IAN REID Trowers & Hamlins LLP Featured Winner: Construction & Engineering Lawyer of the Year - UK
5 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Introduction Welcome to the 2019 edition of the Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards. Lawyer Monthly is pleased to present its annual Legal Awards. With the year drawing to a close, we would like to recognise the sheer hard work and dedication of those in the legal industry throughout 2019; from the vast amount of hours put in to help clients, all the way to being ahead of the game to win each legal battle, the Legal Awards aims to unveil the best in the legal industry. As a result of several months of research and preparation, the Legal Awards recognise legal experts that have influenced the wider legal profession in their jurisdiction. The winners include all areas of the legal profession from high achieving junior associates to long serving barristers. Inside this publication, we have exclusive interviews from the winners themselves, where they reveal their secrets to success and how they hope to further their recognition and achievements in the legal sphere. We hope you enjoy this special publication andwewould like to congratulate all winners on their hard work and dedication to the legal sector.
Index 6 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Introducing the Winners... DANA LIBOCHOWITZOVÁ JELÍNEK & Partners 22 PAGE CRIMINAL LAW LAWYER OF THE YEAR THOMAS AMICO Linklaters LLP 24 PAGE BUSINESS CRIME LAWYER OF THE YEAR EUROPE BELGIUM STUDIO | LEGALE Retail Lawyer of the Year - Joost Peeters 40 CZECH REPUBLIC ERHARTOVÁ GÜRLICH VÍTEK & PARTNERS Corporate & Business Lawyer of the Year - JUDr. Richard Gürlich, Ph.D. 41 MT Legal E-Commerce Lawyer of the Year - David Mareš 42 DENMARK INTERLEX Advokater Agriculture Law Firm of the Year 44 FRANCE BNR Avocats Agency, Distribution & Licensing Law Firm of the Year 46 Ogletree Deakins Employment Law Firm of the Year 47 GERMANY OPPENLÄNDER Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB Arbitration Law Firm of the Year 49
7 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Index DANIELE FERRETTI Ferretti Firm 26 PAGE ARBITRATION, DISPUTE RESOLUTION & MEDIATION LAWYER OF THE YEAR Baker McKenzie Arbitration Lawyer of the Year - Dr. Jürgen Schramke HAEBERLE.LAW Architectural Law Lawyer of the Year - Bernd Häberle 50 Abel Und Kollegen Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB Business & Commercial Lawyer of the Year - Dr. Udo Michalsky Langrock Voss & Soyka Criminal Defense Law Firm of the Year Spängler Rechtsanwälte Foreclosure Lawyer of the Year - Peter Spängler Law Firm for Rüdiger Gust Inheritance Lawyer of the Year - Rüdiger Gust 51 ECOVIS Insolvenz und Sanierungs AG Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyer of the Year - Nils Krause IP Jaeschke Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year Dr. Wieland Groth, LL.M. Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year - Dr. Wieland Groth, LL.M. 52 MEDIA KANZLEI FRANKFURT Media Law - Law Firm of the Year - Dr. Severin Riemenschneider Welzer & Partner mbB Succession Planning Lawyer of the Year - Dr. Timo Welzer 53 Lill & Glock Partnerschaft mbB Tax Law - Law Firm of the Year 54 FP Rechtsanwälte - Strafverteidigung White Collar Crime Firm of the Year HUNGARY Gárdos Mosonyi Tomori Banking & Finance Lawyer of the Year - Dr. Péter Gárdos IRELAND Anne O’Connell Solicitors Employment Benefits Lawyer of the Year - Anne O’Connell 56 ITALY Tombari D’Angelo e Associati Commercial Lawyers of the Year Studio Legale Brusa Spagnola Tosoni Carelli Criminal Law Lawyer of the Year - Sergio Spagnolo 57 Fornari e Associati Law Firm Criminal Law Firm of the Year
Index 8 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM LUCA DAFFRA Ichino Brugnatelli e Associati 28 PAGE EMPLOYMENT LAWYER OF THE YEAR VITTORIO AVERSANO BVLGARI 31 PAGE IP & BRAND PROTECTION COUNSEL OF THE YEAR AURORA SANZ Grant Thornton 32 PAGE LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR Grimaldi Studio Legale Employment, Labour & Benefits Lawyer of the Year - Angelo Zambelli 58 NETHERLANDS DVDW Advocaten Privacy Law - Lawyer of the Year - Judith Vieberink Hogan Lovells International LLP Tax Lawyer of the Year - Alexander Fortuin SERBIA Mikijelj Jankovic & Bogdanovic IP/Patents Lawyer of the Year - Mara Jankovic SPAIN Arbaizar Abogados Family Law Firm of the Year Abencys Insolvency & Restructuring Firm of the Year 59 Villanueva Asesores Tax Lawyer of the Year - Julio Villanueva de los Cobos SWEDEN Holm Advokater Antitrust & Competition Lawyer of the Year - Christer Holm 60 Åberg & Co Environmental Law Lawyer of the Year - Tomas Underskog 61 SWITZERLAND Croce & Associes SA Private Client Law Firm of the Year
9 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Index IAN REID Trowers & Hamlins LLP 16 PAGE CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING LAWYER OF THE YEAR Lecocq Associate Regulatory Lawyer of the Year - Mr. Dominique Lecocq 62 TURKEY Kenaroglu Legal Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year - Mr. Soner Kenaroğlu 63 UNITED KINGDOM Freemans Solicitors Business Crime Lawyer of the Year - Kishoree Kotecha-Pau Rix & Kay Solicitors LLP Business Law Lawyer of the Year - Tim Sadka Enterprise Chambers Commercial Law Firm of the Year BLM Commercial Lawyer of the Year - Jonathan Askin PwC LLP Corporate Immigration Solicitor of the Year - Nadia Idries Lovetts Solicitors Debt Recovery Firm of the Year Carruthers Law Defamation Law Firm of the Year 64 Sheridans Entertainment Law - Lawyer of the Year - Stephen Luckman R & R Urquhart LLP Environmental Law Firm of the Year NetworkRail Health & Safety Counsel of the Year - Andrew Stokes Colin Fleming Health & Safety Lawyer of the Year - Colin Fleming Trinity Chambers Labour & Employment Lawyer of the Year - Michael Malone 65 The Entrepreneur Lawyer Legal Technologist Lawyer of the Year - Chrissie Lightfoot Thompsons Solicitors NI LLP Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year - Oonagh McClure Six Pump Court Planning & Environmental Barrister of the Year - Stephen Hockman QC Henderson Chambers Product Liability Defence Lawyer of the Year - Toby Riley-Smith QC 66 Nick Howe Solicitor Public International Lawyer of Year - Nick Howe 67 Farrer & Co Sports Governance Law Firm of the Year AMERICAS BRAZIL Monteiro Neves Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year - Ricardo B. S. Neves 70 Caxia Mergers & Acquisitions Lawyer of the Year - Thiago Paim Eduardo Biondi & Antonio Ricardo Corrêa Advogados Real Estate Law Barrister of the Year - Eduardo A. Biondi 71
