Global Awards 2018

GLOBAL AWARDS 2018

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Aleksey Pukha & Partners Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP Boustany law Offices Brum Costa Abogados Campbell & Co Solicitors Deep & Far Duan & Duan Engie Eurohold Flaherty & O’Hara, pc Fred-Young & Evans LP Julius & Creasy Kaye Scholer LLP Law Office of Ramni Taneja Law Office Petek Ltd Lexial Law Firm Liquidity Services Ltd Maddock & Bright Ip Law Office Njeri Kariuki Advocate Nyman Gibson Miralis Rich IP & Co. RSW Medico-legal Ltd Stillwaters Law Firm Sydney Criminal Lawyers Taylor Hampton Solicitors Tremonti Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati Volume Limited Working Capital Partners Hotels - Hilton Addis Ababa Hotels - Wyndham Garden Brooklyn Hotels - Domes of Elounda - Ledra Hotels Hotels - Four Seasons Chiang Mai Hotels - Hilton Maldives Iru Fushi Resort Hotels - Katikies Hotel Hotels - Palacio Belmonte Lisboa Hotels - Ritz Carlton Shanghai Hotels - Taj Cape Town

Law Firm of the Year - Ukraine IP Law Firm of the Year - New York, USA Law Firm of the Year – Lebanon Tax Law Firm of the Year - Uruguay Family Law Firm of the Year - Australia IP Law Firm of the Year - Taiwan International Law Firm of the Year - China Energy & Natural Resource Advisers of the Year Financial Advisers of the Year Legal Advisers of the Year for the Beverage Alcohol Industry Commercial Law Firm of the Year - Nigeria Law Firm of the Year - Sri Lanka Litigation & Dispute Resolution Adviser of the Year - Germany Civil Litigation Adviser of the Year - India Law Firm of the Year - Slovenia Law Firm of the Year - Belgium Asset Management Company of the Year Maddock & Bright Ip Law Office Arbitration Adviser of the Year - Kenya Criminal Defence Practice of the Year - Australia Trademark Law Firm of the Year - Taiwan Orthopaedic Expert Witness of the Year Litigation Adviser of the Year – Italy

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR UKRAINE Aleksey Pukha and Anna Gadiatska Managing Partner Aleksey Pukha and Partners Tel. +38 (044) 528 30 94; Fax +38 (044) 528 30 54 www.puhaipartnery.com.ua/en/ office@puhaipartnery.com.ua 21 Patrisa Lumumby, St., office 416, Kiev, Ukraine, 01042

Biography Aleksey Pukha is the managing partner of the company and the head of the Commission in Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and member of the Commission in International Chamber of Commerce and NGO Public Private Partnership Development Platform.

Anna Gadiatska Education: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Languages: Ukrainian, Russian, English.

Anna Gadiatska is professional on pre-trial settlement of disputes, support of international transactions, reporting on transfer pricing, case management in the areas of banking, family, investment and customs law.

Areas of practice: litigation, international trade, transfer pricing, investment, banking, family, tax, customs law.

Experience: 10 years

The Firm Aleksey Pukha and Partners ĐĄompany is one of the leading Ukrainian law firms with worldwide business contacts.

Company details are included in all official State Registries.

The headquarters of the Company is located in Kyiv, in the heart of Ukrainian business.

Every day the Company provides legal services to international companies and individuals in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and North Africa.

Annually, the Company contracts with clients worldwide and from all continents. The total volume of company transactions for 2015 amounted to more than 100 million USD.

intellectual property, banking and finance, capital market, trade, energy and natural resources, automotive, oil and gas industry, hotel and restaurant industry, metallurgical industry, primary industry, transport, chemical and sport industry, public and private partnership. The Company also provides services for private clients on family law, surrogacy, adoption, divorce, representation and protection of interests, business decisions, contracts, real estate, migration, inheritance, taxation, licensing and criminal and civil law.

Aleksey Pukha and Partner is among the top 100 of the best law firms in the world and is an annual participant in the international rankings such as Chambers Global, IFLR1000, Who’s Who Legal Awards, Legal 500, Global Law Experts, Monthly Legal Awards 500, ICFM Global Award Winners, DealMarkers Law Awards, ICFM 250 Leading Firms, Lawyers World Country Awards, InterContinental Finance & Law, Global 100.

