Business of law: best examples in legal work

Read the other FT Innovative Lawyers Europe ‘Best practice case studies’, which showcase the standout innovations made for and by people working in the legal sector:

Practice of law
In-house

Standout

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison: Winner

Originality: 8; Leadership: 9; Impact: 9; Total: 26
From August last year to April this year, the top-tier US firm expanded its presence in London by hiring 130 new lawyers, including approximately 20 partners from rival firms. With a particular focus on rapidly building a private equity practice in London, the firm hired 14 specialist partners from international law firm Kirkland & Ellis.

A&O Shearman
O: 8; L: 9; I: 8; Total: 25
In February 2023, the firm launched its artificial intelligence working group for clients, who pay a membership fee in exchange for quick responses to AI-related queries and syndicated advice. The move adds to the range of the firm’s services in this area.

Pogust Goodhead
O: 7; L: 9; I: 9; Total: 25
The mass claims firm, founded in 2018, now has operations in four countries, including Brazil, and employs more than 600 people. The London firm has attracted about $1bn in litigation loans, including $552.5mn from US investor Gramercy last October.

In March 2024, it launched a £3bn action, alongside Dutch firm Lemstra Van der Korst, on behalf of around 77,000 claimants affected by the 2015 Mariana Dam disaster. It will come to court next month and adds to related action already taken in London.

Highly commended

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
As part of its US-focused growth strategy, the “magic circle” firm has invested in expanding its Silicon Valley mergers and acquisitions practice group. In 2024, it brought in a new chief digital innovation officer, also based on the US West Coast.

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo
O: 6; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 21
In 2022, newly appointed managing partner Iñigo Erlaiz Cotelo launched a new growth strategy for the Spanish firm. A three-year target to achieve a 20 per cent increase in revenue was met within two years, when net turnover hit €93mn in 2023.

Commended

Gide Loyrette Nouel
O: 6; L: 6; I: 7; Total: 19
The French firm entered an official partnership with patent specialist firm Regimbeau last year, to coincide with the European Commission’s creation of the Unified Patent Court. The two firms now provide clients with a single service, offering Gide Loyrette Nouel’s legal expertise and Regimbeau’s technical knowhow. The partnership has gained several conglomerates as clients.

Candey
O: 6; L: 8; I: 5; Total: 19
The UK-headquartered disputes firm was licensed In March 2024 to practise in the British Virgin Islands, in addition to the UK and US. The firm aims to have all its solicitors admitted to practise there.

Pérez-Llorca
O: 4; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 19
In 2024, the fast-growing Spanish firm overhauled its management structure following a five-year expansion that saw it open new offices in Brussels, Lisbon, London, New York and Singapore. Last year, it achieved revenue of nearly €124mn.

Standout

A&O Shearman: Winner
Originality: 9; Leadership: 9; Impact: 9; Total: 27
In December 2023, the firm launched ContractMatrix, an artificial intelligence contract negotiation tool. The service, developed with Microsoft and legal AI start-up Harvey, draws on existing contract templates to draft new agreements that lawyers can amend or accept. It has been licensed by several companies, including ASML, a Dutch supplier of chipmaking equipment.

Garrigues
O: 8; L: 8; I: 9; Total: 25
Last year, the firm launched Garrigues GAIA: a platform that offers access to internally trained generative AI systems linked to its libraries of legal documents. Some 70 per cent of the staff use it daily.

Highly commended

Baker McKenzie
O: 8; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 23
Employment lawyers worked with the firm’s AI practice, BakerML, to train a bespoke AI tool to handle the most common employment law queries received from a leading social media client over six years. The service drafts answers to routine queries across 45 jurisdictions, which a local lawyer then reviews.

CMS
O: 8; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 23
The firm worked with German tech partner Xayn to launch Noxtua, a Europe-focused AI legal service in February. The service focuses on interrogating German- and English-language material and strictly complying with EU data protection legislation, to stand out as an independent European alternative to US-based rivals. Commended individual: Markus Kaulartz

Ecija
O: 8; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 23
In November 2023, the firm began using a generative AI system in its daily operations, resulting in a reported 70 per cent time saving in some routine tasks. Clients have approached the firm’s tech consultancy for advice on incorporating AI platforms into their internal systems.