Index 10 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM ROSA TWYMAN Regulatory Law Chambers 34 PAGE REGULATORY LAWYER OF THE YEAR RICHARD L. ROSEN The Richard L. Rosen Law Firm, PLLC 35 PAGE FRANCHISE LAWYER OF THE YEAR CANADA Cain Lamarre Commercial Law Lawyer of the Year - Pascal Porlier 72 PatentAxis Inc. Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year 74 Baker & McKenzie LLP IT Lawyer of the Year - J. Andrew Sprague Cain Lamarre Labour Relations Lawyer of the Year - Richard Gaudreault BLG Risk & Conflict Lawyer of the Year - Marlena Bova Cain Lamarre Transportations Lawyer of the Year - Stéphane Lamarre 73 McCarthy Tétrault LLP Workplace Human Rights Lawyer of the Year - Tim Lawson 75 CAYMAN ISLANDS Appleby (Cayman) Ltd. Mergers & Acquisitions Lawyer of the Year - David Bulley MEXICO Woods & Smith México, S.C. Energy Law Lawyer of the Year - Dario G. Lamanna Moreno Dare & Moretiz Attorneys Law Firm of the Year USA LOOBY LAW, PLLC Business Law Lawyer of the Year - Eldon L. Looby Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. Class Actions Lawyer of the Year - Hidi Silton Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP Commercial Disputes Lawyer of the Year - Scott D. Anderson Dunnington Bartholow & Miller LLP Complex Litigation Lawyer of the Year - Donna Frosco General Electric Company Environment, Energy & Resources Lawyer of the Year - Roger Martella Holly Hefton, P.C. Family Law Lawyer of the Year - Holly Hefton 77 Jan H Brown P.C Immigration Law Firm of the Year Buxbaum Loggia Insurance & Reinsurance Expert of the Year - Joseph Loggia 78
11 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Index SUHA MAHMOUD DMOUR Law-IP 36 PAGE ARBITRATION, DISPUTE RESOLUTION & MEDIATION LAWYER OF THE YEAR Realty Law Partners, PC Landlord & Tenant Law Lawyer of the Year - Diane M. Mispagel Davis Law, PLC Litigation Lawyer of the Year - Christopher Davis Oropeza Law Firm PLLC Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year - Hector Z. Oropeza Ponce Law Personal Injury Law Firm of the Year Ladenburg Law Injury Attorneys Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year - Erik Ladenburg 79 Adkison, Need, Allen, & Rentrop, PL Real Estate Law Firm of the Year Law Offices of Sung & Associates, P.C. Real Estate Lawyer of the Year - Amy Sung Lowenhaupt & Chasnoff Tax Lawyer of the Year - Charles Lowenhaupt Meisel, Krentsa & Burneikis. Traumatic Brain & Spine Injury Law Firm of the Year 80 McKean Smith Wills, Probate & Estate Planning Lawyer of the Year - Collin McKean McCravy Newlon and Sturkie Law Firm Workers’ Compensation Lawyer of the Year - John McCravy 81 ASIA HONG KONG Fangda Partners Competition Law Lawyer of the Year - Andrew Skudder INDIA Law Offices of Panag & Babu Communications Law - Law Firm of the Year INDONESIA LHBM Counsel Corporate & M&A Firm of the Year 84 JAPAN Sato International Legal Office Co. Immigration & Nationality Law Firm of the Year 85 M. IDE & Co. Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year - Masatake Ide 86 JORDAN PHILIPPINES Abad Alcantara & Associates Competition Law Lawyer of the Year - Abraham Alonzo O. Guiyab
Index 12 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM TIM MCDONALD Moray & Agnew 37 PAGE EMPLOYMENT & INDUSTRIAL LAW LAWYER OF THE YEAR QATAR White & Case LLP Corporate & Commercial Lawyer of the Year - Charbel Abou Charaf TAIWAN Formosan Brothers Attorneys-at-Law Business Law Firm of the Year UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Nseir & Maazmi Law Firm Arbitration Law Firm of the Year 87 Davidson & Co Commercial Lawyer of the Year - Yousif Ahmed AFRICA ANGOLA Dra. Maria Luísa Abrantes Business Law Lawyer of the Year - Maria Luisa Abrantes 90 MAURITIUS ADR Arbitration Chambers Arbitration, Dispute Resolution & Mediation Lawyer of the Year - Joy S. K. Ramphul 91 SOUTH AFRICA Shepstone & Wylie Attorneys Sexual Harassment Lawyer of the Year - Verlie Oosthuizen AUSTRALASIA AUSTRALIA Hamilton Locke Private Equity Law Firm of the Year
Women I N L A W A W A R D S 2 0 20 MONTHLY VOTING OPENS SOON For more information, please visit: www.lawyer-monthly.com Introducing our award-winning, Government cerrfied, PIN authenncated, hardware encrypted HDD/SSD up to 5TB Without the PIN, there’s no way IN! www.istorage-uk.com | info@istorage-uk.com | +44 (0) 20 8991 6260 3 Years, 3 Awards:
Country Firm Name 14 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM When it feels like the rest of the world is against you, don’t worry, there is a team that’s got your back - but they need our help. It can sometimes feel like no one’s on your side - you’ve got difficult cases, challenging clients and the stress of dealing with new regulations. It mounts up, pressure builds and worst of all, everyone seems to think, ‘cheer up, you’re a solicitor, it can’t be that bad can it?’. They just don’t get it. They don’t understand how varied and challenging our profession can be. Trust me, I should know, I’ve been a solicitor for over 20 years. The people at SBA The Solicitors’ Charity* are different, they stand by your side no matter what and have been doing it well, for over 160 years in fact. This is an invitation to find out how your charity can help you and your colleagues with financial, emotional or practical help and how you can help your charity in its work. After all, you never know when you might need their assistance. Head to www.sba.org.uk/yourcharity now or call the team on 020 8675 6440. Matthew Robbins Chair of Trustees for Solicitors Charity Senior Partner of Jasper Vincent *SBA The Solicitors’ Charity is led by the profession, for the profession. Last year, it awarded over £1m in financial support to solicitors in England and Wales. The charity needs you and your firm’s help to continue to support all solicitors in times of need or crisis. You can help by becoming a volunteer, making donations or offering your residual client balances. Dear every solicitor in England and Wales Re: All solicitors are supported in times of need or crisis Solicitors Benevolent Association Limited, Registered Office: 1 Jaggard Way, London SW12 8SG. A charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales number: 6601907. Registered Charity number:1124512
15 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM FEATURED WINNERS