Aleksey Pukha and the Partners Company follows high standards of legal services and has vast experience in a wide range of industries and legal practices including agriculture, pharmaceutics, real estate and construction, media and communication, insurance,

The Company has many publications in the fields of bank law, labor, corporate, litigation, immigration, criminal, investment, inheritance, customs, agricultural, medical, family law, arbitration, intellectual property, M&A, patents and public private partnership.

The Company is one of the most reputable organizations and professional associations, which include the Court of Arbitration, the Taxpayers Association of Ukraine, the Union of Lawyers of Ukraine, the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Ukrainian Bar Association.

Aleksey Pukha and Partners Company cooperates with USAID, the World Bank Group and IDLO within international research projects.

IP LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR NEW YORK, USA Anthony F. Lo Cicero Partner Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein 212-336-8110 www.arelaw.com alocicero@arelaw.com 90 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Biography

The Firm

An engineer by training and a practicing attorney for more than four decades, Anthony Lo Cicero is a partner at Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP. He has represented companies in litigation involving product areas as diverse as e-commerce platforms, angular rate sensors, HDMI connectivity and flat panel displays. He conducts due diligence of IP portfolios and provides strategic intellectual property counseling to companies in a wide range of industries.

ARE is a full-service intellectual property firm providing innovative, tailored intellectual property solutions to our clients domestically and worldwide.

In the public sector, Mr. Lo Cicero is a Past President of the New York Intellectual Property Association.

He has been active in advocating responsible patent reform and was involved in shaping the Trademark Anti-counterfeiting Act of 1984. He served on the board of the International Anticounterfeiting Coalition during seminal efforts to strengthen the protection of federal and state laws.

Since 1953, ARE has helped large, medium and small organizations develop and implement both offensive and defensive intellectual property strategies, including obtaining intellectual property protection, enforcing intellectual property rights, and defending against intellectual property assertions.

Because the firm focuses exclusively on intellectual property-related fields, including trademarks, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and related laws, we offer significant concentrated expertise to our clients. Our seasoned attorneys operate at the forefront of the law. They help to shape intellectual property law through law-defining cases, such as in the fields of trademarks,

copyrights, laches, fee shifting, inequitable conduct, patenteligibility, divided infringement, and more, as well as through collaboration with Congress, where our attorneys lend their expertise to assist Congress’ development of the law.

We are business-minded and focus on generating value for our clients.

Because we focus on intellectual property law, we have more experienced attorneys that practice patent law, and are members of the Patent Bar, than many large, general practice firms. As a midsize firm we utilize this depth of expertise to staff projects leanly while maintaining a consistent and high level of output. At the same time, we have the depth in our bench to handle larger projects or tasks when called upon to do so.

This efficient structuring translates to cost-effective, high quality IP solutions.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR

LEBANON

Boustany Law Offices Tel: +961.1.613000; Fax: +961.1.613335 www.boustanylaw.com lnasr@boustanylaw.com Boustany Bldg, Courthouse District.

P.O.Box: 16-5719 Beirut, Lebanon Boustany Law Offices (BLO) is one of the oldest leading firms in the Middle East, founded in 1897.

BLO has been the adviser of governmental institutions and a large number of international companies as well as influential and ruling families, particularly in Public Law, Oil and Gas, Construction, Banking and Arbitration. With its eminent founders and partners, many of which are law professors, BLO is a full-service law office that has proved for more than 120 years to be a pioneer in globalizing the legal profession by establishing itself not only in the Middle East and Europe, but also in NorthAfrica and the Gulf Countries.

Consistent with the vision of BLO founders, BLO has always

respected the principle of ethics of the legal profession.

Consequently, BLO has always built and maintained a distinguished professional and ethical relationship with its clients.

The latter, being of paramount importance especially in a region that can be perceived as an area of conflict of interests.

Throughout the years, BLO has been committed to value openness and aiming for total tolerance for human and legal diversity.

