Mallesons Stephen Jaques has, for the second consecutive year, been named Regional Law Firm of the Year in International Financial Law Review’s (IFLR’s) Asian Awards 2005 held in Hong Kong.
The firm also received the award for National Law Firm of the Year for Australia. This category recognises the best performing law firm in each of the 14 Asian jurisdictions that IFLR covers. Additionally, Mallesons was short listed in the Team category of Asian Securitisation Team of the Year.
The IFLR Asia Awards reward innovation, quality, diversity and commitment to developing legal services in Asia. They have a particular focus on cross border banking, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance work across the region.
“The regional prize is given to the firm that was involved in some of the most significant deals in Asia-Pacific last year. It is for the firm that at the same time has shown the biggest commitment to developing its corporate, finance and capital markets reputation across the region. The firm must also have won praise from both its competitors and its clients,” comments IFLR Asia editor, Andrew Crooke.
Of Mallesons and its recent work IFLR stated: “At the same time as expanding its coverage in Asia-Pacific in 2004, in particular in China, Mallesons remained on the cutting edge in the Australian market. Apart from the IFLR-nominated Zinifex float and three-way Westfield merger, the firm also had key roles on the financing of ConnectEast’s Mitcham-Frankston Toll Road, the sale of British Airways’ stake in Qantas, the sale of Epic Energy’s pipelines, the Sydney Airport refinancing and the Parmalat Australia workout. Elsewhere in the region, Mallesons was closely involved in the Reach restructuring and built on its track record in securitization by working on innovative deals such as the mortgage-backed securities offering for retail investors in Hong Kong. The firm also had roles on the international bond offering by India’s National Thermal Power Corporation and the BHP Billiton Iron Ore join venture.”
Robert Milliner, Chief Executive Partner of Mallesons Stephen Jaques, acknowledges the awards: “It is pleasing that the innovative work of our teams on many of the keynote cross-border deals of 2004 has been recognised. We are grateful to our clients for giving us the opportunity to undertake this work.
“We remain committed to responding to client demand and to developing our capability across the region.”
Mallesons has received recognition for its work and capability in Asia through a number of recent awards and rankings, being ranked in the PLC Which Lawyer? 2004-2005 Yearbook’s Global 50 – a listing of the world’s top 50 law firms.
The Law Firm Review 2005, published this month in PLC Magazine, said, “Mallesons stands out for its regional capability…” and also named Mallesons as “the country’s premier law firm” for Australia.
UK publisher Legalease also recognised the development of Mallesons’ Hong Kong office capability with a listing in the Asia Pacific Office of the Year category and commentary within the Legal Business Awards 2005 confirming Mallesons as a “serious alternative to the Anglo-Saxon majors”.