Mould-breaking initiative
For the firm that has created innovative approaches to doing business that have improved its commercial prospects as well as breaking the mould.
2008 WINNER
From left: Graham Munday of WSP Environment and Energy with Alex Magni of Noble
Proving themselves to be leaders in their field, WSP Environment and Energy has pioneered a new risk-transfer approach in the UK and Europe. Used in the United States but new
to Europe, ‘Active Transfer’ sees WSP take on the environmental liabilities of contaminated real estate sites for an agreed price.
The one-off fee takes out the guesswork for buyers, sellers and investors. It makes a property more attractive for sale and encourages development. In the year since its introduction, the product is already successful. WSP used its ‘Active Transfer’ product on its biggest ever deal - the sale of the Kodak facility in Merseyside.
2ND PLACE
SGLA has the potential to radically change the dynamics of the legal market in China. Lovells’ alliance with 10 Chinese law firms is the first of its kind.
To date, no international law firm has had this level of cross-country coverage. The firms are situated in all the major commercial centres, giving Lovells access to 1000 Chinese lawyers.
Within the alliance, practice groups share know-how, training and business development. Its non-exclusive nature allows Lovells’ clients direct access to the local firms, and has already seen more than 70 pieces of work referred across the network.
3RD PLACE & EUROPEAN WINNER 2008
From left: Colm Duggan of Arthur Cox with Alex Magni of Noble
Arthur Cox has developed an imaginative system to incentivise and elevate the status of non-chargeable time. ‘Green euro’ is the firm’s system for billable work for clients, while ‘blue euro’ is a mirror system for non-chargeable work. A forward-thinking and business-driven initiative, it aims to better harness the firm’s potential to develop tenders, pitches, know-how, pro bono work and the firm’s internal management. Each practice group has an annual ‘blue euro’ budget, equivalent to 10% of their ‘green euro’ budget. The firm reports the system has worked well in the trial stage.
OTHER SHORTLISTED FIRMS
2008 SPONSOR
Noble is an independent investment bank dedicated to helping small and mid-cap companies grow. We work with company boards and managements to formulate and execute bold and effective strategies to fuel that growth. We provide a full range of professional services to fast growth companies and investment vehicles, from raising early stage venture capital to advising on strategic acquisition to going public. Through our dedicated investment management business, investors can harness opportunities across property, infrastructure, private equity, VCTs and other alternative asset classes.
ROLL OF HONOUR
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