BLO lawyers, strongly engaged in improving the community, believe that everyone should have access to justice and equal treatment before the law. Therefore, BLO provides Pro Bono legal work whether directly or indirectly through supporting local or

international NGOs aiming to provide a rightful and free representation to vulnerable individuals or groups. Moreover, BLO renders charitable activities through the «Judge Philippe R. Boustany Foundation».

BLO, currently based in Beirut, Paris and Brussels, has sustained a close work relationship with select top-notch law offices in many important business capitals around the World. With its fourth generation of expert lawyers, BLO stands true to its legacy and offers its services in the full spectrum of law—from arbitration and dispute resolution, to commercial and public law—and continues to place Law and Justice at the center of its values.

TAX LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR URUGUAY Leonardo Costa Partner Brum Costa Abogados (+598)26017777 www.brumcosta.com lcosta@brumcosta.com Dr. Alejandro Schroeder 6537

The Firm Brum Costa Abogados is a professional firm with the goal to assist its clients in the development of their business, providing innovative and high added value services. Personal, on-going contact between partners and clients is an essential value of the firm, which strengthens professional relationship and mutual trust.

As a boutique law firm, it provides legal services to national and overseas companies requiring personalized advisory services on banking and compliance, commercial, labor, tax, civil and administrative law, as well as advice on high-complexity cases that require a global vision of the clients´ needs.

They also specialize in customized consultancy services in management of financial risk and compliance, regulatory advice on banking and financial issues as well as in prevention of money laundering.

FAMILY LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR AUSTRALIA Mrs Barbara Campbell / Mrs Alicia Prest Director and Founder Legal RS Pty Ltd t/a Campbell & Co. Lawyers +61 2 6288 8852 www.campbellco.com.au Mail@CampbellCo.com.au Suite 1, 1 Phipps Close, Deakin ACT 2600, AUSTRALIA

THE NEW NORM It would be a very rare community now where the one time nuclear family of a father mother and children was the norm. Even countries that frowned on divorce for religious reasons, are making marriage between samesex couples legal. The blended family due to second or third relationships have become the situation for so many children of divorced parents.

Working in the area of Family Law and Wills and Estate Law, we see all too often the damage caused when parents do not get it right at separation. The ongoing bitterness between the parents and the trauma that the children have endured because of this, carries on unto the grave.

Why do we know this? Because when one parent dies all the pain, anger and trauma that occurred with alienation of children from another parent comes out again.

Mothers (and unfortunately it is more often mothers although some of our more spectacular cases have seen alienating fathers

at their worse - one with helicopter prison break-outs and a very damaged child being the result) who interfere in the minds of their children and enforce complete alienation from their father results often in grief beyond the norm when that father dies and the child realises that they have missed out on a relationship they would have dearly loved. In other cases the adult child realises the alienation and the situation backfires on the mother who loses that relationship as a result. Often the alientated child is left out of the parent’s will causing another round of litigation as that child files a Family Provision Claim – this is iespecially so in Common Law Countries where division of property is not partially mandated as in some European countries.

You do not lose your child or his or her love because you encourage a relationship with the other parent. Failure to do so can often make that child very bitter about you, the alienating parent. I have long fought for the recognition of alienation as a part of a parenting case that requires a stronger response from the Courts. I am not

convinced that I have succeeded.

It is up to you, the parents, not to promote generational trauma. Your Will can ensure that occurs. In nearly all countries and particularly every state in Australia, one must be “eligible” to make a claim on an Estate of a deceased person. Children of that deceased person are inevitably “eligible”. Therefore it is important to obtain good legal advice and be asked the right questions by your lawyer if you are contemplating leaving one of your children out of your will. Not to provide a Statutory Declaration outlining good reasons could very likely to result in your Will bequests being altered by the Supreme Court. This inevitably occurs in most cases at a day-long relatively expensive mediation.

Even then that ‘Stat Dec’ is not guaranteed protection.

Thus alienating a parent at separation can result in all the pain resurfacing at death. It is up to parents to avoid that and to seek professional advice when going through these difficult times.

