Ashurst wins Finance Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2023
22 June 2023
Global law firm Ashurst has been named Finance Team of the Year The Lawyer Awards 2023 for its work advising longstanding client Goldman Sachs on the launch of ground-breaking Digital Assets PlatformTM by Goldman Sachs.
The new digital assets platform, GSDAPTM is the first of its kind to be introduced to the market fundamentally transforming financial markets as we know them. Under Project Venus, the new Distributed Ledger Technology platform was used for the issuance of a 100 million euro denominated digital bond for the European Investment Bank, setting the benchmark for future market transactions to follow.
The Ashurst cross-border team was led by regulatory partner and Bank Industry Chair Etay Katz and counsel Sidika Ulker. The wider team brought together specialists from across the firm's Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Paris-based finance regulatory practices, and London-based digital economy and capital markets practices.
Commenting partner Etay Katz, said: "We're very proud to be recognised for our work on such an unprecedented cutting edge project. This was a market-first for financial services which helped to pave the way for many others. Our value has undoubtedly been in challenging convention, engaging with policy makers and regulators to smooth the path and bringing counterparties and other advisers along the journey to successful launch. Our partnership with Goldman Sachs to deliver this project underlies a strong shared conviction and vision on the role DLT will play in financial markets transformation."
"We are delighted to have received this award, which is a testament to the strength of our international finance practice," said Global Co-head of Financial Regulatory Jake Green. "This is an exciting time for digital finance and in the last year Ashurst's digital assets practice has seen it become a global market leader in harnessing blockchain technology to originate trailblazing transactions. Continuing our innovative work with GS, we've recently delivered the world's first tokenised green bond issuance in Asia, a significant breakthrough in capital markets innovation for Hong Kong, further demonstrating Ashurst's expertise at the cutting edge of law, technology and digital finance."
The firm was also highly commended for Pro Bono Team of the Year in recognition for The Safe Passage Ukraine Project. Collaborating with eight other leading law firms, the project aims to provide pro bono legal advice to people escaping the conflict in Ukraine and wishing to relocate to the UK.
The Lawyer Awards honours the top lawyers and powerhouse firms across diverse areas in the UK.
