INTERNATIONAL FIRM OF THE YEAR 2018

CooleyWINNER

West Coast firm Cooley has gone from strength to strength since launching in the City three years ago. The firm, which celebrated $1bn turnover worldwide in 2017, now houses 75 lawyers in London and upped its office revenue by 22 per cent in 2017 to $57.5m. Praised for its “ambition and development, particularly in the London market”, Cooley’s trajectory looks strong for one of the newest US players in town.

With a mixture of retail, media and technology clients at its disposal, the firm is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world’s most vibrant sectors. The judges said it was focused on “specialist and high growth areas”, acting on “impressive deals, with a good coverage and client roster”. Standout corporates include eBay, StubHub, Nikon and Netflix, with the firm balancing its work for established and disruptive players alongside financial giants Apollo Global and GIC. Cooley is fast carving a niche for itself as a lead adviser on venture capital funds; it represented Deliveroo and SoftBank last year on transformative financing rounds.

While technology grabs the headlines, Cooley’s reputation in the US healthcare sector has also seen the firm’s London office take on a host of life sciences companies as they look to list in the UK or US stock markets. Cooley acted on more than 50 per cent of UK company IPOs on the NASDAQ in 2017; further testament to the London office’s expertise coupled with the power of the US brand.

Highly commended: Garrigues

The largest independent firm in Europe, Garrigues had a stand-out 2017 with stellar corporate deals and technology drives. The firm, which is now home to over 1,400 lawyers, implemented a security master plan to improve its IT functions and encouraged new ways of working with an innovation think tank.

Commended: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

It’s Quinn’s 10th birthday in London this year and it’s been a decade of standout hires, high-stakes litigation and impressive financials. 2017 was no different, seeing the firm launch new practices in contentious tax and constructions disputes, and moving into larger space in Olswang’s former offices