IP LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR TAIWAN Yu-Li Tsai Partner Patent Attorney Deep & Far Attorneys-at-Law 886-2-25856688 http://www.deepnfar.com.tw email@deepnfar.com.tw/yltsai@deepnfar.com.tw 13th Floor, 27, Sec. 3, Chung San N. Road, Taipei, Taiwan

Biography Mr. Tsai, a patent attorney graduated in 2008 from Department of Electrical Engineering of National Taiwan University (NTUEE), which is the best engineering school in Taiwan. Out of the interest of communication system, he immediately had attended in the Graduate Institute of Communication Engineering (GICE) of NTU since his graduation from NTUEE and has received his master’s degree in 2010 after 2-year’s research.

During his research life in GICE, he also started to get involved in knowledge and skills of patentrelated matters for taking the bar examination for Patent Attorneys.

He has passed the exam and received the qualification of patent attorney in 2009.

In the fall of 2012, Mr. Tsai attended Law School of University of New Hampshire, also known as Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property, to study IP Law and graduated in the summer of 2013. Right after the graduation, he had an opportunity to work for InterDigital, Inc. in Delaware for a period of 2 months.

In September 2013, he also passed the U.S. Patent Registration Examination. In December 2015, he also passes the Chinese Patent Agent Examination.

Currently, Mr. Tsai is working for Deep & Far Attorneys-at-Law as a patent attorney.

The Firm Deep & Far attorneys-at-law was founded in 1992 and is dealing with all phases of laws with a

focus on the practice in separate or in combination of all aspects of intellectual property rights (IPRs) including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair competition, and/or licensing, counseling, litigation and/or transaction thereof.

Deep & Far prosecutes worldwide patent matters for local clients. For international or foreign clients, Deep & Far prosecutes patent matters mainly in Taiwan, significantly in China & Hong Kong, and with minor representation in Macau, Singapore, Korea & Japan.

The patent attorneys and patent engineers in Deep & Far normally hold outstanding and advanced degrees and are generally graduated from the top three universities in this country. Our prominent staffs are dedicated to provide the best quality service in IPRs in this country. As a proof, about one half of top 100 incorporations in this country have experiences of seeking patented their techniques, but more than one fifth of the top 100 incorporations has ever used services of this firm.

Furthermore, Hi-Tech companies in the science-based industrial park located at Hsin Chu had ever played the most important role in booming the economy of this country. About one half of them has experiences in seeking patented their techniques, and out of more than 50% of the patentexperienced companies in that park have ever entrusted their IPR works to this firm. Certainly, we must also represent international giants, e.g. InterDigital, MPS,

Schott Glas, Toyo Ink, Motorola, Cypress, Armani…

It is our philosophy to provide competent legal services that other firm cannot comparably provide. The necessitated ensuing problem is how we can so provide? Deep & Far so achieve by selecting, edifying and nurturing peoples who have the following personalities: learned in expertise, morally earnest and sincerely behaved in mind and strictly disciplined between give and take. It is well-believed that such properties are key factors for peoples to properly and competently behave themselves.

By the perseverance that we only do what and only perform works which enable this firm to be deep and far, Deep and Far can then equate the reality with its name.

Deep & Far has been successful in courts. For example, by the 90 751 decision rendered

by Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), it is made clear that an invalidating party still potentially has legal interests on an expired patent. By the 98 45 decision rendered by the IP Court (IPC), it is made clear that the applicant can move the features disclosed in the descriptions to be included in the claim when the application is invalidated based on newly located prior art, which practices have been incorporated into the Examination Guidelines.

More information regarding this firm could be found from the website above-identified.

INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR CHINA Song Yu (Tony Song) Vice President, Senior Partner Duan&Duan Law Firm +86 21 6219 1103 www.duanduan.com tony@duanduan.com 47/F,Maxdo Center, 8 Xing Yi Road, Shanghai 200336,China

Biography Tony has represented multinational companies in their intellectual property matters, such as business secret, antiunfair competition, patent and trademark. He holds more than 30 years’ litigation experiences and has dealt with thousands of cases.

