal set new standards in the delivery of legal services.      

Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Ashurst; Burges Salmon; CMS; DLA Piper; Eversheds Sutherland; Norton Rose Fulbright; Joint submission from Pinsent Masons and Nuclear New Build Legal Team at Hinkley Point C; Slaughter and May. Winner: Burges Salmon. Advising the Welsh Government and Transport for Wales on a "ground-breaking" project, the judges panel felt that Burges Salmon's entry stood out both for its innovation and the breadth of the work undertaken by the team leading on the project.  

Competition/Regulatory Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: CMS; Dechert; DLA Piper; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Norton Rose Fulbright. Highly-commended: CMS. Winner: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. In successfully acting for O2, resulting in the ruling by which Europe's General Court found against the European Commission's 2016 decision to block the proposed merger between Three and O2, the judges were impressed by Freshfields' work and its "important implications for the conduct of competition policy in the EU".    

U.K. Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Joint submission from Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland International; Boies Schiller Flexner; Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner; DAC Beachcroft; Dentons; Freeths; Herbert Smith Freehills; Memery Crystal; Norton Rose Fulbright; Pinsent Masons; Stewarts. [caption id="attachment_134357" align="alignright" width="300"] Freeths[/caption] Winner: Freeths. Freeths successfully represented claimant Alan Bates against the Post Office in a "clearly hard-fought litigation with difficulties difficulties in funding the case", which the firm overcame. The judges were also stunned by the way the team "tightly ran" the case.  

International Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Joint submission from Akin Gump, Clifford Chance and Fieldfisher; CMS; Cooley; Dechert; Hogan Lovells; Macfarlanes; Joint submission from Paul Hastings & Debevoise & Plimpton; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; Simmons & Simmons; Steptoe & Johnson. Highly-commended: CMS.   Winner: Dechert. In February this year, Dechert led on solving one of the largest white collar investigations in the world. The team successfully advised Airbus in a multijurisdictional corruption investigation, through a "complex and innovative solution" which the judges thought stood out from other entries.  

Litigation Rising Star

Shortlisted individuals: Will Hooker, Boies Schiller Flexner; Naomi Tarawali, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Niya Phiri, Clyde & Co; Caroline Harbord, Forsters; Oliver Middleton, Latham & Watkins; Suzi Sendama, Mishcon De Reya; James Lister, Stevens & Bolton. Highly-commended: Naomi Tarawali, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. [caption id="attachment_55640" align="alignright" width="300"] Mishcon de Reya[/caption] Winner: Suzi Sendama, Mishcon De Reya. The judges recognized Sendama's sense of responsibility, leadership skills, respect from others and contribution to broader society with her "compelling entry".    

Private Client Team of the Year

Shortlsted firms: Baker McKenzie; Harbottle & Lewis; Maurice Turnor Gardner; McDermott Will & Emery. Highly-commended: Baker McKenzie. [caption id="attachment_86590" align="alignright" width="300"] Maurice Turnor Gardner senior partner, Clare Maurice[/caption] Winner: Maurice Turnor Gardner. Maurice Turnor Gardner's private client team stood out from other firms for its innovation in providing legal expertise, coordinating its advice between multiple jurisdictions and firms, creating long-term relationships with its clients and providing a track record of collaboration within the firm, and with other firms and jurisdictions.  

International Private Client Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Baker McKenzie; Bär & Karrer; Chiomenti; Cuatrecasas; McDermott Will & Emery. Winner: Bär & Karrer. The judges praised the leadership team at Bär & Karrer for being thorough, strategic and very clear in the advice that they offer, building the firm's reputation as being in the "premier league" for private client and contentious trust matters.  

M&A Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Baker McKenzie; Macfarlanes; Mayer Brown; Paul Hastings; Pinsent Masons; RPC; Shearman & Sterling; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Slaughter and May.   Winner: Slaughter and May. Slaughter and May was rewarded for advising iNEOS on its $5 billion acquisition of BP's global petrochemicals business, using legal innovation for this "highly complex deal". The judges felt that COVID-19 restrictions added difficulty and required flexibility to closing this deal, which was a deciding factor in choosing the firm as this category's winner.  

