European law firm of the year winners Noerr, with The Lawyer editor Catrin Griffiths and host Daisy McAndrew

German titan Noerr carried off the title European Law Firm of the Year last night at a sparkling ceremony in London’s Grosvenor House in an evening that shone the spotlight on emerging talent across the Continent.

Noerr, which was the clear winner in the German category, carried off the European accolade after judges praised its all-round performance as representing a beacon of progressive management and a strong culture of service delivery.

The awards were hosted by journalist and broadcaster Daisy McAndrew.

Highly commended in the overall category was Legance, the winner in the Italian category. Despite only having been set up a decade ago, Legance is already firmly placed within the Italian elite.

Many of the firms that saw success at The Lawyer European Awards are relative newcomers to the top table in the Continent, and are seen to be challenging the traditional European establishment. Austrian winner Eisenberger Herzog was founded in 2005 by former Freshfields lawyers, while Turkish winner Akol Law was set up in 2015 following a split from White & Case.

Joao Vieira de Almeida of vDa won European managing partner of the year

It was also a successful night for high-quality mid-size firms such as August Debouzy in France, AKD in Benelux and SRS Advogados in the Iberian category.

However, there were wins for top-tier names too: João Vieira de Almeida, leader of Portuguese heavyweight VdA, was crowned managing partner of the year, Herbert Smith Freehills won European corporate deal of the year, Dublin’s Arthur Cox won finance deal of the year and Latham & Watkins was awarded global firm of the year in Europe.

The full list of winners is below; for the full citation, see the Book of the Night.

The Lawyer European Awards 2019: The winners

Law firm of the year – Austria: Eisenberger & Herzog
Law firm of the year – Benelux: AKD
Law firm of the year – Republic of Ireland: Mason Hayes & Curran
European corporate deal of the year: Herbert Smith Freehills CIS
Law firm of the year – Germany: Noerr
Law firm of the year – Iberia: SRS Advogados
Law firm of the year – Eastern Europe and the Balkans: Karanovic & Partners
European energy and infrastructure deal of the year: Sayenko Kharenko
Law firm of the year – Italy: Legance – Avvocati Associati
European litigation team of the year: Zamfirescu Racoti & Partners
Most innovative technology initiative: Norton Rose Fulbright
Global firm of the year in Europe: Latham & Watkins
Global network of the year: Nextlaw Referral Network
Law firm of the year – Central Europe: Maruta Wachta
Law firm of the year – France: August Debouzy
European finance deal of the year: Arthur Cox
Law firm of the year – Switzerland: LALIVE
Law firm of the year – the Baltics: COBALT
Law firm of the year – the Nordics: Borenius
European competition deal of the year: SRS Advogados
Law firm of the year – Turkey: Akol Namlı & Partners
Law firm of the year – Russia, Ukraine and the CIS: Sayenko Kharenko
European specialist law firm of the year: ECIJA
Global in-house team of the year: European Investment Fund
European managing partner of the year: João Vieira de Almeida, VdA
European law firm of the year: Noerr