Dentons
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
In August 2023, the firm launched FleetAI: a proprietary version of ChatGPT that is designed to speed up its lawyers’ workflows — and to be licensed to clients. About 850 of its staff use the service, which is compatible with the firm’s existing tech systems.

Taylor Wessing
O: 8; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 22
In October 2023, the firm launched TWLitium, an in-house generative AI tool. Around 80 per cent of staff are now using the system, which offers secure chat, document generation, and analysis in areas such as property lease documents. Commended individual: Clare Harman Clark

Travers Smith
O: 8; L: 7; I; 7 Total 22
The firm built Analyse, a generative AI tool to help automate a wide range of legal document review tasks. In May 2024, the firm spun out its AI team to create technology start-up Jylo. The venture, funded by Travers Smith, aims to sell services to the broader legal market, building on Analyse and YCNBot, its open-source chatbot launched last year.

Commended

Hogan Lovells
O: 7; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 20
The firm and Eltemate, its legal tech subsidiary, launched an AI-powered service, dubbed Craig, in December 2023. The system is being offered as a subscription service for clients as well as for in-house use.

KPMG Abogados
O: 6; L: 6; I: 8; Total: 20
A group of lawyers helped train a generative AI tool called KAI, which allows 1,100 staff across Spain to access eight AI “personas”. Seven mimic “experts” trained in specific practice areas of law, while the eighth helps deal with automating general internal inquiries.

DLA Piper
O: 7; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 20
The firm’s innovation arm, Law&, developed a generative AI-powered legal assistant called ButterflAI. The service is designed to ensure security for client work.

Womble Bond Dickinson
O: 6; L: 6; I: 6; Total: 18
The firm has built its own internal chatbot, iWomble, to assist lawyers. The service, launched in March, is trained to deliver information on the firm’s policies and procedures.

Standout

CMS: Winner
Originality: 9; Leadership: 8; Impact: 9;
Total: 26
Last November, the firm launched its patent management system, CMS Umbra, designed with software company IPDefine. The system aims to enable businesses with sizeable intellectual property interests to evaluate and maximise the value of their patent portfolios at high speed and low cost.

Its search facility identifies infringements by scanning the internet and providing validity and freedom-to-operate assessments. It also attempts to identify value and commercialise patents, most of which are left dormant.

The software can also help to calculate the value of any target company’s portfolio during an acquisition and to aid counterfeit protection.

KPMG Abogados
O: 8; L: 8; I: 9; Total: 25
The global professional services firm’s Spanish legal arm developed Katalyst, a software platform to help clients manage and automate their tax, legal, and human resources work. More than 400 organisations currently use it in 90 jurisdictions. Different applications help legal departments to track regulation, and to manage budgets and specific legal processes, such as insolvency or procurement. Similar tailored systems are available for clients’ HR and tax departments.

Highly commended

Garrigues
O: 8; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 23
In 2023, the firm launched its LegalApp Factory: a division dedicated to creating systems that clients can integrate directly into their operations. Authentication products include a time-stamping electronic certification tool to prove the authenticity of mobile phone pictures and other digital evidence presented in court.

Taylor Wessing
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
In 2023, the firm launched a self-service platform, Outpace, designed to help start-up businesses and their investors. It aims to provide simplified tools to complete legal tasks, such as structuring funding rounds and monitoring investors’ shareholdings at a lower cost than traditional rival services. Outpace is now used by more than 20 clients, the firm reports.

Herbert Smith Freehills
O: 6; L: 9; I: 7; Total: 22
The firm launched a service in June 2023 that helps clients identify where they may be failing to meet reporting requirements, under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Directive. The directive, which was introduced last year, also applies, in part, to some UK companies. Responses to a short questionnaire are used to create a report assessing compliance with the reporting obligations.

Commended

McDermott Will & Emery
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
The firm designed a risk-profiling tool for its German clients that can be integrated into their in-house systems to help them comply with labour regulations when hiring freelance workers. Users of the tool answer simple questionnaires about the freelancers themselves and the roles they are applying for, which are used to generate a risk report on the contractual arrangement. One client reported that the app was used 1,400 times by their employees in 2023.

Osborne Clarke
O: 7; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 20
In May 2023, the firm’s technology team launched a chatbot that answers questions from clients’ staff about internal policies regarding antitrust compliance and obligations. Questions that the chatbot cannot answer are dealt with by the firm’s lawyers, who can add their answers to the client’s policies, and to the chatbot service.

