Clydes, Skadden and Quinn Emanuel among big winners at Transatlantic Legal Awards

Clyde & Co and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan managing partner John Quinn were among the big winners at the Transatlantic Legal Awards, after a ceremony at London’s One Whitehall Place,

Clydes saw off a number of leading international law firms to be named Transatlantic Law Firm of the Year. The award was collected by senior partner Simon Konsta and chief strategy officer William Isaac (pictured above, left to right, with ALM chief global correspondent Chris Johnson and awards host Nicholas Owen).

The firm has blazed a trail across the Atlantic with a series of ambitious mergers, acquisitions and lateral hires. It now has one of the top specialist insurance practices in the US, and its eight US offices generate more than $100m in annual revenue. “It has been a highly effective strategy, brilliantly executed,” said one of the judges.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s Quinn was one of the big individual winners of the night, seeing off competition from Robert Bratt, DLA Piper chief operating officer and director of US operations.

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, meanwhile, took home an event-topping three awards, winning the Restructuring, Arbitration and Finance Team of the Year categories.

The awards, which were judged by a panel of senior editors and reporters from The American Lawyer and Legal Week, recognised firms, lawyers and in-house legal departments for their work spanning the world’s two largest and most fiercely competitive markets.

It was also a good night for Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Sullivan & Cromwell, which each picked up two awards.

HSF won Transatlantic IP Team of the Year for its successful defence of Gilead Sciences in one of the largest ever patent cases to be heard in the UK High Court. It was also jointly awarded Transatlantic Litigation Team of the Year, along with Debevoise & Plimpton, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg, for work on the disputes surrounding the collapse of the Nortel Networks group.

Sullivan & Cromwell won Transatlantic Antitrust Team of the Year, and the firm’s securities litigation head, Robert Giuffra, was named Transatlantic Disputes/Regulatory Lawyer of the Year, while Quinn Emanuel also scored the Transatlantic Investigations Team of the Year award.

Volkswagen’s Dr Manfred Doss went home as Transatlantic General Counsel of the Year, while Archer Daniels Midland secured the Transatlantic Legal Department of the Year award for a technology-led overhaul that has delivered more than $20m in savings and seen its 700-firm outside adviser panel slashed by 75%.

Other winners included A&L Goodbody, which won Transatlantic Independent Law Firm of the Year, and Jones Day, whose German practice head Ansgar Rempp (pictured right) was named Transatlantic Dealmaker of the Year.

Full list of winners:

Transatlantic Law Firm of the Year: Clyde & Co Transatlantic Independent Law Firm of the Year: A&L Goodbody Transatlantic Law Firm Manager of the Year: John Quinn, managing partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan Transatlantic Legal Department of the Year: Archer Daniels Midland Transatlantic General Counsel of the Year: Dr Manfred Döss, Volkswagen AG Transatlantic Dealmaker of the Year: Ansgar Rempp, Jones Day Transatlantic Disputes/Regulatory Lawyer of the Year: Robert Giuffra, Sullivan & Cromwell Transatlantic M&A Team of the Year (Large Deals): Baker Botts Transatlantic M&A Team of the Year (Midmarket): Morrison & Foerster Transatlantic Private Equity Team of the Year: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Transatlantic Debt Capital Markets Team of the Year: Kirkland & Ellis Transatlantic Equity Capital Markets Team of the Year: Noerr Transatlantic Finance Team of the Year: Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Transatlantic Arbitration Team of the Year: Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Transatlantic Litigation Team of the Year: Herbert Smith Freehills, Debevoise & Plimpton, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg Transatlantic IP Team of the Year: Herbert Smith Freehills Transatlantic Investigations Team of the Year: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan Transatlantic Restructuring Team of the Year: Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Transatlantic Tax Team of the Year: Davis Polk & Wardwell Transatlantic Antitrust Team of the Year: Sullivan & Cromwell