About Ian Reid I am Ian Reid, a Partner in the Construction Department at Trowers & Hamlins Solicitors LLP.I practice both contentious (front end) and non-contentious (back end) construction law.Trowers & Hamlins is an international law firm with approximately 145 partners and nearly 800 staff located across the UK, Middle East and Far East. Our headquarters is in the City of London with other offices in Birmingham, Exeter, Manchester, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Oman and Kuala Lumpur. Trowers provides the full range of legal services and we have a particular focus on regeneration and development work. Trowers has over 50 specialist construction lawyers and is one of the UK’s leading construction practices, acting for some of the UK’s leading developers. I have worked around the world on a wide variety of construction projects including major urban regeneration schemes in London’s Docklands, city centre office blocks, luxury residential schemes, rail infrastructure projects, one of the world’s largest liquefied national gas projects, mining projects in the Australian outback, north sea oil rigs and resort developments in the South Pacific. I have organised and chaired numerous conferences on construction law both in the UK and Australia. www.trowers.com
17 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM United Kingdom Trowers & Hamlins LLP CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING LAWYER OF THE YEAR IAN REID “Modern methods of Construction” (MMC) is a term used within the construction industry to refer to a wide range of construction methods that involve either a high degree of off-site or factory pre-assembly or on site techniques intended as a more efficient alternative to “traditional” building methods. Traditional building methods can perhaps best be characterised by the labour intensive process of placing one brick on top of another and gluing them together with a bed of wet mortar which has to be allowed to set. But are they really modern? One thing to appreciate about so-called “modern” methods of construction is that they have been around for a long time. The drawings that you see alongside this article and on the front cover of this magazine are designs that I produced as an architectural student some 30 years ago for a scheme involving a tetrahedral steel lattice, supporting pre-manufactured polyhedral modular living pods and geodesic domes with not a brick in sight. But even when I was a student the use of modular pods was pretty old hat. Over half a century ago the work of the Japanese metabolist architects had lead the way in showing what could be done with pods. Japanese Metabolism Japanese Metabolism was a post war architectural movement that fused ideas about architecture and organic biological growth. One of the most significant buildings to come out of the movement was the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo designed by the architect Kisho Kurokawa. The Nakagin building was a mixed-use residential and office tower built between 1970 and 1972. It is considered the world’s first example of “capsule” or “pod” architecture built for permanent and practical use. The building was composed of two interconnected concrete towers which housed 140 self contained prefabricated pods. Each pod measured 2.5 metres by 4 metres and functioned as a small living or office space. Pods could be connected and combined to create larger spaces. The pods were welded lightweight steel truss boxes, clad in galvanised rib reinforced steel panels and coated with rust preventative paint. The pods were fitted with utilities and interior fittings at a factory before being shipped to the building site where they were attached to the concrete towers by high tension bolts. The intended users of the living pods were Tokyo’s legions of bachelor “salary men” (office workers). Why are “Modern Methods of Construction” in the news again now? Two features of the UK’s construction industry in recent years have been a chronic shortage of housing being delivered to the market and a chronic shortage of skills in the labour force. In 2015 the UK government asked its advisory body the Construction Leadership Council to identify actions to reduce the construction industry’s vulnerability to skills shortages at a time that many refer to as a ‘housing crisis’ The Council commissioned Mark Farmer to review matters and produce a report for the government. Following a period of consultation and investigation the “Farmer review of the UK Construction Labour Model - Modernise or Die – Time to Decide the Industry’s Future” was published in October 2016. Whilst the report was being compiled the UK voted to leave the European Union. A move, many would say, guaranteed to exacerbate skills shortages within a UK construction industry heavily dependent upon migrant labour. Mark Farmer’s report pulled no punches, painting a bleak picture of an industry which he identified as being characterised by low productivity, dysfunctional training models, fragmented leadership, adversarial pricing models, uncollaborative and outdated working practices and lacking any meaningful investment in research, development and innovation. He predicted the industry faced a 20-25% decline in the available labour force within a decade based on the existing workforce age and current levels of new entrants. He went on to identify ten wide ranging recommendations to modernise the industry. His recommendation number 8 focused on pre-manufacture: “The government should act to provide an initiation stimulus to innovation in the housing sector by promoting the use of pre-manufactured solutions through policy measures. This should be prioritised either through the conditional incentivisation of institutional development and investment in the private rented sector; the promotion of more pre-manufactured social house building through Registered Providers; direct commissioning of pre-manufactured housing; or a culmination of any of the above. It should also consider planning breaks for pre-manufactured approaches.” The report said of pre-manufacture: “Many different terms are used in the role of construction innovation (Post) Modern Methods of Construction
