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29 LAW FIRM


OF THE YEAR AWARD


SPONSORED BY GRANT THORNTON WINNER Shoosmiths


Left: Dominic Holland with Sean Wright and Emma Gibson of Shoosmiths, and Duncan Lamb of sponsor Grant Thornton Above: Sean Wright and Emma Gibson


Sponsored by Grant Thornton, Law Firm of the Year saw five shortlisted names – Manches, Pitmans, Shoosmiths, White & Black and last year’s winner Osborne Clarke.


Newcomer to the finals, Oxfordshire’s White & Black, a specialist technology law firm, has been key to a number of quality cross-border deals in the past 12 months, including advising shareholders on the sale of Abingdon’s Basildon Chemicals to KCC Corporation of South Korea. Judges heard the firm’s advice and excellent service was “invaluable in ensuring that the transaction was completed successfully”.


The Osborne Clarke team has been involved in some of the Thames Valley’s most significant transactions, including the MBO at Daler- Rowney; disposal of Davies Group; disposals of Blue Sky Access; Wassen and Airinmar; and acquisitions of Newfield IT and TIS Software. It was also voted Regional Corporate Law Firm of the Year (Reading) in the Acquisition Finance Magazine Awards 2011.


In the past year, previous winner Pitmans has completed over 50 deals with a total value of £550m, including disposals at Reclaim IT, My Cartridge, Kell Systems, Blinkbox and Xayce; acquisitions by Lab 21 and Panalux; and acting for 2e2 on a joint venture with O2 Telefonica. One nomination said Pitmans “continues to outpace the market in terms


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2012


of deals wins, development of new client relations, innovation in their product offering and marketing strength generally”.


For Manches, which has offices in Oxford and Reading, 2011 saw the firm ranked in the top tier of Chambers’ legal directory for the first time, achieving a goal set when it opened its Reading office in 2010. The move is seen as an endorsement of the quality of the firm’s corporate lawyers and the number and diverse nature of its corporate transactions. Key deals included the flotation of Williams Grand Prix at Grove; the second largest (disclosed) VC-backed investment for 2011 at Nexeon; and mid-market trasnactions such as the acquisition of MyMaths for Oxford University Press.


Shoosmiths, whose partner Emma Gibson had already walked away with the title of Lawyer of the Year, has had a highly successful year with its Southampton and Reading teams acting on key deals such as the Davies Group MBO – recognised as stand-out deal for the region; the BGF investment at Benefex; the MBO of Krispy Kreme; and acquisitions by Ageas UK, Hamworthy and Bowmark Capital. Nominations said the firm is “recognised for the quality of its advice and excellent service delivery”.


To loud cheers, it was the Shoosmiths name which was read out by Duncan Lamb, partner at Grant Thornton.


Head of Shoosmiths’ southern-based corporate team Sean Wright said: “Shoosmiths has worked hard to build a first class reputation in the market which is reflected in the numbers of deals done as well as the quality of those deals.


“Our corporate team is made up of hard working, innovative and commercially pragmatic lawyers and I’m incredibly proud to be part of that, let alone be leading them. Their level of effort to form strong working relationships with the business community is reflected in this award, as are the votes received from a judging panel comprising notable operators in the corporate community.


“The Deals Awards is a prestigious event which Shoosmiths is very proud to have been acknowledged at – we’re grateful to The Business Magazine for making this all possible.”


www.businessmag.co.uk


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