Herbert Smith Freehills was recognised for its strengths in banking and finance, client relationships and energy and infrastructure at the British Legal Awards dinner in London on 24 November 2016.
The firm won the Banking and Finance Team of the Year award for its advice to Virgin Atlantic on the airline's landmark secured bond financing - the first time in history that an airline has successfully accessed the value of its London Heathrow slot portfolio. The deal was led by structured finance partner Michael Poulton, supported by lead associates Joy Amis and Charlene Kong. The broader team included finance partner John Nestel, airline regulatory partner Kim Dietzel and senior associate Sarah Benbow, asset finance partners Amanda Wales and John Angus and corporate partners Robert Moore and Gareth Roberts. This particular deal has also secured wins for the firm at the FT European Innovative Lawyer Awards 2016, Legal Business Awards 2016 and The Lawyer Awards 2016.
Corporate M&A partner Gillian Fairfield won the highly regarded Client Partner of the Year award, having been chosen from a shortlist of partners who were most recommended by General Counsels in Legal Week's annual Best Legal Adviser survey.
In addition, the firm's Energy and Infrastructure team was also highly commended for its work on E.ON's sale of its North Sea E&P business to Premier & L1, led by global co-head of Energy, Anna Howell, with support from partners Steven Dalton and Isaac Zailer and associates Reza Dadbakhsh, Mitasha Chandok, Kelly Powers, Ade Adesiyan and Perminder Gainda.
It was a great evening for the firm, which took home more awards and commendation than any other law firm. Click here to see the full results.
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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