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- FT Law 50 2009
- Billing and Fees 2009
- Changing the rules 2009
- Changing the rules 2009 (2)
- Dispute Resolution - credit crisis 2009
- Financial Crisis and the downturn 2009
- Financial Crisis and the downturn 2009 (2)
- Financial Services - Longevity risk and mortgages 2009
- Financial Services 2009
- Financial Services 2009 (2)
- Fraud 2009
- Law firm management 2009
- Resourcing 2009
- Resourcing 2009 (2)
- FT Law 50 2008
- Finance 2008
- Finance 2008 (2)
- Finance 2008 (3)
- Marketing & PR 2008
- Responsible Business 2008
- Technology & Know-How 2008
- Billing and Fees 2008
- Corporate 2008
- Dispute Resolution 2008
- Dispute Resolution 2008 (2)
- Human Resources 2008
- Human Resources 2008 (2)
All rankings
- FT Law 50 2009
- Billing and fees - litigation financing 2009
- Billing and Fees 2009
- Changing the rules 2009
- Client Service 2009
- Continental European Firms 2009
- Dispute Resolution - credit crisis 2009
- Dispute Resolution - non credit crisis 2009
- Energy 2009
- Financial Crisis and the downturn 2009
- Financial Services - Islamic finance 2009
- Financial Services - Longevity risk and mortgages 2009
- Financial Services 2009
- Fraud 2009
- Government 2009
- In-House Lawyers 2009
- Law firm management 2009
- Resourcing 2009
- US Financial Crisis and the downturn 2009
- FT Law 50 2008
- Finance 2008
- Fraud 2008
- Management 2008
- Marketing & PR 2008
- Publishing 2008
- Real Estate 2008
- Responsible Business 2008
- Technology & Know-How 2008
- Top 10 US Law Firms In Europe For Innovation In Expansion 2008
- Billing and Fees 2008
- Client Service 2008
- Commercial 2008
- Continental European Firms 2008
- Corporate 2008
- Corporate- Europe 2008
- Dispute Resolution 2008
- Diversity 2008
- Human Resources 2008
- In-House Lawyers 2008
- Public-Private Partnership 2008
FT Law 50 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| 2009 Rank | 3 |
| 2008 Rank | 2 |
| 2009 total score for ALL entries submitted | 326 |
| 2009 score band for ALL entries submitted (/10) | 9 |
| Number of standout entries in FT REPORT | 4 |
| Number of highly commended entries in FT REPORT | 4 |
| Number of commended entries in FT REPORT | 5 |
| 2009: total weighted score for ranked entries in FT REPORT | 29 |
| 2009 Score band for ranked entries in FT REPORT (/10) | 10 |
| 2008: total weighted score for ranked entries in FT REPORT | 28 |
| 2008 score band for ranked entries in FT REPORT (/5) | 4 |
| 2009 Profits per Equity Partner (PEP) (£k) | 1,047 |
| 2009 Score band for PEP (/5) | 4 |
| Assessment of management commitment and innovation value to firm (/20) | 17 |
| Total Innovation Score in the FTLAW50 (/50) | 44 |
Billing and Fees 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Commended |
| Innovation | Reduced pricing for hospital finance |
| Originality | 6 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 5 |
| Total | 17 |
| Description | The firm “smoothed out” fees across low-cost private finance initiatives, using smart resourcing and a long-term view |
Changing the rules 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Highly commended |
| Innovation | Getting the US to amend cross-border transaction rules |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 7 |
| Total | 20 |
| Description | The merger of SAP and BusinessObjects, a French incorporated but partly US-owned company, threw up conflicting regulatory hurdles. The firm devised a solution to facilitate cross-border tender offers |
Changing the rules 2009 (2)
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Commended |
| Innovation | Facilitating the creation of a new online bank in Spain |
| Originality | 5 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 5 |
| Total | 16 |
| Description | To firm created a new structure to get round Spanish legislation that did not provide for the universal transfer of assets and liabilities of a single branch |
Dispute Resolution - credit crisis 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Innovation | Standout |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 7 |
| Total | 20 |
| Description | When an SIV governed by New York law collapsed, the firm used English courts to resolve the case. Proceedings in New York would have lasted at least a year. The English courts concluded in two-and-a-half months. Potentially trend-setting |
Financial Crisis and the downturn 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Standout |
| Innovation | Mutual support: rescuing the building societies |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 7 |
| Impact | 7 |
| Total | 21 |
| Description | Advised Nationwide on its acquisition of Dunfermline – the first transfer under the Banking Act 2009. The firm also shaped legislation to allow the UK’s first merger between different kinds of mutual |
Financial Crisis and the downturn 2009 (2)