La Scala Società tra Avvocati
O: 7; L: 7; I: 5; Total: 19
In 2024, the Italian firm struck a partnership with, and took a 25 per cent stake in, 3Ai — a data management consultancy. The venture aims to help clients improve how they manage their proprietary data.

Standout

DLA Piper: Winner
Originality: 9; Leadership: 9; Impact: 9; Total: 27
The firm has developed a comprehensive AI strategy for itself and its clients. An AI and data team — comprising more than 100 lawyers, data scientists, and professionals with backgrounds in policy and academia — introduced generative AI software within the firm, including Microsoft Copilot and CoCounsel and its own proprietary tool. The team advises clients on use of AI and has created apps, handbooks, and governance frameworks to help businesses remain compliant with evolving laws and regulations.

A&O Shearman
O: 8; L: 10; I: 8; Total: 26
Allen & Overy, now merged with Shearman & Sterling, was a first mover in February 2023 in rolling out generative AI across its operations. This followed a partnership with legal generative AI software company Harvey in 2022, and a pilot involving 2,000 lawyers and staff. Harvey now has 3,500 daily users. The AI helps with routine legal tasks.

Addleshaw Goddard
O: 8; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 24
The firm reviewed more than 50 generative AI tools and tested five in formal pilots before deciding to roll out its own proprietary generative AI tool, AGPT, in September 2023. The tool has processed an estimated 130,000 inquiries, at an average of 500 a day.

Ashurst
O: 8; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 24
In January 2024, the firm published its findings from trying out the law-focused generative AI products Harvey, Copilot, and Wexler. Its aim was to promote transparency in the legal sector and showcase its approach to research and development. The firm has since rolled out Harvey to its 4,000 staff.

Highly commended

Cuatrecasas
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
In September 2023, the firm partnered with AI start-up Harvey to create CelIA. The system is trained specifically in Spanish law and is used for information retrieval, document drafting, and analysis.

NautaDutilh
O: 7; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 22
In 2023, the Dutch firm partnered with AI developer Fledger to develop its proprietary generative AI tool, Ariel. The firm has offered formal training courses to encourage its use.

Commended

Macfarlanes
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
Having been among the first to sign up to Harvey’s AI tool, a group of Macfarlanes’ lawyers and technologists tracked staff behaviour to find the best ways to encourage its use, which turned out to be via workshops and formal knowledge sharing. Some 80 per cent of its 550 lawyers now use the tool.

Standout

Garrigues: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 8; Impact: 8; Total: 24
The firm assigned 140 people across 18 offices as “digital ambassadors” to encourage the uptake of digital services at the firm. In 2023, nearly 90 per cent of staff received training — for a total of 14,000 hours.

Kennedys
O: 8; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 23
In 2023, the firm’s 120 global equity partners attended a three-day leadership programme at Oxford university’s Saïd Business School to enhance their strategic skills, such as improving collaboration and working on non-billable hours of business development.

Mills & Reeve
O: 8; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 23
The firm introduced discussion forums based on the Balint Method, originally designed to improve doctors’ dealings with patients, their own mental health, and clinical outcomes. The lawyers meet in groups of 12 with two supervisors once a month for a year to share experiences and discuss client relationships.

Highly commended

PwC Legal Business Solutions
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
Working with King’s College London’s Dickson Poon law school, the firm has helped develop a course to provide practical skills in generative AI, aimed at legal and tax professionals. Some 25 managers and directors have completed it.

Shoosmiths
O: 8; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 22
Sherif Malak, head of privacy and data, created the UK-based Junior Privacy Advisers’ Club in August 2023. The JPA, which now has 200 members, provides mentoring from senior lawyers, general counsel, and others in their practice area.

Commended

Dentons
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
In February 2023, the firm and O-Shaped Lawyer, a legal consultancy, conducted relationship-building workshops with key clients. Staff undertook problem-solving exercises to understand clients’ needs and priorities better.

Vieira de Almeida
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
Last year, the firm launched a system to help staff manage their career development and learning schedule. Human resources staff ensure it is suitable and properly planned.

RPC
O: 6; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 19
The firm introduced a nine-month training programme involving psychometric testing, workshops and online resources. Workshops include role-playing sessions to help partners develop skills and build better relationships with colleagues. Some 37 partners, just over a quarter of the total, have completed it.