United Kingdom Trowers & Hamlins LLP 18 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM including “off-site manufacture”, “modern methods of construction” or “pre-fabrication”. This review uniformly adopts the term pre-manufacture as a generic term to embrace all processes which reduce the level of onsite labour, intensity and delivery risk.” The report also recommended that: “The Construction Leadership Council should have strategic oversight of the implementation of these recommendations and evolve itself appropriately to co-ordinate and drive the process of delivering the required industry change programme set out in this review.” In fact that was the report’s recommendation number 1. Some unfortunate connotations associated with the word “modern” In the context of architecture the problem with the word “modern” when used in conjunction with the word “housing” is that it leads us to the industrialised building techniques, commonly referred to as “system building” that were used to construct the enormous housing estates that appeared throughout the UK during the 1960s. These schemes began with the best of intentions. At the time the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works said of system building: “The use of new and rapid methods of construction, standardising the use and production and building components with the greatest possible extent in securing the widespread dissemination of the best modern practices.” “High quality of finish both internally and externally… obtained because structural components, fittings and services can be manufactured and supervised under factory conditions are not subject to climatic and other hazards of an open site.” As a young architectural student in Manchester in the 1980s, I lived for a time in one such housing estate surrounding what were known as the “Hulme Crescents”. Hulme, Manchester When it was constructed in 1972 Hulme Crescents and its surrounding estates were the largest public housing development in Europe encompassing over 3000 deck-access homes (referred to as “streets in the sky”) with accommodation for over 13,000 people. Yet only two years after its opening, Manchester City Council deemed Hulme Crescents unsuitable for families and the housing scheme became adult only. Ayoung child had died after falling from a balcony and a petition had been launched by residents who wished to be rehoused from dangerous properties where cockroach and mice infestation had been a problem from the outset. In 1975 just three years after opening, a survey was conducted which found 96% of residents wanted to leave Hulme Crescents and be rehoused. In 1978 the chair of Manchester City Council’s Housing Committee said of Hulme Crescents: “An absolute disaster. It shouldn’t have been planned, it shouldn’t have been built”. In 1983 the MP for Manchester Central was quoted as saying: “Like most major authorities we had these system built estates thrust upon us. They are now a joke. They are falling around peoples’ shoulders. These systems were referred to by the experts and our advisors at the time as the panacea for all our housing problems. We have ended up with a complete disaster.” Cathederal Tower Floor Plans Level 5 Sleeping & Bathroom Pods Level 4 Access Level Level 5 Kitchen Pods
19 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM United Kingdom Trowers & Hamlins LLP By 1984 Hulme Crescents had become so despised that Manchester City Council, which lacked sufficient funds to demolish the housing scheme, stopped housing new council tenants there and stopped charging rents from existing tenants. At this point the properties quickly became of interest to impecunious students from the nearby Manchester University. I can recall the occasion when after a hard day spent in the architectural studio designing pods I returned home to the flat in Hulme I shared with other students to be confronted on the doorstep by what appeared to be two astronauts in white space suits and full breathing apparatus. Having introduced themselves, the astronauts, it transpired, were not from NASA but were council workmen in full protective suits replacing a defective wall mounted kitchen fan in the neighbour’s flat next door. These kitchen fans were modest bits of kit measuring 6 inches across but it took the two astronauts two whole days to remove, dispose of and replace a single fan. Why? Well it turned out that the kitchen walls that the fans were mounted in were made of asbestos. After central government provided Manchester City Council with enough funds, the Hulme Crescents were eventually demolished between 19931995, a mere 20 years after they were built. Hulme has subsequently undergone a £400m redevelopment programme with input from the residents, most of whom have elected to return to traditional forms of terraced and semi-detached housing. Ronan Point – East London Ronan Point was one of a range of tower blocks built throughout the 1960s as cheap, affordable, prefabricated housing for the less well-off inhabitants of East London. The 22 storey tower was built using a technique known as “Large Panel System” building (LPS) which made use of large, concrete prefabricated sections which were cast offsite and then bolted together onsite. Ronan Point opened in 1968 after two years of construction. Two months later an explosion in a gas stove in a corner flat on the eighteenth floor demolished the load bearing flank walls of the flat. Those flank walls were supporting the four flats above and what happened next was the sudden progressive collapse of that corner of the building. Four of the 260 residents were killed and 17 were injured. The government enquiry into the tragedy decided that Ronan Point’s designers had complied with the building regulations current at the time however the regulations were subsequently altered to prevent similar designs being used in future. Ronan Point was rebuilt, but subsequent investigations revealed that significant remaining construction defects had left unfilled gaps between floors and walls throughout the building which were hidden only by skirting boards and wallpaper; loads from structural concrete wall panels were not spread evenly along supporting panels and instead were taken up by point loads the concrete had never been designed to withstand; and strengthening put in during the rebuild was in turn found to be entirely inadequate in its method of attachment to the original building. In 1986, the Council eventually evacuated Ronan Point, demolished it and followed up by demolishing a further nine blocks on the same housing estate comprising some 1,000 flats. The area was subsequently redeveloped with two storey houses with gardens. It is estimated that there are some 1,500 buildings like Ronan Point still standing in the UK. So the history of “modern” approaches to building homes in the UK has not been a happy one. As one well known architectural critic put it: “You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe: when it knocked down our buildings it did not replace them with anything more offensive than rubble. We did that.” HRH Charles, Prince of Wales (In a speech to the Corporation of London Planning and Communication Committee at Mansion House, 1987). However I would defy anyone who has ever actually spent any time labouring in the freezing mud and rain of a building site in the depths of a British winter (and I can find no comments from anyone with HRH in their title directly on this point) not to have asked themselves if there is perhaps a more efficient way of going about building homes than by placing one brick on top of another. To avoid the unfortunate connotations associated with the word “modern” perhaps we would be better off calling “Modern Methods of Cathederal Tower Front elevation
