Winner: Berwin Leighton Paisner
The shortlist for this category – one of the most competitive – contains some of the giants of this practice area. DLA Piper’s real estate team is the engine room of the firm, boasting more than 700 lawyers. In its last financial year it achieved 25% growth off the back of a string of high-profile instructions. “Incredibly responsive” is how one client describes Eversheds’ 71-partner UK property team, which also clocked up double-digit growth. The judges were impressed by the firm’s work advising on the first-ever listing of a UK REIT, The Local Shopping REIT. The team drew on Eversheds’ corporate and investment funds expertise in order to execute the deal.
