Herbert Smith Freehills has been lauded for its transatlantic excellence for the second year running, after picking up two high-profile American Lawyer Awards on 8 June, 2017.
The firm was named Transatlantic IP Team of the Year for its successful defence of Gilead Sciences in one of the largest ever patent cases to be heard in the UK High Court. This was in response to patent infringement proceedings brought against it by rival pharmaceutical company, Idenix (now Merck), in a number of jurisdictions.
Herbert Smith Freehills was also awarded Transatlantic Litigation Team of the Year for work on the disputes surrounding the collapse of the Nortel Networks group. The firm achieved a favourable settlement for EY in the long-running global insolvency of the Nortel Networks companies, based in Europe. This dispute has was described by Hon. Warren Winkler, the former Chief Justice of Ontario, as "one of the most complex trans-national legal proceedings in history".
International Arbitration Partner Christian Leathley was also shortlisted as Transatlantic Disputes Lawyer of the Year 2017. Christian is co-head of the Latin American Group, based in the firm's New York office, and he works closely with our London, Madrid and Paris offices. With more than 20-years of experience, Christian acts for corporations and sovereign states across all major industry sectors, and in particular energy (oil & gas, power), technology, construction, engineering, mining, media and telecommunications.
The Transatlantic Legal Awards 2017 were judged by a panel of senior editors and reporters from The American Lawyer and Legal Week, recognised firms, lawyers and in-house legal departments for their work spanning the world’s two largest and most fiercely competitive markets.
This is the second year running that the firm has appeared as a finalist in these awards. In 2016, Herbert Smith Freehills was named Transatlantic Innovator of the Year for its work acting on the UK's first-ever Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) and International Arbitration Partner Chris Parker was lauded as a Rising Star Under 40. Christian Leathley was also shortlisted as Transatlantic Arbitrator of the Year for his work successfully representing the Kingdom of Spain in a landmark investment treaty arbitration.
Justin D'Agostino, Global Head of Herbert Smith Freehills' Disputes practice, said: "This is fantastic recognition for the innovative market-leading people we have in our global Disputes team and for the landmark work we do, on both sides of the Atlantic."
About Herbert Smith Freehills
Operating from over 26 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. We provide 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 energy, natural resources, infrastructure, technology and financial services. www.herbertsmithfreehills.com
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