THE AWARDS
This virtual awards ceremony will be a celebration of the best in innovation from law firms and in-house legal teams in the Europe region. Featuring live interviews with law firm managing partners and legal practitioners, as well as live panel discussions and documentary features on the shortlisted work across the categories in the FT Innovative Lawyers Europe report.
OUR WINNERS
Most innovative law firm in Europe: Pinsent Masons
Runner up: Hogan Lovells
Most innovative law firm in Continental Europe: Garrigues
Runner up: Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados
Law firms: Innovation in the practice of law: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Runner up: Allen & Overy
Law firms: Innovation in social responsibility: Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Charles Russell Speechlys, Dentons, Orrick, White & Case
Runner up: Uría Menéndez
Law firms: Innovation in strategy and digital transformation: Kennedys
Runner up: Hogan Lovells
Law firms: Innovative team: Hogan Lovells
Runner up: Pinsent Masons
Most innovative in-house legal team in Europe: GlaxoSmithKline
Runner up: Vodafone
In-house legal teams: Innovation as business enablers: DXC Technology
Runner up: Novartis
In-house legal teams: Innovation as strategic advisers: Veon
Runner up: Nokia
In-house legal teams: Innovation as thought leaders: Vodafone
Runner up: Just Eat
SHORTLIST CATEGORIES
MOST INNOVATIVE LAW FIRM IN EUROPE
Most innovative law firm: continental Europe
Law firm: Innovation in the practice of law
Law firm: Innovation in social responsibility
Law firm: Innovation in strategy and digital transformation
Law firm: Innovative team
MOST INNOVATIVE IN-HOUSE TEAM - EUROPE
In-house legal teams: Innovation as business enablers
In-house legal teams: Innovation as strategic advisers
In-house legal teams: Innovation as thought leaders
The Shortlist
MOST INNOVATIVE LAW FIRM:
EUROPE
Addleshaw Goddard
Allen & Overy
Ashurst
Baker McKenzie
CMS
DLA Piper
DWF
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Hogan Lovells
Kennedys
Linklaters
Norton Rose Fulbright
Pinsent Masons
Slaughter and May
White & Case
MOST INNOVATIVE LAW FIRM:
CONTINENTAL EUROPE
AEQUO
BonelliErede
Cuatrecasas
Garrigues
Gómez-Acebo & Pombo
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados
NautaDutilh
VdA
MOST INNOVATIVE IN-HOUSE LEGAL TEAM:
EUROPE
DXC Technology
GlaxoSmithKline
Just Eat
L’Oreal
Nasdaq
Nokia
Novartis
Smiths Group
Veon
Vodafone
LAW FIRMS: INNOVATION IN THE PRACTICE OF LAW
Allen & Overy
CMS
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Mills & Reeve
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Paul Hastings
White & Case
LAW FIRMS: INNOVATION IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Charles Russell Speechlys, Dentons, Orrick, White & Case
DLA Piper
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Gómez-Acebo & Pombo
Uría Menéndez
White & Case
LAW FIRMS: INNOVATION IN STRATEGY AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
ECIJA
Eversheds Sutherland
Hogan Lovells
Kennedys
PwC Tax and Legal Services
LAW FIRMS: INNOVATIVE TEAM
Ashurst
Avonhurst
Eversheds Sutherland
Hogan Lovells
Pinsent Masons
Latham & Watkins
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
IN-HOUSE LEGAL TEAM: INNOVATION AS BUSINESS ENABLERS
DXC Technology
L'Oreal
Novartis
Springer Nature
Unilever
Veon
Vodafone
IN-HOUSE LEGAL TEAM: INNOVATION AS STRATEGIC ADVISERS
Just Eat
Kambi
Nokia
Veon
Volkswagen
IN-HOUSE LEGAL TEAM: INNOVATION AS THOUGHT LEADERS
GlaxoSmithKline
Just Eat
Nasdaq
Network Rail
Novartis
Vodafone
RESEARCH PARTNER
RSG Consulting was set up in 2001 by Reena SenGupta, the ex-Publishing Director of Chambers and Partners and the creator of the Chambers rankings and research methodology in the mid-nineties.
Initially, the company focused on client relationship management projects, working for the magic circle law firms and top US firms. In the course of that work, RSG realised that the profession was on the brink of tumultuous change and founded a ranking of lawyers on innovation which became the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers programme.
Today, RSG is a leading innovation agency for lawyers and works with law firms, in-house legal teams and law companies to help them innovate and build a culture of innovation. It has a unique position in the legal market globally as a connector and its networks of lawyers, built up over 25 years, are unrivalled. It works in emerging markets such as India to help drive up standards of professionalism and client care. All its work is underpinned by robust research and it is the author of many thought-leadership studies.
The team at RSG are an active part of the leadership at the Digital Legal Exchange, a non-profit global learning and membership organisation dedicated to driving digital transformation in corporate legal departments.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Innovative Lawyers Europe 2020 is a rankings report and awards for lawyers based in the Europe region. Shortlists for the awards comprise the top ranked submissions in each section of the report.
The FT and its research partner RSG Consulting have devised a unique methodology to rank lawyers on innovation. Law firms and company in-house legal teams are invited to submit their innovations. These are then thoroughly researched through telephone interviews, questionnaires and reviews. Market experts are also called in to assess the submissions and the research.
This unusual year also drove the FT and its long-term research partner, RSG Consulting, to take a new approach to the research, rankings and editorial in the report: we focused less on category rankings and individual awards to dissect ever more closely the big trends that are changing the industry.
Entries were scored out of 10 on originality, leadership and impact for a maximum score of 30. This year, scores for each individual entry have not been shown in the report and include an additional indicator for inclusion alongside results from the individual surveys.