20 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Trowers & Hamlins LLP United Kingdom Construction” something else? All I have come up with so far is “Post Modern Methods of Construction”, but I am open to suggestions. To what extent has the UK embraced (Post) Modern Methods of Construction? Most construction projects today in the UK will contain some degree of off-site manufacturing however it is still considered to be a small part of the entire industry. In 2018 the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) put the number of modular homes built in the UK each year at 15,000 and the total market value of off-site manufacturing at some 7% of the total construction sector. Recently there has definitely been a push towards using Modern Methods of Construction perhaps initiated by the Farmer report and the government certianly has made available grants to schemes employing such methods. Some of the industry’s leading names are now establishing factories to produce modules for use on their projects. Some 30 years after designing pods as an architectural student I am now drafting building contracts for the use of bathroom pods in super prime residential developments in the most exclusive parts of London. However these methods of construction have been around since long before Mark Farmer’s report but the wide spread off-site manufacturer of pods or modules has never really caught on in the UK. If you are a factory producing bathroom or kitchen pods or indeed entire modular houses you face a particular set of commercial difficulties: • On a traditional construction project a contractor usually gets paid on a monthly basis for the work he does on site that month. A factory with an order for say 1,000 modules is unlikely to be getting paid on a monthly basis for the work they do to the modules in any one month. It is far more likely that the purchaser of the modules may have paid some deposit up front but will not be parting with the full cost of the modules until they are complete and have all been delivered to site. This means the manufacturer is really funding the entire production itself right up until completion of the order. It is usually only the very large manufacturing enterprises that can really afford to do that. • If the purchaser of the modules goes out of business before the order is complete that entire order for 1,000 modules is abortive and the manufacturer is left picking up the entire cost itself (less any deposit). That kind of cost can be enough to sink a manufacturing business. • A factory producing motor cars can sell those motor cars all around the world. If one order for cars does not work out as planned then there are likely to be other potential purchasers of those same motor cars in other parts of the world. The situation is very different for manufacturers of modular housing units. Those modules are usually bespoke to a particular project and in the event of problems cannot be simply transferred and used on another project for another customer. • History has shown that the house building market in the UK is cyclical. During the downturn a traditional house builder (who sub-contracts outmost of hiswork) cansimplyslowdownor stopbuilding. Bycontrast a manufacturer of modular pods needs to keep his factories going and usually cannot adjust to a cyclical industry in the way that a traditional house builder can. Securing a long term pipeline of orders is a real problem in the construction manufacturing industry. “ “ You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe: when it knocked down our buildings it did not replace them with anything more offensive than rubble. We did that. HRH Charles, Prince of Wales. Cathederal Tower Side Elevation
21 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM United Kingdom Trowers & Hamlins LLP It is commercial considerations like these which have traditionally constrained the widespread use of modular construction in the UK Social housing scheme wins the most prestigious prize in UK architecture So what does a successful affordable housing scheme look like? Earlier this year the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize was awarded to Norwich City Council’s Goldsmith Street Project designed by the architectural practice Mikhail Riches. The project comprises 105 council homes which are let by the Council to tenants. This was the first time a social housing development had been shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in its 23 year history. Mikhail Riches won the design competition for the development with a scheme that proposed a retention of the site’s previous street layout rather than the introduction of the more usual tower blocks. The scheme is a very contemporary take on traditional British terraced brick housing with the properties being laid out in four rows only 14 metres apart. The scheme is modelled on the nearby neighbourhood of highly desirable Victorian terraced houses known as Norwich’s “Golden Triangle”. Although launched in 2009 the scheme was beset by funding problems and work on site did not start until 2017. The first residents moved in at the end of 2018. A significant feature of the project are its highly specified energy efficient credentials which deliver a 70% reduction in fuel bills for tenants with yearly heating costs being referred to as just £150. Norwich Council has commented that the highly specified Goldsmith Street project cost about 10% more than a normal scheme but point to the long term benefits of well constructed, highly desirable properties where they expect to make savings on maintenance in the long term. The project has highlighted issues in the UK’s central government housing policy which gives council tenants the right to buy their council homes. Councils themselves are only allowed to fund 30% of their new build projects with monies that they receive from the sale of existing council homes and if they do not use those monies within three years they have to pay the monies back to central government. There are some commentators who would like to see councils being able to spend 100%of the proceeds of sale of existing council homes on their new builds or as in Wales and Scotland, see the tenant’s right to buy council houses abolished completely. These commentators regard such central government policy as damaging. They point to the fact that Norwich Council has lost around 500 council homes