| Simmons & Simmons | Stand-out | Worldwide receivership orders in Masri litigation | 8 | 7 | 8 | 23 | To combat debtors determined to avoid payment, a strategy was devised to enforce English court judgments on companies whose registered directors and assets were in Lebanon. The receivership orders obtained set a precedent for cross-border disputes. |
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| Berwin Leighton Paisner | Stand-out | The first test case on what constitutes balance-sheet insolvency | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Defended a special-purpose vehicle, Eurosail, against noteholder claims that it was insolvent following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The judgment will have far-reaching implications for the structured-finance market. |
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| Peters & Peters | Stand-out | Defence of British Airways executives in a criminal cartel case | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | A strategy to negotiate with the UK Office of Fair Trading and the US Department of Justice ensured clients faced prosecution in the UK. Both clients were acquitted before a jury and, as a result, could not be extradited to face the same charges in the U |
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| Allen & Overy | Stand-out | Protecting clients from Belize’s anti-arbitration legislation | 7 | 8 | 6 | 21 | To overcome measures taken by the government of Belize to prevent investors enforcing contractual rights, lawyers developed a series of successful strategies in the English and Belizean courts. Set a pro-arbitration precedent in Belize. |
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| Slaughter and May | Stand-out | Leading the litigation strategy for the sale of Liverpool Football Club | 5 | 8 | 8 | 21 | As advisers to LFC, lawyers co-ordinated a response when the club’s owners adopted an unusual tactic to try to scupper the sale. Obtaining three injunctions within a nine-day deadline, the lawyers’ judgment and quick decisions were crucial to the successf |
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| Uría Menéndez | Stand-out | Opening the path for accelerated liquidations in Spain | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21 | Representing a creditor to an insolvent hotel, Uría developed a proposal that expedited proceedings to allow the sale of the hotel to a potential investor. A court decision based on the firm’s analysis will provide a future option for Spanish companies in |
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| Linklaters | Highly Commended | Dispute over £1.bn ($1.6bn) of Lehman Brothers securities traded through “Rascals” loan trading system | 5 | 8 | 7 | 20 | Helped to simplify complex securities matters and steer the case through to a rapid judgment. The case was unusual for its complexity and number of respondents. |
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| Olswang | Highly Commended | Changing the treatment of rent in administrations | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | Representing a landlord client, lawyers argued that administrators of an insolvent company have a mandatory obligation to pay rent on a property that continues to be used, resulting in a change in the law. |
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| De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek | Highly Commended | First restructuring of a Dutch company through US Chapter 11 bankruptcy | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | In the face of opposition by the majority shareholder, lawyers advised on an approach that allowed the management of Almatis to file for Chapter 11. |
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| Latham & Watkins | Highly Commended | Reversal of European Commission policy in Arcelor Mittal cartel investigation | 5 | 7 | 7 | 19 | A multi-strand strategy convinced the commission it had made a mistake in how it had increased cartel sanctions where other companies had failed. |
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| Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom | Highly Commended | Pre-tribunal injunction to protect Alfa-Access-Renova’s joint venture arrangement with BP | 5 | 8 | 6 | 19 | Obtained an unusual pre-tribunal injunction from the English courts to freeze BP’s Arctic Circle oil exploration deal with Rosneft within two weeks of its announcement. |
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| Baker & McKenzie | Highly Commended | UNHCR intervention to protect the refugee status of gay, lesbian and bisexual asylum-seekers | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 | Overturning UK government decision to return asylum-seekers to countries where they would face persecution because of their sexuality. The pivotal formulation that “people should be free to live openly as who they are” is now applied to political and reli |
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| Lawrence Graham | Highly Commended | Dispute with Lehman Brothers to uphold collateralised debt obligations / swap priorities | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Represented a group of noteholders who argued that the clauses triggered by Lehman’s bankruptcy to flip payment priorities should be upheld. A Supreme Court ruling in their favour sets up a conflict between UK and US insolvency regimes. |
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| Wragge & Co | Highly Commended | Standstill agreement for a €22bn ($32bn) contract between Occar and Airbus | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 | A contractual tool adapted to be used for the first time in the defence sector. The agreement allowed Occar time to renegotiate a deal at risk of collapse without losing its rights to terminate. |
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| Bird & Bird | Commended | New approach to working with the competition commission | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | Involving the commission before the notification was given led to a successful outcome for client Trend Micro. It will contribute to how competition issues are handled in the information technology sector. |
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| Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira | Commended | Guarantee to suspend payment of a tax debt | 6 | 6 | 5 | 17 | Used the client’s credit balance with its main customer, the Spanish government, to guarantee a €20m tax debt with regional authorities. The first time the tax administration has accepted this kind of security. |
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| Hogan Lovells | Commended | Challenge to the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal’s jurisdiction to hear a follow-on claim | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | Following a European Commission cartel decision, claimants sought damages from a subsidiary, Mersen UK. Hogan Lovells led a successful challenge that has implications for defining the tribunal’s jurisdiction. |
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| Jones Day | Commended | Sibir Energy litigation to recover part of $400m misappropriated by former directors | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | After the client company was stripped of its entire cash reserve, lawyers helped plan rapid recoveries and developed a fast and aggressive litigation strategy to ensure its survival. |
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| Latham & Watkins | Commended | Argument to eliminate weak challenges to arbitration awards | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | Successfully argued that a challenge to an arbitration decision “did not disclose a case with a realistic prospect of success”, avoiding a long and expensive rehearing and setting a path for future cases. |
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| Linklaters | Commended | Release of assets seized by the French public prosecutor’s office | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | Expedited the hearing for a French industrial group client in a criminal investigation, and secured an overruling of the decision to seize company assets in the face of intense government interest. |
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| Paul Hastings | Commended | Defeated a $400m claim in TSI shareholder dispute | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | The defeat rested on a successful challenge of special treatment to allow claimant to secure a complex litigation funding package. Case has broader implications for litigation funding. |
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| Hergüner Bilgen Ozeke | Commended | Representing Amsterdam municipality in debt recovery lawsuits in Turkey | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 | To bring claims under Dutch law in Turkey, lawyers proposed new approaches to levy a seizure, and worked to interpret the foreign law for courts in Anatolia. Sets a precedent in the absence of a treaty. |
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| Vieira de Almeida & Associados | Commended | Recovery of Portuguese Qimonda | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 | Lawyers advised on the successful recovery of the technology company when it went into insolvency, saving hundreds of jobs. |
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