Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
| Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP | |
 | |
| Headquarters | London |
|---|---|
| No. of Offices | 27 |
| No. of Attorneys | 2,700 |
| No. of Employees | 5,500 |
| Major Practice Areas | General practice |
| Revenue | ▲ ₤1.18 billion |
| Date Founded | 2000 (merger); (1743 London, 1840 Hamburg) |
| Company Type | Limited liability partnership |
The firm now has more than 2,700 lawyers in 27 key business centres around the world, and advises national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and governments. Its declared approach is to use locally-based capabilities and experience, backed up by the knowledge and experience of the wider firm. On 1 May 2008, Freshfields converted to a limited liability partnership (LLP).
The firm is one of the five members of the Magic Circle of London law firms. It was the top ranked legal adviser on European mergers and acquisitions in Bloomberg's primary adviser rankings for both 2006 and 2007. The firm was also ranked as the number 1 M&A adviser in both the UK and Germany for 2006 and 2007.[1]
Freshfields was also ranked number 1 European M&A adviser in 2005, 2006 and 2007, as well as first quarter 2009 by Mergermarket.[2] In addition, the firm topped the rights offerings (issue adviser) league table for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region in the first quarter 2009, according to Bloomberg, capturing over a quarter of the market.[3]
In 2009, Freshfields has been named China Practice Team of the Year, and awarded Restructuring Deal of the Year (for the Nomura/Lehman restructuring), in the IFLR Asia awards[4]; International Law Firm of the Year: Germany in the IFLR Europe awards; Law Firm of the Year[5]: Law Firm of the Year: Western Europe and Law Firm of the Year: Italy at the PLC Which Lawyer? Awards[6]; CSR Programme of the Year in the Legal Business Awards[7]; UK Law Firm of the Year and Germany Law Firm of the Year at the Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence[8]; and Winner on Website Usability at the Intendance Fast 50 Solicitors’ Websites Report [9].
Last year, Freshfields was named Law Firm of the Year in The Lawyer Awards [10]; Financial Services Legal Advisor of the Year and Legal Advisor of the Year for China and Hong Kong in the Financial Times Mergermarket M&A Awards Asia [11]; Capital Markets Team of the Year and International Law Firm of the Year in the China Law and Practice Awards [12]; and awarded IT/Telecommunications Deal of the year (for Alibaba.com IPO) and China Deal of the Year (Alibaba.com IPO) in the Asian Legal Business – China Law Awards [13].
In February 2009, it was announced that Freshfields had been chosen as the official Legal Services provider to the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.[14][15]
History
The firm as it exists today was created on 1 August 2000 when Freshfields merged with Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund and withBruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber to form Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Each of the firms was recognised as a leader in their respective markets and the merger created a powerhouse with the critical mass to deliver a superlative multi-jurisdictional service.[16][17]
Freshfields can trace its origins back to at least 1743 in London, when Samuel Dodd, one of its partners, was appointed solicitor to the Bank of England. The law firm changed its name with different partners until James William Freshfield became a partner and he, his sons and grandsons continued in the service until the last Freshfield retired in 1918.[18] Bruckhaus' history began in 1840 in Hamburg, while Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund was founded in 1962 by Arved Deringer and Claus Tessin and had been based in Cologne since 1970.
Each of the firms was recognised in its domestic market and had begun to forge reputations abroad. The merger in 2000 represented the ambition of all three of becoming an international law firm, and was described by the UK’s Financial Times as "probably the most significant pan-European merger to date in the restructuring of Europe’s legal services."
In 2007, the firm went through a restructuring of its business, which involved slimming down the size of its equity partnership. The changes were made with the aim of increasing the firm’s competitiveness and profitability, and were similar to moves made previously by other competitor firms.[19] Separately, the firm also reformed the partners' pension scheme with the aim of making the scheme fairer for all partners. The changes resulted in a number of departures and three claims, two of which were dropped, while the third was dismissed by the Central London Employment Tribunal.[20][21]
Main practice areas
- Antitrust, competition and trade
- Corporate
- Dispute resolution
- Employment, pensions and benefits
- Finance
- IP/IT
- Real estate
- Tax
[edit]Main industry areas
- Automotive
- Chemicals
- Consumer products and retail
- Energy and natural resources
- Family-owned businesses
- Financial institutions group
- Infrastructure and transport
- General industries group
- Healthcare
- Leisure
- Private equity
- Telecommunications, media and technology[22]
[edit]
Freshfields was named Legal Business CSR Firm of the Year 2007 [23] for being the first international law firm to produce a corporate social responsibility report under the Global Reporting Initiative’s sustainability reporting framework and in 2009, it was named yet again CSR Programme of the Year by Legal Business.[24]
In January 2008, the firm followed this London-focused report with an externally assured report on activities across all of its then 26 offices for the year 2006/7, covering the themes of law and ethics, people and diversity, climate change and the environment, and community and pro bono legal advice.[25]
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