Standout

Ashurst: Winner
Originality: 9; Leadership: 9; Impact: 7; Total: 25
The firm is investing in new digital products to deliver services to clients. As part of this drive, it launched Ashurst Origin and XB Adviser in June 2023. The first service allows banking clients to securely extend their staff’s access to the range of the firm’s digital services. The second, XB Adviser, is an updated digital service offering clients advice culled from local experts across Ashurst’s international network on cross-border bank licensing.

Clyde & Co
O: 8; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 24
The firm consolidated its services dealing with risks of cyber breaches. If the service flags that a client is operating in high-threat locations, a partner at the firm will automatically receive a briefing pack to deal with potential dangers of any cyber attacks. It also notifies clients of regulatory obligations and potential fines for involvement in the event of any data privacy breaches.

Highly commended

PwC Tax & Legal, Spain
O: 8; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 23
A 40-strong team at the Spanish legal arm of global professional services firm PwC launched a service that processes data from contracts, litigation and due diligence documents to provide headline assessment of relevant business risks. For example, the team created a tool for French multinational retailer Carrefour to analyse and present risks across its property contracts.

Bird & Bird
O: 7; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 22
The firm helped build a compliance platform to assist an Asian computer gaming company as it develops and launches new games. This ensures that its games comply with EU and US data protection laws without the client’s legal team needing familiarity with those jurisdictions.

Ecija
O: 8; L: 8; I: 5; Total: 21
The firm worked with data protection software company OneTrust to analyse how a food and drink manufacturer client was using AI, and to advise it on legal and ethical considerations and compliance with EU rules.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
O: 7; L: 8; I: 6; Total: 21
In January 2022, the firm launched a unit in Germany for managing mass claims. It has offices in Hanover, Münster and Nuremberg, and defends clients against independent parallel lawsuits — such as the emissions scandal lawsuits faced by German carmaker Volkswagen. Since being set up, the unit has attempted to act as sole defender in mass claims that were previously too large for one firm to handle.

Commended

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
The firm’s legal technology division, ClearyX, developed two AI-powered discovery tools for lawyers at semiconductor group Broadcom, to help in its acquisition of cloud software company VMware. This deal, for $69bn including debt, was announced in May 2022. One of the tools analysed and categorised 10mn documents sent to international competition watchdogs, while the other reduced the number of documents requiring human review to determine legal privilege.

DWF Group
O: 6; L: 6; I: 8; Total: 20
Last year, ahead of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s formal purchase of a controlling minority stake in Manchester United, the firm reviewed the workings of the football club’s in-house legal team, identifying ways to improve to routine tasks. For example, the lawyers redrafted non-disclosure agreement precedent documents to reduce the proportion that required extra negotiation from 69 per cent to 3 per cent, according to the firm. It also developed a digital “workspace” to triage legal tasks and track ongoing matters.

Pinsent Masons
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
In 2023, the firm’s flexible resourcing arm, Vario, arranged for 24 lawyers to work on demand for consumer goods group Unilever, on its supplier contracts. The Vario lawyers, Pinsent Masons, and Unilever piloted new legal technology to help automate Unilever’s contract review, summarisation, and drafting.

Deloitte Legal
O: 6; L: 6; I: 7; Total: 19
In September 2023, the firm launched a tool to automate aspects of mergers by extracting information needed from the client’s records, then sorting and loading it into documents required for concluding the deal. According to the firm, the platform reduces the time spent on these processes by between 25 and 35 per cent.

Withersworldwide
O: 7; L: 7; I: 5; Total: 19
In late 2023, the firm’s tech team developed a system to help software provider Diligent extract and organise information across its own 45,000 contracts with customers, using its corporate governance applications with minimal human intervention.

Matheson
O: 5; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 18
Matheson provided carmaker Volkswagen with a suite of tools to increase the legal team’s efficiency and facilitate better collaboration with the law firm. Systems include trackers for monitoring litigation and environment, social and governance obligations.

Standout

Cuatrecasas: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 9; Impact: 8; Total: 25
In 2023, the firm introduced a new system for allocating work to its lawyers. Optimal Team Assistant matches individuals’ expertise, availability, professional interests, and relevant previous client contact to new projects.

The system aims to improve career development for young lawyers. It also alerts the firm to any lack of capacity in specific fields, so it can adjust its training and recruitment accordingly.