Life Sciences Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Baker McKenzie; DLA Piper; Eversheds Sutherland; Goodwin Procter; Gowling WLG; Pinsent Masons.   Winner: Goodwin Procter. The judges praised the firm's life sciences team for their expertise in the field, and said it "speaks volume" that the team has been mandated on three coronavirus vaccine deals, setting them a step forward from their competition.  

Banking and Finance Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Ashurst; Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Debevoise & Plimpton; Latham & Watkins; Milbank; Paul Hastings; Shearman & Sterling; Slaughter and May; White & Case. Highly-commended: Latham & Watkins. Winner: Debevoise & Plimpton. The firm advised the world's first major ESG-linked subscription facility, its legal expertise and innovation were in evidence on a complex deal that won this firm the award, in addition to excellent collaborative skills, according to one judge.  

Contentious Trusts and Estates Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Forsters; Giambrone; McDermott Will & Emery; Taylor Wessing. Highly-commended: McDermott Will & Emery. [caption id="attachment_98597" align="alignright" width="300"] Shane Gleghorn, Taylor Wessing U.K. managing partner.[/caption] Winner: Taylor Wessing. Taylor Wessing successfully acted for Equity Trust (Jersey), the former trustee of an insolvent trust in a precedent setting case from the Court of Appeal in Jersey. The judges recognised that the Z Trust case involved novel concepts of law.  

Property Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Addleshaw Goddard; Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner; Dentons; DLA Piper; Forsters; Gowling WLG; Simmons & Simmons; Taylor Wessing. Highly-commended: Gowling WLG. Winner: Dentons. Dentons acted on a dispute about the imposition of business rates, which the judges agreed will have "substantial repercussions and benefits for brick not click businesses".    

Restructuring Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Ashurst; Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner; Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Latham & Watkins; Macfarlanes; Taylor Wessing; Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Willkie Farr & Gallagher. [caption id="attachment_137560" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM[/caption] Winner: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Cleary advised on the Barbados restructuring of $6.7bn of sovereign debt, which required broad specialist technical expertise spanning the U.K. and U.S. markets as well as the passing of legislation. The judges felt Cleary's "Climate Resilient" instruments were an impressive and important contribution to the future economic viability of a small nation.  

Global Leaders in Law 'Be Kind' Award

Winner: Robin Sangston, vice president, chief compliance and privacy officer, Cox Communications.

Sangston was selected as the winner of this category due toher efforts in making a real difference outside of her day-to-day job. She was found to have demonstrated "empathetic leadership" serving on numerous boards to promote diversity, inclusion and equality, "going above and beyond" with charity and making a difference for over 25 years.

Private Equity Rising Stars

[caption id="attachment_153646" align="alignright" width="300"] Private Equity rising stars 2020.[/caption] The ceremony also recognised all 25 private equity rising stars across Europe, who were announced in October.        

Private Equity Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Baker McKenzie; Burges Salmon; Debevoise & Plimpton; Dentons; Macfarlanes; Paul Hastings; Proskauer Rose; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Weil Gotshal & Manges. [caption id="attachment_128509" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM[/caption] Winner: Weil Gotshal & Manges. Weil Gotshal advised the liquidators of Abraaj Investment Management Limited in an "unusual and complex" deal. The firm's work on this deal was described as "genuinely unprecedented for the private equity industry" by the judges.  

International Arbitration Team of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Boies Schiller Flexner; Clyde & Co; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Latham & Watkins. Highly-commended: Latham & Watkins. Winner: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Gibson Dunn's entry stood out to the panel as the work it carried out was "not only interesting legally" but also "important in humanitarian terms", making the firm the "clear winner" in this category.    

