Ashurst named Most Innovative Law Firm at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2022
14 October 2022
The FT Innovative Lawyers Report is one of the top legal rankings across Europe, and its corresponding awards are widely regarded as the best researched in the market, celebrating the most innovative legal work from law firms and in-house legal teams operating across the region. This year the FT annual rankings introduced a new, broader range of indicators to the assessment process looking at innovation, approach to people, digital maturity, client recommendations, and growth.
Paul Jenkins, Global CEO, commented:
"We are delighted to have been named Most Innovative Law Firm In Europe. Innovation is at the heart of our culture at Ashurst and this recognition is a reflection of our commitment to deliver innovative solutions to our clients. We are very proud of this achievement, particularly after also being named Most Innovative Law Firm Headquartered Outside Asia Pacific and Innovation in the Business of Law: New Solutions, at the FT Innovative Lawyers Asia Pacific Awards 2022."
The firm also won the award for Innovation in Multi-disciplinary Teams for its work in advising Santander on its LIBOR transition programme. The Ashurst team was led by partners Mark Edwards, Alex Biles and James Knight, who worked closely alongside colleagues across the firm's loans, derivatives and capital markets practices, as well as with teams from across the full Ashurst Advance platform.
Commenting, Mark Edwards, Head of Global Loans (UK/US), and Alex Biles, Global Markets Partner, said:
"Management of the LIBOR cessation process has been a key issue for many of our clients, and we were very pleased to have been afforded the opportunity to partner with Santander on their transition programme. The sheer scale, complexity and importance of the transition programme, together with the exceptionally tight regulatory deadlines required comprehensive innovation, the mobilisation of a multi-jurisdictional, scalable team and the development of new systems and processes, as well as technology integrations. As always, this was a real team performance and we are delighted to have received this market recognition."
Charlie Shepherd, General Counsel, Santander UK, added:
"We wanted to partner with a firm who could offer both strategic advice and execution capability, complimented by project management skills, technology and data tools, to help us to define and deliver our LIBOR transition programme. Ashurst brought that in spades, working in concert with our legal, business, technology and project teams over two years to enable us to successfully complete our programme by its deadline. The award is very well deserved and reflects the substantial contribution of all involved."
In addition, Chris Georgiou, Global Co-head of Ashurst Advance, received the Intrapreneur award. As co-head of the division, Chris leads a global team delivering the full suite of NewLaw products and services including advanced delivery, legal managed services, flexible resourcing, legal operations and digital.
"It is a privilege to be recognised in this way and a real testament to the firm's commitment to leading the change in the way that legal services are delivered and experienced. I am proud to work with our global Ashurst Advance team to drive transformational change at Ashurst and continue to grow our full-service NewLaw offering, which aims to provide clients with innovative and integrated solutions to their most critical business challenges. I have the privilege of working with a fantastic group of people, and this award is a reflection of the whole team's focus on delivering the best outcomes for our clients. Congratulations to all the other winners and to all those shortlisted."