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Commended |
| Innovation | Giving clients a voice at the G20 |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 4 |
| Total | 17 |
| Description | As financial services companies faced public criticism, A&O took a rare stand to represent its clients in the debate, waging a proactive and visible campaign around the Washington and London G20 summits |
Financial Services - Longevity risk and mortgages 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Highly commended |
| Innovation | Spreading longevity risk to new investors |
| Originality | 6 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 8 |
| Total | 20 |
| Description | Opening the reinsurance industry to capital markets investors, the firm created a synthetic portfolio of lives to allow investors to circumvent insurance regulations |
Financial Services 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Standout |
| Innovation | “Big bang” protocol for credit default swaps |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 8 |
| Total | 21 |
| Description | A hardwired set of conventions for CDS is a vital element of the new financial environment. The conventions streamline CDS disputes, removing the risk and uncertainty around these products |
Financial Services 2009 (2)
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Highly commended |
| Innovation | First multi-jurisdictional public sector covered bond programme |
| Originality | 6 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 7 |
| Total | 19 |
| Description | The firm created a structure that would enable BNP Paribas to access funds following inaccessible capital markets. Difficulty was setting up a French covered bond programme to operate across multiple jurisdictions |
Fraud 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Highly commended |
| Innovation | Equipping clients for fraud investigation |
| Originality | 6 |
| Rationale | 7 |
| Impact | 5 |
| Total | 18 |
| Description | Robert Hunter used techniques from clinical psychology, character profiling and interrogations to refine an approach to fraud investigation that now forms the basis of advice to its clients |
Law firm management 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Commended |
| Innovation | Institutionalising innovation |
| Originality | 5 |
| Rationale | 7 |
| Impact | 5 |
| Total | 17 |
| Description | A&O’s innovation panel developed initiatives to meet the challenges of pricing and efficiency. The firm are now implementing these to improve efficiency and reduce costs to clients |
Resourcing 2009
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Standout |
| Innovation | Launching DocGenix |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 7 |
| Impact | 7 |
| Total | 21 |
| Description | The firm created a revolutionary online risk management service for derivatives contracts, spinning it off into a separate commercial entity. The intelligent application allows the search and analysis of thousands of contracts at once |
Resourcing 2009 (2)
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award level | Commended |
| Innovation | Financial crisis intelligence unit |
| Originality | 5 |
| Rationale | 5 |
| Impact | 6 |
| Total | 16 |
| Description | A special council pooling resources and expertise to provide an academically stimulating yet commercially useful tool for up-to-date cross-jurisdictional financial crisis advice |
FT Law 50 2008
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| 2008 Rank | 2 |
| 2007 Rank | 1 (-1) |
| 2008: Total score for ALL entries submitted | 333 |
| 2008: score band for ALL entries submitted (/10) | 7 |
| Number of standout entries in FT REPORT | 3 |
| Number of highly commended entries in FT REPORT | 7 |
| Number of commended entries in FT REPORT | 2 |
| 2008: total weighted score for ranked entries in FT REPORT | 28 |
| 2008: score band for ranked entries in FT REPORT (/10) | 7 |
| 2007: total weighted score for ranked entries in FT REPORT | 35 |
| 2007: score band for ranked entries in FT REPORT (/5) | 5 |
| 2007: Profits per Equity Partner (PEP) | 1,122 |
| 2007: score band for PEP (/5) | 3 |
| Assessment of management commitment and innovation value to firm (/20) | 18 |
| Total Innovation Score in the FTLAW50 (/50) | 40 |
Finance 2008
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Standout |
| Innovation | Schefenacker restructuring. |
| Originality | 8 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 7 |
| Total | 21 |
| Description | A debt to equity conversion of bonds. This was impossible under German law. A&O managed to use the UK company voluntary arrangements and migrate the company's assets to an English company. |
Finance 2008 (2)
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Highly commended |