Shoosmiths
O: 7; L: 9; I: 8; Total: 24
The firm has worked with social mobility campaign group Purpose Coalition since 2018. Since then, in addition to supporting outside charities, it has introduced new policies to broaden recruitment and support alternative career paths at the firm. A senior firm member is briefed to oversee these initiatives and evaluate their progress.

Vieira de Almeida
O: 8; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 24
The Portuguese firm introduced a Partners’ Professional Planning platform, which provides partners with information about the firm’s pay structure and personal performance measures.

Highly commended

PwC Tax & Legal, Spain
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
PwC Spain launched a programme last November that allows staff to earn expert diplomas and a masters degree in professional services, from Madrid’s CEU San Pablo University. Experience that legal staff gain in their day-to-day work earns credits towards the qualifications. The business expects 4,500 staff, including those at its tax and legal division, to obtain a degree in the next four years.

Hogan Lovells
O: 7; L: 8; I: 6; Total: 21
Since 2022, the firm has worked with external advisers to help it identify ways to improve ethnic diversity and inclusion at an office-by-office level. Responses from the majority of staff have helped inform the firm’s continuing racial equity plan.

Linklaters
O: 7; L: 6; I: 8; Total: 21
The firm played a leading role, along with five others, in the formation last year of the City Century apprenticeship scheme. This aims to expand the number of recruits to a six-year solicitor apprenticeship programme in London, designed for candidates who do not wish to pursue the traditional route of full-time university degree study.

Slaughter and May
O: 8; L: 8; I: 5; Total: 21
The firm introduced a “switch on-switch off” flexible working scheme, in an attempt to counter potential burnout that affects many law firms. It allows associates with sufficient experience to cut working hours by up to a fifth, by taking blocks of leave in exchange for a salary reduction. After a two-year pilot, the firm made the scheme permanent in January, and 5 per cent of associates have taken up the offer.

Commended

Burges Salmon
O: 7; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 20
Last year, the firm won accreditation as a “disability confident” employer under a UK government scheme aimed at encouraging recruitment and retention of people with a range of disabilities. The firm interviewed staff to identify areas for improvement and says the number of staff reporting a disability has increased from 4 per cent to 9 per cent in the past four years.

Herbert Smith Freehills
O: 7; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 20
The employment, pensions, and incentives team worked with the Living Wage Foundation to implement the campaigner’s “Living Pension” commitment in 2023 and was among the first to subscribe to it. Accreditation demands an employer pension contribution of 7 per cent of staff salary.

Dentons
O: 7; L: 6; I: 6; Total: 19
In April 2022, Dentons launched a programme sponsoring paralegals and other staff to study for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination. The scheme offers up to 10 candidates financial support through two years of study.

Standout

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 8; Impact: 8; Total: 24
The firm collated legal advice about regulations across 100 jurisdictions to train a chatbot for its client Cariad, the troubled software subsidiary of carmaker Volkswagen.

The tool uses generative artificial intelligence and aims to reduce the time spent by the in-house legal team dealing with inquiries from the business’s 10,000 staff by helping them get quicker answers.

Highly commended

Hogan Lovells
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
The firm’s legal tech division subsidiary, Eltemate, designed a tool for BMW to monitor regulatory changes affecting carmakers across different jurisdictions. The in-house system uses AI to identify the most relevant information to the client every month.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
O: 6; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 21
The firm’s antitrust team and its tech subsidiary, ClearyX, developed a database that stores client documentation on mergers, acquisitions and public procurement deals relevant to EU regulation and reporting requirements. The subscription service helps clients demonstrate compliance.

White & Case
O: 6; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 21
The firm developed an app-based tool to help clients report on the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, adopted in 2023, to prevent companies subsidised by foreign governments from gaining an unfair advantage in the trading bloc.

The app asks questions and guides clients through the compliance process by automating the preparation of reports required by the European Commission.

Commended

Addleshaw Goddard
O: 6; L: 8; I: 6; Total: 20
The firm developed a suite of tools to prepare smaller businesses for the UK’s new Procurement Act, which comes into force in October and governs how public bodies purchase goods.

The platform provides updates and helps clients to ensure they comply with the new rules, making contract renewals with public entities easier.

Osborne Clarke
O: 7; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 20
The firm created a tool for monitoring packaging regulations for the global coffee chain Starbucks. Users can check their legal obligations across 42 jurisdictions and take any necessary action to comply.

This system helps in-house lawyers at Starbucks to deal with compliance questions quicker and reduces the queries sent to its outside law firm.

