2009 proved to be yet another fruitful and successful year for top London law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The highlight of the year would have to be winning the bid to be the official legal representative of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
After a grueling selection process undergone by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in February, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer were selected out of numerous London Law firms to advise on this prestigious event. Working with foreign countries could prove to be challenging for the firm because of the change in law terms and legal translations, however, with the outsourcing of a legal translation agency this shouldn’t be a problem.
London management group chair Tim Jones said: “The appointment fits in with our commitments to the broader London community and we think that it is a sound business decision to be involved in the setting-up of the world’s largest sporting event.”
Freshfields’ joint senior partner Guy Morton added: “We are proud that Freshfields will be providing the legal advice that this enormously complex event demands and welcome the opportunity to give practical support to the ideals of the Olympic movement. We are looking forward to helping LOCOG deliver a Games for everyone in 2012.”
As one of the leaders of the London law society, the firm will be advising on numerous areas of law involved with the Olympics, ranging from procurement and property law, to London employment law and competition. The firm set up a sponsorship agreement with the LOCOG which means that they will be providing the above services for free.
This is all very impressive considering the London Law firm was struggling in 2004/2005. The firm underwent MAJOR restructuring in 2006 and 2007 which kept them in the headlines, sometimes for the wrong reasons. As brutal as the restructuring was, it turned out to be the saving grace of the company. By 2008 the firm was breaking record profit margins for law in London with profits per equity partner increasing to a whopping 40% to hit £1.435m. They then made the big decision in 2009 to become the first UK law firm to continue paying their staff 2008 salaries due to the recession, which despite initial negative press, turned out to be yet another stroke of genius from the firm as they outperformed all other London Law firms in 2009.
There is no doubt that the firm’s tough times are behind them. They have restructured their firm to perfection which has resulted in a solid foundation from which to continue growing and taking London Law firms to the top of the international Law Society.
Related Posts
No related posts.