over the last three years through the right of tenants to buy their council homes. They also point out that it took Norwich Council some 8 years to overcome funding difficulties on the Goldsmith Street Project. The project has attracted considerable press attention. The Guardian Newspaper described the project as “a masterpiece” and the Daily Mail Newspaper suggested it represented “the future of council housing”. I may be doing those involved with the project a disservice, and I stand to be corrected, but I cannot find any reference to “Modern Methods of Construction” in any of the press I have read. What does the future hold – Look to the East North Essex Garden Communities Limited is a development corporation set up by four local Councils in Essex, the county which lies immediately to the east of London. Over the next twenty to thirty years their plan is to deliver some 40,000 new homes in an area known as the North Essex Corridor. The development philosophy underpinning this initiative is one of “garden communities”. The intention is to develop sensitively scaled and properly serviced communities supported by their own infrastructure in terms of schools, roads and healthcare facilities, rather than simply further overloading existing infrastructure by just adding more housing. The scale of the development presents huge possibilities for a properly considered urban regeneration scheme supported by its own dedicated off-site manufacturing facilities which could be sustained by a consistent pipeline of production over the longer term. If the lessons of the past can be learned and the best examples of successful contemporary housing schemes borrowed from, then this may present a genuine opportunity for private enterprise to engage collaboratively with the public sector and create the kind of communities that the inhabitants of Essex really deserve. As John Ruskin, the leading art critic, social thinker and philanthropist of the Victorian era put it: “When we build let us think that we build forever” Cathederal Tower Sleeping Pod Cluster. Side Elevation
24 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM
25 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Linklaters LLP France BUSINESS CRIME LAWYER OF THE YEAR About Thomas Amico Thomas heads the Business Crime practice of Linklaters Paris and has extensive experience assisting companies and individuals facing allegations of fraud, bribery & corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, libel and other type of offences. Assisting clients in conducting sensitive internal investigations, he regularly coordinates work across several jurisdictions. He negotiates with Public Prosecutors and other authorities where a settlement is in the clients’ interests and stands by his clients’ side during every step of a judicial investigation, preparing and coordinating their criminal defence as well as representing them before criminal courts. Thomas also has wide experience in guiding clients in the realm of fraud prevention and helps them conduct risk assessments in order to design robust anti-corruption compliance programs. He regularly provides tailored training to various teams on a wide range of issues relating to white-collar crime and compliance. Thomas began his career at a French boutique firm, Veil Jourde, led by prominent criminal lawyer Jean Veil. Joining Linklaters at the end of 2013, he was made Counsel in April 2017 and took the helm of the Business Crime practice in Paris after the departure of Kiril Bougartchev. Currently, Thomas is in charge of defending directors of a CAC-40 company following accusations related to its operations in Syria between 2010 and 2014, which would have required payments to terrorist groups and alleged violations of international embargoes. He also represented and assisted the Republic of Senegal in the criminal investigations and trial of the former mayor of the city of Dakar, and four other individuals accused of embezzlement of public money, forgery, and money laundering. Current clients include a Belgian bank which suffered a loss over 100 million euros due to construction issues affecting its most critical data centres. In addition, Thomas works with several luxury companies to help them implement anticorruption compliance programs and prepare them for potential controls by the French Anticorruption Agency. A published author, notably in the fields of civil and criminal procedure, Thomas regularly writes in legal journals to comment and analyse new pieces of legislation or new case law. An author in the field of compliance, his most recent contribution is a chapter on the Convention Judiciaire d’Intérêt Public (a French DPA mechanism) of a book entitled “Compliance: Company, Regulator, Judge” published in 2018 by Editions Dalloz. Last but not least, Thomas has served for five years as a Public Defender before the French criminal courts. He is currently representing pro bono families of victims of terrorist attacks in France, assisting them during criminal investigations and subsequent proceedings. A graduate of Sciences-Po Paris, the London School of Economics and the University of Paris Sorbonne, Thomas teaches at the Paris Bar School annually. THOMAS AMICO Areas of Expertise • White-Collar Crime • Criminal Law • Criminal Employment Law • Investigations • Compliance • Regulatory Litigation Contact Thomas Amico Linklaters, LLP 25, rue de Marignan – 75008 Paris T: +33 6 09 79 58 56 E: thomas.amico@linklaters.com
ARBITRATION, DISPUTE RESOLUTION & MEDIATION LAWYER OF THE YEAR About Daniele Ferretti Daniele Ferretti is the founder and managing attorney of Ferretti Firm, a boutique law firm specialized in dealing with complex cases, providing high-end services across different areas of law. His business litigation experience includes contract and corporate disputes in a wide array of fields (including oil and gas, construction, foreign investment, international distribution and joint ventures), officer and director liabilities, breach of fiduciary duties, business torts, product liability and other general litigation matters. In addition to representation of clients before state courts, he has acted as counsel and cocounsel in several national and international arbitrations, including ICC and ICSID proceedings. Mr. Ferretti is counsel to clients ranging from start-ups and individual entrepreneurs to companies listed in the Italian Stock Exchange. He draws upon his extensive experience in international law to counsel both foreign and domestic clients in transactions, business strategies, dispute avoidance & resolution processes. His transactional practice often focuses on how to