TLT
O: 7; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 20
The firm created a database of regulatory updates for financial services, airline and retail clients. It alerts them to forthcoming deadlines for implementing new compliance measures. It also features a system for clients to track progress in responding to regulatory change.

Abreu Advogados
O: 6; L: 6; I: 7; Total: 19
To help smaller Portuguese companies comply with the EU’s new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the firm created an online compliance training series. The service helps legal teams at exporting companies improve their reporting on environmental, social and governance standards. The lawyers delivered the training to more than 400 companies at the request of Portuguese trade agency AICEP.

Mayer Brown
O: 6; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 19
The firm’s pensions team created a regulation tracker for trustees of UK occupational pension schemes. Clients that subscribe receive updates on the staggered implementation of new standards released in March by the UK’s pensions regulator. These standards require trustees to ensure effective governance requirements, risk assessments and remuneration policies.

Simmons & Simmons
O: 6; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 19
The firm created a tracker to help clients stay informed about global cryptocurrency regulation. It currently covers around 60 jurisdictions. Users pay a subscription to access and receive automated updates.

Standout

Herbert Smith Freehills: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 8; Impact: 8;
Total: 24
The firm collected data from more than 1,000 arbitration cases to build a database, called Genesis, that can predict the length and price of future cases, after clients called for greater predictability of legal costs in disputes. The information allows lawyers to bill clients using fixed fees or other charging arrangements, instead of hourly rates. The firm is expanding the model into more practice areas.

Highly commended

Deloitte Legal
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
The firm integrated artificial intelligence capabilities from systems provided by software partner Emérita Legal into its proprietary case management system, ValerIA. The platform, trained in Spanish law, manages documentation, provides relevant regulation and legislation, and automatically assigns tasks to lawyers.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
The firm launched an updated version of its Deal Flow survey that analyses the scale and terms of venture capital investment in European start-ups. The report, covering 350 equity deals, suggests investors are imposing more stringent “consent rights” to tighten their control over these companies.

Kennedys
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
Lawyers from the firm’s motor insurance practice and its technology subsidiary, Kennedys iQ, developed a platform that helps insurer clients manage motor accident and injury claims. It analyses medical evidence and recommends whether claims should be accepted or contested.

Linklaters
O: 6; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 22
In May 2023, the firm rolled out its due diligence management platform, ReportIQ. It aims to make each stage of a deal process more efficient and consistent. Since launch, it has been used on high-value transactions including a €12bn deal, for which about 300 lawyers collaborated via the platform. Commended individual: Timo Engelhardt

Eversheds Sutherland
O: 6; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 21
The firm has worked to manage due diligence on client transactions more consistently. Its legal services subsidiary, Konexo, helped to select the best technologies for each stage of the process. The firm is now rolling out more standardised processes, guidance notes, and wording for its due diligence work.

Commended

Norton Rose Fulbright
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
In 2022, the firm developed a tool called NRF Litigation Manager. This service has helped property group ECE manage its portfolio of retail spaces at shopping centres across Europe, by tracking the state of legal claims. The system has since been rolled out to two other clients.

Shoosmiths
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
The firm created a searchable database of UK merger and acquisitions deals that it has advised on. This can provide lawyers and clients with an overview of common terms applied in UK acquisitions, to help them evaluate the likelihood of the other party accepting an offer.

Cuatrecasas
O: 5; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 19
In 2023, the Spanish firm developed a tool to help its lawyers track stages of arbitration proceedings across different jurisdictions, backed up by precedent documents drawn from about 600 sources. The system has been used in 194 international arbitrations, supporting the disputes team across six countries.

Morais Leitão
O: 6; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 19
The Portuguese firm expanded its due diligence service for takeovers to include an initial assessment of documents and make more informed decisions in deals that have complicated contractual and compliance requirements.

Arthur Cox
O: 5; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 18
In 2023, the Irish firm launched a revamped cyber incident management team made up of lawyers, consultants, and former law enforcement personnel. It aims to help clients take preventive action and provides post-attack support, identifying compromised data and offering legal advice on how to proceed.

Littler
O: 5; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 18
In November 2023, the firm — which advises businesses on labour issues — published its latest European Employer Survey. The report, now in its sixth year, draws on information supplied by 780 human resources executives, in-house lawyers, and business leaders across 15 European countries.