| Innovation | Drivers of the development of a legislative framework for UK covered bonds. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 5 |
| Total | 18 |
| Description | The firm was the main driver behind the development of UK legislation for the covered bond market. This gives the market parity with other European markets. It is still too aerly to assess the effect of the law. |
Finance 2008 (3)
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Commended |
| Innovation | Dutch loyalty dividend. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 5 |
| Impact | 4 |
| Total | 16 |
| Description | A&O moulded a loyalty dividend, unprecedented under Dutch law, into the legal framework for client Royal DSM. |
Marketing & PR 2008
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Highly Commended |
| Innovation | Client Analytics: a tool to measure the health of client relationships. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 4 |
| Total | 17 |
| Description | A business development tool that enables the firm to analyse the strength, breadth and depth of client relationships. Innovative in its measurability and move away from a pure financial measure. |
Responsible Business 2008
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Standout |
| Innovation | Helping a local secondary school, Bethnal Green Technology College, to come out of 'special measures' through a comprehensive partnership. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 7 |
| Impact | 6 |
| Total | 20 |
| Description | The firm entered into a formal agreement with a troubled school which locks it into long-term assistance. Combined with other high levels of involvement, particularly at secondary school level, this is unusual. |
Technology & Know-How 2008
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Highly Commended |
| Innovation | An extranet which gives financial institutions a provisional tick or cross as to whether derivatives are deliverable. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 6 |
| Total | 19 |
| Description | Part of the firm's progressive e-business efforts, this reflects its close relationship with International Swaps and Derivatives Association and its ability to extract value from commoditised IT products. |
Billing and Fees 2008
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Standout |
| Innovation | Diligence: a flat fee derivatives database. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 7 |
| Total | 20 |
| Description | Developed by the firm to give clients access to cross-border information through an easy to use interface. It delivers value for money by eliminating the initial need to instruct counsel. |
Corporate 2008
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Highly commended |
| Innovation | The complexity of splitting Tyco into three businesses. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 5 |
| Total | 18 |
| Description | A feat of co-ordination from the firm on a highly unusual scale: overseeing the separation of a gigantic client into three businesses whilst devising a new reporting structure. |
Dispute Resolution 2008
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Highly commended |
| Innovation | The case of C v D: use of anti suit-injunction. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 5 |
| Total | 18 |
| Description | Applying the anti-suit injunction relief pre-emptively to prevent London arbitration awards being challenged outside of England. The first case to reach the courts in this area. |
Dispute Resolution 2008 (2)
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Commended |
| Innovation | Debating dishonesty. |
| Originality | 5 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 5 |
| Total | 16 |
| Description | The firm identifies an area of concern to the financial services industry and brought together academics and professionals to debate the issue in an open forum. |
Human Resources 2008
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Highly commended |
| Innovation | An evolved, on-site health and wellbeing solution for staff. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 6 |
| Total | 19 |
| Description | The preventative element is a twist on law firm health offerings. In-house doctors and dentists, physiotherapsists and a physiologist are part of this integrated service which also includes health screening, an on-site pathology lab and 24-hours-a-day adv |
Human Resources 2008 (2)
| Rankings at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Award Level | Highly commended |
| Innovation | Parents@A&O: intranet for parents and parents-to-be. |
| Originality | 7 |
| Rationale | 6 |
| Impact | 5 |
| Total | 18 |
| Description | Providing an interactive resource for parents and not just women is different. It gives common ground to people across the firm to cover a broad range of child-related issues. |
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