Global Leaders in Law Legal Department of the Year

Shortlisted legal departments: Financial Services Compensation Scheme; Inmarsat; Just Eat Holding Limited; NatWest Group; Vodafone Limited. [caption id="attachment_116017" align="alignright" width="300"] Just Eat - Credits: Bloomberg[/caption] Winner: Just Eat. Just Eat has a proved track record of going "strength to strength" across all the 24 markets it operates in, while dealing with many regulatory implications around the world, judges found.    

Chambers of the Year

Shortlisted chambers: Atkin Chambers; Serle Court; XXIV (twenty four) Old Buildings. Highly-commended: XXIV (twenty four) Old Buildings. Winner: Serle Court. Serle Court stood out from others in this category for acting for a range of international parties, and for the diversity of issues involved in the cases it takes on. The panel also complimented its work to diversity and equality.  

Boutique Law Firm of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Asserson; Avonhurst; Chan Neill Solicitors; Hughes Fowler Carruthers; iLaw; Newmanor Law; PCB Litigation; Signature Litigation; Stephenson Law. Winner: Stephenson Law. The panel described Stephenson Law as a "brilliant example for the profession" which shows that "simple and effective charging models" can attract top clients and stellar growth.    

Crisis Management Firm of the Year

Shortlisted firms: DAC Beachcroft; DLA Piper; Slaughter and May. Highly-commended: DLA Piper. [caption id="attachment_90143" align="alignright" width="300"] DAC Beachcroft, London[/caption] Winner: DAC Beachcroft. The panel was impressed with DAC Beachcroft's ability to deliver advice on a huge range of critical issues in a constantly-evolving national crisis, offering clients with practical solutions on a large scale this year.    

CSR/Diversity Initiative of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Covington & Burling; Dechert; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Hogan Lovells; Latham & Watkins; Mayer Brown; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; Paul Hastings; Pinsent Masons; Reed Smith; Vodafone Limited.   Winner: Dechert. Judges felt Dechert's Freedom Now, a partnership fighting for prisoners of conscience, showed a commendable commitment to difficult and time-consuming work which not only changes the lives of the individuals they act for, but also has an impact on a macro level.  

Rising Star - In-House

Shortlisted individuals: Tom Haines, Jaguar Land Rover Limited; Nur Zorlu, Johnson Matthey; Laura Haywood, Serious Fraud Office. Highly-commended: Tom Haines, Jaguar Land Rover Limited. Winner: Laura Haywood, Serious Fraud Office. It was found that Laura Haywood has demonstrated "effective leadership" and collaboration in a highly complex and public matter, which exemplifies her as a role model for other women to take the lead in this sector and has "sent a clear message" that corruption in business benefitting the wider community is not tolerated.  

Rising Star - Private Practice

Shortlisted individuals: Jason Raeburn, Baker McKenzie; Tom Edwards, Baker McKenzie; Caroline Barr, CMS; Hannah Edmonds-Camara, Covington& Burling; Sarah Lima, Dentons; Sulaiha Ali, Duncan Lewis Solicitors; James Spence, Goodwin Procter; Sarah Shaw, Hogan Lovells; Alex Buckeridge-Hocking, Latham & Watkins; Albert Weatherill, Norton Rose Fulbright; Matthew Poxon, Paul Hastings; Mark Smith, Purdy Smith; Jonathan Andrews, Reed Smith; Darren Meale, Simmons & Simmons; Elaine O'Hare, Stevens & Bolton; Leo Borchardt, Davis Polk & Wardwell London; Evan Simpson, Sullivan & Cromwell. Winner: Sulaiha Ali, Duncan Lewis Solicitors. The judges praised Ali's "precedent setting and fearless work" in challenging injustice in the field of immigration, and added that it was hard to "look beyond the ringing praise of the positive impact on the lives of her clients" her work generated.  

Global Leaders in Law 'Outstanding Innovation & Collaboration' award

Shortlisted in-house teams: AstraZeneca U.K. Limited; Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education; Just Eat Holding Limited; Munnelly Group. Highly-commended: Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. [caption id="attachment_105684" align="alignright" width="300"] AstraZeneca[/caption] Winner: AstraZeneca U.K. AstraZeneca was recognised for contracting Chatbot, a "simple but innovative approach" to the collaboration across in-house teams, which the panel thought the majority of in-house legal departments struggle with today.  