obtain strong and diverse protection of assets in international projects through careful planning, application of certain legal instruments of US law and reasoned choice-of-law and jurisdiction analysis. He also advises and assists clients in all phases of the contracting process, from negotiation and bidding, through review and preparation of agreements, to administration and performance. Representative Matters His recent experience in dispute resolution includes acting for: • A Qatari company in a dispute commenced by other joint venture partners regarding alleged disclosure of confidential information and breach of fiduciary duties. • AUS subcontractor in a claim submitted toAAAarbitration arising from an award-winning commercial build project for additional time and money due by a major general contractor. • A global EPCC solution provider in a contractual claim in excess of USD $ 800,000.00 made against legal entities operating worldwide in the oil and gas sector in connection with the procurement of goods and services. • A trustee in bankruptcy in the settlement of contractual claims arising from the supply of goods to a US company. • A company operating in the automation industry in a litigation against a US company involving warranty and business disparagement claims arising from the sale of control panels for complex plants used in industrial processes. • An international service provider of super yachts and marine equipment in a fraud and contract claim brought against a manufacturer of boat hoists. • An Italian manufacturer of tissue converting line in an international claim relating to purported non conformities and defects of the equipment sold. Areas of Expertise • Litigation, Arbitration and Mediation • Corporate and Commercial • Intellectual Property, Advertising, Art & Fashion Law • Estates, Trusts and Private Clients • Finance, Bankruptcy and Restructuring • Real Estate • Compliance • Global Mobility and Employment • Strategic Counseling Contact Daniele Ferretti FERRETTI FIRM Via B. Cairoli, 46 51016, Montecatini Terme, Pistoia Tel: +39 0572 092613 Fax: +39 0572 092612 Email: dferretti@ferrettifirm.com Website: www.ferrettifirm.com DANIELE FERRETTI Italy Ferretti Firm 26 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM
Prior to establishing its own law firm, Mr. Ferretti practiced for more than 10 years in Italy and abroad for major international and national law firms, where he advised clients on various aspects of EU and US law, acting, among others, for: • The government of a European Member State in a US$ 90,000,000.00 ICSID arbitration commenced by two North American companies for a breach of contract claim relating to the management and operation of a national airport developed into a major international hub. • Minority shareholders of a group of companies operating at global level in the renewables energy industry, challenging the validity of resolutions approving bond issues and financial statements. • Shareholders of an Italian financially distressed company in a € 23,000,000.00 asset restructuring following a bankruptcy filing. • A global leader in textile machinery manufacturing, bringing a patent infringement claim against a competitor who engaged, additionally, in unfair competition and deceptive trade practices. • An Italian shoe manufacturer in a US$ 5,000,000.00 claim submitted to ICC arbitration against a Portuguese partner in connection with the performance of joint venture, distribution and license agreements. • A company operating in the manufacturing industry in a claim in excess of € 1,000,000.00 brought by a former employee seeking post termination compensation for the inventions, original works of authorship, developments and improvements reduced to practice while employed. • Aprivate company working as subcontractor for an Italian governmental entity in a dispute regarding the validity of a patent for e-learning methodologies. • The minority shareholders of a company operating television stations in arbitral proceedings commenced to challenge the amendments of the company’s by-laws. Mr. Ferretti was admitted as attorney-at-law in Italy in 2005 and was called to the bar in New York in 2009. In 2012, he was appointed as officer of the Product Law and Advertising Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA), where he currently serves as Vice Chair. Mr. Ferretti currently leads a team of professionals made up of 5 attorneys. In recognition for his brilliant legal career, he is frequently engaged in speeches at seminars, conferences and workshops promoted by the main associations of Italian entrepreneurs, consulates and consulting companies. Mr. Ferretti is also an accomplished writer on dispute resolution topics, including on comparative approaches to arbitration law and international debt collection. Along with other relevant professional achievements, Mr. Ferretti has received an award by Louis F. Del Duca, professor emeritus of law and internationally recognized as a leading scholar in the fields of commercial and comparative law. Firm Profile Ferretti Firm is a law firm with outstanding expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, corporate and commercial matters, compliance, intellectual property, employment and global mobility. Its practice also encompasses estates and trusts, finance, bankruptcy and restructuring, real estate and fashion law. The firm’s extensive experience in international and comparative law offers a distinctive approach to protecting and maximizing the value of the clients’ assets throughout preparation, development and implementation of a project. The distinctive feature of Ferretti Firm consists in leveraging the competitive advantages of the strategies, legal instruments and drafting techniques adopted in the US practice of law to the benefit of the clients of the firm. The firm’s ultimate goal is to enable its clients to accelerate growth and obtain competitive edge in the global market. This objective is achieved by initially identifying comparative rules of law designed to meet the clients’ needs, and finding the options that best accomplish their mission and realize their vision. Once the strategic blueprint is agreed, the scope of the representation includes counseling on solutions that reduce exposure to litigation and disputes, devising readily available remedies preventing disruption of the business, and negotiating and drafting agreement to the clients’ advantage. Hallmarks Ferretti Firm fosters a culture based on providing reliable and trustworthy legal services in a complex business environment. The driving force behind the firm is a shared commitment to demonstrate its core values and principles, which require its professionals to be responsive, forward thinking, pragmatic, multi-disciplinary, cost effective, independent and bespoke. The firm works closely with its clients and craft tailormade solutions on all legal and business aspects of a transaction, by balancing innovation, competence and affordability. Practical results and constructive benefits are obtained combining the clients’ personal and business considerations with the firm’s creativity and flexibility, which anticipate the marketplace. The firm’s consulting practice focuses on how to prevent the drawbacks of cross-border transactions and protect the legal and economic viability of international projects, which generally require a deep knowledge of comparative law, no matter how proficient the understanding of the business environment may be. Depending on the clients’ needs, Ferretti Firm works with a number of international partners in other jurisdictions within its network. 