Taylor Wessing wins big with five British Legal Awards 2019

International law firm Taylor Wessing has cleaned up at the annual Legal Week British Legal Awards, winning five out of seven awards presented on the evening.

The firm was awarded in the innovation, M&A and transactional private equity categories alongside recognition for two of its Top 40 Under 40 rising stars in Private Equity.

Corporate M&A Team of the Year (Mid-sized deal):

Taylor Wessing impressed judges with its expertise in Fintech and cryptocurrency. The team led by corporate technology partner Howard Palmer advised Bitstamp on its 80% sale to Brussels-based investment firm NXMH. The team "demonstrated a trusted advisor status" with their client on the deal, from its start up to the closing of the sale, which took several months due to regulatory approval complexities.

Private Equity Team of the Year (Transactional): The team, led by senior partner Dominic FitzPatrick and International Co-Head of Corporate Emma Danks, stood out from the competition to win this year’s award for its work advising when the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank ran a divestment process to sell its private equity business. Taylor Wessing advised the newly-founded private equity firm, Affirma Capital, which bought the bank’s Standard Chartered’s private equity business in July for £790 million.

Innovation through Tech (Private Practice): Taylor Wessing took home this year’s award for its innovative TW:detect product. It was developed to help e-commerce firms protect themselves against the growing threat of cybercrime. The product was described by one judge as "cutting edge".

This is the second award the firm has won for TW:detect, following recognition as the Most Innovative Use of Technology by The Lawyer at its annual awards held in June this year.

Associates Mark Brewer and Nick Karangizi were also presented with prestigious Top 40 Under 40 Rising Star awards in Private Equity.

Commenting on these wins, Managing Partner Shane Gleghorn said: "This is a fantastic result. We're all immensely proud of TW:detect and the value it provides our clients. Our team's vision for supporting clients before a threat occurs is testament to our commitment to adding value that exceeds their expectations. We have been focused on innovation, and collaboration with our clients in that regard, and this award recognises that our innovation team has been able to develop a tool that meets their needs.”

He continued: "Our awards in M&A and private equity strongly reflect our expertise in private equity and the technology sector. Those successes all lead back to the level of talent we have in the business, and I'm delighted that Mark and Nick are now included in the list of our top ranked lawyers and rising stars."

The firm was also shortlisted for Private client Team of the Year and Property Team of the Year, totalling seven nominations.