Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Headquarters Fleet Street
London, EC4
United Kingdom
No. of offices 28
No. of lawyers

Partners: 427

Associates: 1,611[1]
No. of employees Approx. 4,859[2]
Major practice areas Banking & finance
Capital Markets
Competition/Antitrust
Corporate/M&A
International Arbitration
Litigation
Private Equity
Projects & Energy
Tax
Key people Edward Braham
Senior Partner
Chris Pugh
Joint Managing Partner
Stephan Eilers
Joint Managing Partner
Revenue Increase £1.33 billion (2015/16)[3]
Profit per equity partner Increase £1.47 million (2015/16)[3]
Date founded 1743
Founder Samuel Dodd and James William Freshfield
Company type Limited liability partnership
Website freshfields.com

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (informally Freshfields, or FBD), founded in 1743 is a multinational law firm headquartered in London and a member of the Magic Circle of elite British law firms.

Freshfields is the oldest firm within the Magic Circle and is reported to be the oldest international law firm in the world.[4] Its origins can be traced back to the early 18th century when it was appointed solicitor to the Bank of England. It continues to advise the Bank of England today.

Freshfields is the top ranked law firm for European, UK and Asia-Pacific M&A.[5] As of 2015, it is the only magic circle firm to feature in the top five law firms in the world by deal value and is the highest ranked law firm by value in European M&A.[6] In Thomson Reuters' UK M&A charts for 2014, Freshfields closed 91 transactions worth over $118 billion, over 50% more by value than the second ranked law firm.

History

Freshfields traces its British origins to 1743, when partner Samuel Dodd was appointed solicitor to the Bank of England.[7] Freshfields have been the Bank's legal adviser ever since.

Freshfields recent mandates include: advising the Bank of England, Northern Rock and German Government throughout the 2008 financial crisis; and advising the UK Government on the privatisations of Royal Mail, Northern Rock, Lloyds Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Eurostar. The firm has 28 offices in 17 jurisdictions across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. It advises national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

James William Freshfield, the first Freshfield to join the firm, adopted the crest of John Freshfield of Norwich as his own, having seen it as a boy. It was later used as the firm's mark. The emblem represents St Michael who is depicted as an angel with a spear.[8]

Clients of the firm have included: William Gladstone, Sir Robert Peel and Nathan Meyer Rothschild.[9]

Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber traced its history back to Hamburg in 1840; at the time of its merger with Freshfields it was one of the two largest law firms in Germany.[4][10] Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund was founded in 1962 by Arved Deringer and Claus Tessin and had been based in Cologne since 1970.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was created in 2000 when U.K.-based Freshfields merged with two law firms: Germany-based Deringer, Tessin, Herrmann, & Sedemund and Germany-Austria-based Bruckhaus, Westrick, Heller, Löber.[11][12]

The firm changed its name as different partners joined or left the firm until James William Freshfield (1775–1864) was elected partner.[7] James Freshfield, his sons and grandsons worked at the firm until the last Freshfield retired in 1918.

Awards

Freshfields has been the top ranked firm in the world for expertise in Antitrust and Competition Law in the Global Competition Law "Global Elite Law Firms Index" for a number of years.[17]

References

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