Simmons & Simmons is a leading international law firm with fully integrated teams working from offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm’s strategy is designed to ensure it provides clients with high-quality advice and delivers value through new ways of working.
The firm: Simmons & Simmons applies considerable expertise to all business sectors but focuses on energy and infrastructure, financial institutions, life sciences, and technology, media and telecommunications (TMT). It acts regularly on the most innovative cases, deals and transactions in its chosen areas of specialism and receives recognition for the quality of its work from clients and others within these industry sectors.
In 2010 Simmons & Simmons was named ‘Best Law Firm’ at the HFM European Hedge Fund Services Awards and ‘Legal Firm of the Year’ at the Global Investor 10th Annual Awards. It was named ‘UK Corporate Law Firm of the Year’ by Corporate International magazine and won ‘Law Firm of the Year’ at the World Independent & Junior Oil and Gas Congress. The firm was also a winner in ‘Legal Innovation in Dispute Resolution’ in the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards. Simmons & Simmons was highly ranked in the Legal Week Client Satisfaction Report, ranking second among all international firms. The report recognised its service delivery and responsiveness, and rated the firm highly for the quality of its relationships. Clients said they liked its all-round professionalism, international presence and creative thinking.
The firm’s commitment to corporate responsibility is well recognised, and Simmons & Simmons was the highest ranked law firm in Stonewall’s ‘Workplace Equality Index’ 2011. The firm takes pride in its people and welcomes the best candidates seeking a career in a leading international City law firm.
Types of work undertaken: Four sector teams are drawn from the core practice areas of: corporate, dispute resolution, EU, competition and regulatory, employment, pensions and employee benefits, financial markets, IP, projects, real estate, information, communications and technology, and corporate tax.
Recent major transactions handled by the firm include advising: Telefónica Europe on its disposal of Manx Telecom (having also advised on the disposal of the Airwave business); HMV Group on its acquisitions of MAMA Group and 7digital; Alcatel-Lucent on the sale of its vacuum worldwide business to Pfeiffer; biotech company Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics on a successful equity raising; Commercial Bank of Qatar (Commercialbank) on its $1.6bn inaugural global bond offering (named ‘Debt and Equity Linked Deal of the Year’ at the IFLR Middle East Awards 2010); major apparel company Renown Incorporated on its sale of the world-famous Aquascutum brand; Essent on one of the largest-ever Dutch energy deals, worth €9.3bn; and the dealers on Qtel’s groundbreaking $5bn global medium term notes programme. The firm also advised the arranger in the landmark transaction by which McDonald’s Corporation launched its Renminbi (RMB) bond offering in Hong Kong (the first such RMB bond issue by a multinational in Hong Kong).
Simmons & Simmons has also advised on major aspects of the financial crisis, from the collapse of Lehman Brothers through to the effects on its clients of the ensuing regulatory, enforcement and litigation requirements, and is known for its work on landmark financial litigation matters and appeals. The firm has one of the largest full-service dispute resolution practices of any City firm, covering financial markets litigation, contentious regulatory, corporate crime, professional and product liability and international arbitration, as well as insurance, IP and employment disputes.
Firmwide, it has over 200 partners and a total staff of around 1,500, of whom more than half are based in its 17 offices outside the UK.
For further information, please visit the firm’s website: www.simmons-simmons.com.
Other offices: Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Brussels, Doha, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Funchal*, Hong Kong, Jeddah**, Lisbon*, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rome , Shanghai, Tokyo (*Sociedade Rebelo de Sousa in association with Simmons & Simmons, **Hammad, Al-Mehdar & Co in alliance with Simmons & Simmons)
Number of UK partners 112
Number of other UK fee-earners 290
Above material supplied by Simmons & Simmons LLP.