With his proficiency in dispute settlement area, Tony is capable of dealing with complex disputes both inside and outside China. The client of Tony, with his successful experiences in international and domestic business secret protection, anti-unfair competition, patent infringement, trademark protection, copyright license aspects, mainly includes Microsoft, Lucent, Oracles, Whirlpool, Monsanto, ContiGroup, 3M, ResMed, Curative, Tetra Pak, ABB, Rohm, Compal, Folli-Follie, Infosys, Jinjiang International Group, Aijian Group and etc.

Recently, as the lawyer specialized in IP Law, Tony obtained four awards: •

2017 Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year China

by International Advisory Experts Award;

•

2017 IP Lawyer of the Year China by Corporate LiveWire;

•

2017 Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year in China

by Global 100;

•

2017 China & Best IP Litigator by Acquisition International Magazine.

Currently, Tony is the member of International Trademark Association. The IP team lead by Tony was the standing director of China Intellectual Property Association and the vice president of <Intellectual Property> Council.

Publication: Deputy Committee Director of < Analysis of China Intellectual Property Classic Cases>

The Firm Founded in 1993, Duan & Duan was the first law firm established in China with international standards. Its founders were Chinese students, who returned from overseas studies bringing with them their work experience from abroad at a time when China was undergoing reform and opening-up to the world. In the past two decades, Duan & Duan has become one of the most prestigious PRC law firms with a commitment to providing legal services professionally and with integrity.

Duan & Duan is devoted to providing first class legal advice for domestic and foreign matters and clients. In more than two decades, Duan & Duan has built a team of professionals with extensive experience locally and internationally on complex and sophisticated legal matters.

Through the decades, Duan& Duan has been entrusted with representing numerous Chinese well-known state-owned enterprises and privately run businesses both for their domestic legal needs and for expanding their operations abroad into

international market. Duan & Duan is also the first choice of many Fortune 500 domestic or international businesses.

Duan & Duan has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Kunming, Hefei, Dalian, Chengdu, Xiamen, Chongqing, Hong Kong and Seattle, each with a professional legal team having fluency Chinese, English, Japanese and other languages.

Duan & Duan offices are equipped with a uniform computer management system and modern communication tools ensuring the delivery of skilled, timely, and professional legal service to our clients around the world.

Duan & Duan is a full service law firm providing services to clients in a variety of areas. The firm has eight practice areas: Corporate, Securities and Finance, International Investment & Trade and Antitrust, Intellectual Property, Litigation, International Arbitration, Engineering & Real Estate, and Maritime & Admiralty.

Each department is led by partners with authority and expertise in their professional area. The departments work cooperatively on matters involving multiple practice areas to cover a broad range of issues and services efficiently and timely.

Duan & Duan has evolved into a law firm with first-rate principles.

It provides services professionally and of a global standard. As more borders are crossed, the firm continues to grow its team of professionals and expand its operations domestically and internationally.

ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCE ADVISER OF THE YEAR Nicole Iseppi Associate Director – Strategy & Economic Development, Global Centralised Generation ENGIE www.engie.com nicole.iseppi@engie.com

Biography

Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and Latin

various global energy infrastructure conferences,

America regions). Since the beginning of 2016,

including was asked to give a keynote address at

It is not often the legal and energy industry comes

Nicole has now been acting as the Associate

the Global Solar Leaders’ Summit Conference for

across a professional who in their career to date

Director of Strategy & Economic Development

2017 and speak at the G20 Global Infrastructure,

has had such a depth of unique, high calibre

for the Global Centralised Generation business of

1st Annual Meeting for 2018. She has also been

and leading international energy infrastructure

ENGIE. Where she applies her core energy and

appointed by her industry peers to be an official

experience as Nicole and she says she “still has a

legal industry skills & knowledge in a broader

committee member of the IBA Global Power Law

lot more she would like to be part of, contribute

business, strategic and commercial sphere with

Committee.

too and achieve within the energy industry.”

respect to risk management of global power

Nicole has also been recognised in multiple

generation – an essential part of both ENGIE’s

ways by her legal and energy industry peers,

portfolio of assets and the global energy sector.

including recently receipt of awards such as - (i)

Nicole is the only professional in the international energy and legal industry to date, who has