Mentor of the Year - Private Practice

Shortlisted individuals: Susan Bright, Hogan Lovells; Kem Ihenacho, Latham & Watkins; Alexandra Anderson, RPC. [caption id="attachment_155804" align="alignright" width="300"] Kem Ihenacho, Latham & Watkins[/caption] Winner: Kem Ihenacho, Latham & Watkins. As the global vice chair of the firm's private equity practice, Ihenacho has used his seniority within the firm to mentor more junior black lawyers. The judges described his mentoring work with Latham & Watkins' Black Lawyers Group, on the Advisory Board of Rare Recruitment, and with Lawyers for Africa, the Black Lawyers Network and Elevate as "outstanding".  

Global Leaders in Law In-House Mentor of the Year

[caption id="attachment_155843" align="alignright" width="300"] Comcast, credits: Bloomberg[/caption] Winner: Luisa Edwards, SVP & Deputy GC, Comcast Luisa Edwards was recognised by the panel as a "great role model who clearly demonstrates the importance of a human-centred authentic leadership style".

Transatlantic Firm of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Cooley; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Dechert; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; Paul Hastings. Highly-commended: Cooley. [caption id="attachment_150132" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo: John Disney/ ALM[/caption] Winner: Paul Hastings. The judges were impressed by Paul Hastings' submission, which showed that the firm had set out a clear transatlantic strategy to grow its London footprint in a bid to match the firm's strengths in the U.S.

U.K. Law Firm of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Brodies; Burges Salmon; Eversheds Sutherland; Harbottle & Lewis; Shoosmiths; Signature Litigation.   Winner: Burges Salmon. Burges Salmon stood out in this category for its "overall excellence", according to the judges. They praised the firm's strong international network, its "impressive" list of clients and its collaborative use of technology projects with them, its progress on improving diversity and inclusion within the firm, and its excellence in CSR and pro bono.  

International Law Firm of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Dentons; Goodwin Procter; Latham & Watkins; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; Paul Hastings. Highly-commended: Dentons. [caption id="attachment_135676" align="alignright" width="300"] Credit: Shutterstock.com[/caption] Winner: Latham & Watkins. Latham & Watkins was recognised as this year's International Law Firm of the Year for its "very strong" results across a range of practices, as well as for its pro bono commitment.    

City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: Monty Raphael QC. As a partner at Peters & Peters in the 1970s, Monty Raphael QC identified the potential for criminal law to become relevant to business. He foresaw the potential for the change started in the U.K. legal industry a decade later. He realised early on that businessmen would come into contact with authorities while law firms and other companies were not equipped to help, resulting in his involvement in some of the most high-profile business criminal cases in the U.K. over the last 40 years and dominating the white collar crime sector.  

Law.com International's Excellence in Leadership Award

[caption id="attachment_130758" align="alignright" width="300"] Clifford Chance managing partner, Matthew Layton.[/caption] Shortlisted individuals: Matthew Layton, Clifford Chance; Michael Castle, Deloitte; Libby Jackson, Herbert Smith Freehills; Richard Crump, HFW. Winner: Matthew Layton, Clifford Chance. Layton has demonstrated a great commitment to the firm and wider issues in the industry this year. He oversaw strong financial results compared with peers, while the firm performed well in diversity metrics and has continued to show commitment to the issue.  

Law.com International's Law Firm of the Year

Shortlisted firms: Allen & Overy; DLA Piper; Kennedys; Hogan Lovells; Withers. [caption id="attachment_146370" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM[/caption] Winner: DLA Piper. The editorial team at Law.com International considered a range of factors in determining the winner of this category. The team thought however that DLA Piper had outperformed its peers in its results, and particularly in the areas of diversity and pro bono, as well as in top-level partner hires over the past year.

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Latham, DLA, Dechert and Burges Salmon Win Out at the British Legal Awards 2020