Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has been named Insurance Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2019, for its work acting for offshore oil industry contractor Single Buoy Moorings (SBM).
The team, led by Herbert Smith Freehills Partner Alexander Oddy, were showcased at the ceremony last night, hosted at the Grosvenor House Hotel, in London.
The matter concerned SBM's claim under construction insurances of the Yme platform in the Norwegian North Sea, which was decommissioned having never produced a barrel of oil.
It was the largest piece of insurance litigation in the UK courts for many years and featured a Who's Who of heavyweight insurance litigation solicitors and counsel .
Running for more than five years, this extraordinary case reached a full and final settlement in September 2018 with SBM recovering approximately USD390m.
It also saw lead partner Alexander Oddy and his team deploy successfully a new service within HSF to help clients analyse risk and take better strategic decisions using bespoke decision tree software.
Partners Alexander Oddy, Donny Surtani and senior associate Fiona Treanor managed the HSF team. Senior associate Carolyn Suen (seconded from Hong Kong) led the development of expert evidence with contributions from associates Jade Hu, Nick Chapman, Alison Morris, Tom Hutchinson, Nikita Dave, Jake Savile-Turner and a team of trainee solicitors and paralegals.
Commenting on the award, Alex said: "We are delighted with this recognition. This case has cemented the firm's reputation as the no.1 adviser for corporate insurance policyholders with contentious claims."
About Herbert Smith Freehills
Operating from 27 offices across Asia Pacific, EMEA and North America, Herbert Smith Freehills is at the heart of the new global business landscape providing premium quality, full-service legal advice. The firm provides many of the world’s most important organisations with access to market-leading dispute resolution, projects and transactional legal advice, combined with expertise in a number of global industry sectors, including Banks, Consumer products, Energy, Financial buyers, Infrastructure & Transport, Mining, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare, Real estate, TMT and Manufacturing & Industrials.
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