WINNERS

• 1st - Lewis Silkin
Advising Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer on the first age discrimination claim brought against a firm by a partner showed Lewis Silkin’s employment practice to be a cut above the rest in employment law.
Lead by head of employment Michael Burd and partner Hazel Oliver, Lewis Silkin successfully defended the age discrimination claim brought by Peter Bloxham. It was the first case to invoke the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. And, for the first time, gave employers a defence against age discrimination claims if they could prove the discrimination to be justifiable.
The landmark case is one of several successfully fought by Lewis Silkin’s employment team in 2007.
The practice also advised the International Cricket Council in relation to alleged racial discrimination claims brought by former umpire Darrell Hair, a case which was later settled; and advised Ford on the employment aspects of the sale of Jaguar to Land Rover.

• 2nd - Sacker & Partners
For pensions disputes Sacker & Partners is on the tip of many tongues as the law firm that will be able to sort it out.
When KKR carried out the first private equity takeover of a FTSE 100 company, Boots, Sackers partner Peter Lester and associate Robin Simmons negotiated a deal on behalf of Boots trustees which guaranteed that the takeover vehicle would make contributions to the company’s pension deficit. The deal was critical to the success of the takeover.
John Watson, chairman of trustees for the Boots Pension Scheme said Sackers provided “excellent advice.” He added: “We were all treading new ground and their creative contributions were very valuable.” .

• 3rd - Berwin Leighton Paisner
In 2007 Berwin Leighton Paisner’s employment practice picked up more than 30 new clients, including UBS, Burger King, and Monsoon. The firm has been instructed on a number of significant cases. BLP successfully clarified the law on Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) making it clear that employees can object to being transferred to a new employer even after the business has been taken over.
Partner Alexander Davidson advised the Secretary of State for Transport in connection with the £75m outsourcing of the Highways Agency’s IT function. This major project required BLP’s employment team to take a sensitive but direct approach to dealing with unionised workforce in both the private and public sector.

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Entries can be either contentious or non-contentious work. In the case of non-contentious work, we welcome entries from pensions and benefits teams.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

• Full details of the transaction or case
• Evidence of precedent-setting or innovation
• The team’s work over the year

Entries are welcome from both defendant and claimant teams. Submissions should focus on a single transaction or case.

NB: Client Training Initiatives are not eligible for entry.

Entries welcome from:
Private practice teams	√
Nominations by in-house teams	√

Previous Winners:
2007	Mishcon de Reya
2006	Russell Jones & Walker
2005	Disability Rights Commission
2004	National Union of Teachers
2003	Cloisters