27 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Italy Ferretti Firm
Contact: Luca Daffra Partner E: luca.daffra@ichinobrugnatelli.it Tel: +39 02.48.19.32.49 Fax: +39 48.100.102 www.ichinobrugnatelli.it
EMPLOYMENT LAWYER OF THE YEAR Mr. Luca Daffra About Mr. Luca Daffra Luca Daffra joined Studio Legale Ichino Brugnatelli e Associati in 2006. He mainly engages in employment law and labour law, handling social security issues and privacy-related matters, advising clients on contentious or non-contentious matters, and representing either individual or company clients at Court. Clients, both domestic and international, range from large corporations and PLCs to entrepreneurs, and include those in variety of sectors including automotive, media and entertainment, retail, hospitality & leisure, Information & technology, professional services and financial services and banks. Luca had previously practiced employment law with MDM Studio and Simmons & Simmons for four years. Professional Admissions / Qualifications: Barrister since 2006. Member ofAGI (Associazione Giuslavoristi Italiani); Member of the International Bar Association. Publications: He regularly provides contributions to law journals, even on-line gazettes, e.g. with Legalease The Legal500, ILO, WhistleB, Foodserviceweb, SHRM Org. Legal Education: Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, in Como (J.D. awarded with First Class Honours in 2001). About Ichino Brugnatelli law firm Ichino Brugnatelli e Associati is widely recognised as a leading specialist employment law practice. It also has deep experience in high-stake litigation and complex transactions. Its diverse teams of lawyers are recognised by clients as strategic partners with a commitment to creatively anticipating their needs and delivering excellence. Its “one-firm” culture—seamless and integrated across all practices —ensures that clients receive the best of its knowledge and experience The Firm can boost a long history - since it was founded as back as in the nineteenth century – and has managed through the years to keep pace with the changing sceneries and markets, as client-led operator and deep researcher contributing to doctrine, case-law and also law-making. 29 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Italy Ichino Brugnatelli e Associati
Country Firm Name 30 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM
31 LEGAL AWARDS 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM BVLGARI Italy 2019 IP & BRAND PROTECTION COUNSEL OF THE YEAR About Vittorio Aversano Vittorio Aversano provides legal advice on a broad range of intellectual property and brand protection matters including: trademarks, copyright, licensing, marketing and advertising, social media, and domain names. Currently accountable for mitigating corporate risks at Bvlgari in Rome (Italy) within the LVMH group as a senior legal counsel, he also focuses on IP rights enforcement strategies for digital brand protection, cybersquatting, domestic and foreign anti-counterfeiting operations, false advertising and unfair competition. Vittorio also specialises in copyright protection and arrangements for the exploitation of IP, including licence and sponsorship agreements for artwork, music, films, images, cultural heritage or software, in cases involving international manufacturing, supply, marketing, advertising, exhibitions or events. He is also responsible for promoting new corporate digital technologies and coordinating the development of application software on brand protection. He has been admitted to the Solicitors Regulation Authority since 2014, with a dual qualification at the Bar of Turin, Italy (2009) and experience as a private commercial practitioner skilled in procurement contract negotiation and civil litigation. He owns previous appointments as a lecturer in copyright law of media and cultural heritage at university master programmes, as well as a visiting scholar in arbitration and IP at UNCITRAL, United Nations of Vienna. Vittorio graduated in law at the University of Turin. He received his LL.M. in intellectual property law from the WIPO Worldwide Academy of Geneva, and postgraduate certificates in private international law and international trade law from The Hague Academy of International Law and the ITC ILO. Vittorio is a member of professional organisations, including INTA (International Trademark Association), IBA (International Bar Association), ECLA (European Company Lawyers Association) and AIGI (Italian Company Lawyers Association), and is regularly invited as a speaker at seminars and conferences. Firm Profile BVLGARI is an Italian luxury brand renowned for its high-end jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories, leather goods, hotels and resorts. Currently part of the LVMH Group, the company was founded in 1884 as a single silverware and, later, jewellery shop. BVLGARI’s identity partners with Rome as the design of its products has been merging with the city’s architectural beauties. During the flourishing Dolce Vita years of the 50’s and 60’s, as the American film industry began to produce movies and expensive epics in Rome, many renowned actors engaged in a passionate affair with BVLGARI jewels both on and off the screen. Over the decades, it has become an international brand and evolved into a global player in the luxury market, with an established and still growing network of stores and hotels. Areas of Expertise • Digital brand protection • Domain Names • Copyright Law • Licensing • Anti-counterfeiting • Trade Mark Misuse • Commercial Transactions Contact Vittorio Aversano vittoav@me.com BVLGARI
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk3Mzkz