Named in Global Game Changers Index 2018

worked directly in-house as a senior legal and

As a result of Nicole’s international energy and

(Finance Monthly Magazine); (ii) Named in

strategic adviser in both the world’s largest IPP

legal experience, she was also appointed in the

Executive Europe Index Awards 2018 (CEO Today

global energy company - ENGIE (formerly known

beginning of 2016 to the management committee

Magazine); (iii) Global Energy Lawyer of the Year

as GDF Suez) and also one of the world’s largest

and as a Project & Legal Director for the global

2018 (International Legal, 100 Index); (iv) Global

energy project finance lenders - Japan Bank for

solar Terrawatt Initiative (TWI). TWI is a global

Energy Lawyer of the Year 2018 (M&A Global

International Cooperation (JBIC). She assists and

independent non-profit foundation created out

Awards); (v) Global Energy Lawyer of the Year

advises such leading international companies in

of COP21 Paris Agreement, which promotes

2017 (Global 100 Index List); (vi) Global Energy

the successful delivery of their respective energy

global solar development and aims to animate

Lawyer of the Year 2017 (International Women

related interests, strategies and infrastructure

a high level of public & private global dialogue

in Law Awards, Legal Monthly Magazine) and

investments. Prior to joining ENGIE, Nicole

between core stakeholders in an open, innovative

(vii) Global Energy Lawyer of the Year 2017

was also mandated to act as the adviser for

and collaborative environment, to work out how

(Worldwide Financial Adviser Magazine).

establishing and implementing, on behalf of the

best to achieve acceleration of solar to meet the

Japanese Ministry of Finance and JBIC - Japan

objectives set via the “Sustainable Development

Carbon Finance, Ltd (JCF) (a new financial

Goals’ and the “Paris Agreement’.

institution created to support development of

Nicole has had the privilege and rare opportunity

ENGIE is a global energy player and an expert

greenhouse gas reduction projects).

to have advised, negotiated and managed during

operator in the business of electricity, natural gas

her career to date, the successful execution and

and energy services. It develops its businesses

Nicole’s career to date specialises in providing a

delivery of many of the energy global ‘Deals

(power, natural gas, energy services) around a

complete advisory & project management form of

of the Year’, within the industry over the past

model based on responsible growth to take on the

service, in relation to global energy infrastructure

decade and a half. Few professionals in the

major challenges of energy’s transition to a low-

projects. She has had substantial experience in

industry have had such consistent regular

carbon economy: access to sustainable energy,

the strategic formulation, developmental, project

exposure to such high calibre of international

climate-change mitigation & adaptation and the

financing, execution and operational phases of

energy related deals. Not only has Nicole been

rational use of resources.

energy infrastructure projects within the IPP,

part of such deals, but also at the forefront of the

The Group provides individuals, cities and

IWPP, Renewable Energy and also LNG sectors of

strategic formulation, structuring, negotiation,

businesses with highly efficient and innovative

Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Latin America

financing and closing of such leading energy

solutions largely based on its expertise in four

and European regions for the past 18+ years and

related transactions. Her experience, knowledge

key sectors: renewable energy, energy efficiency,

has been with ENGIE since the beginning of 2010.

and lessons learnt from the energy and legal

liquefied natural gas and digital technology.

The Organisation

sectors are highly respected and recognised in When Nicole first joined ENGIE in 2010 she

the industry by both her professional peers and

ENGIE employs 154,950 people worldwide, with

acted as the Deputy General Counsel and Head

clients.

operations in 70 countries around the globe. It is

of Finance Legal for ENGIE’s South Asia, Middle

Nicole has worked in the past as a foreign legal

the No.1 IPP in the world; has 21.5 GW renewable

East and Africa regions and shortly thereafter

practitioner in Japan and has the professional

power production capacity installed with a

was also appointed to act as the Global Team

qualifications as a Solicitor in England & Wales,

further 8.1 GW in construction; No.1 importer of

Leader for ENGIE’s Structured Network for

Practitioner of the High Court of Australia and

LNG in Europe; No.1 distributor of natural gas

their international energy Financing Agreements

a Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of

in Europe and No.1 supplier of energy efficiency

(covering the United Kingdom, Middle East,

Victoria, Australia. She is a regular speaker at

services in the world.

FINANCIAL ADVISERS OF THE YEAR Jean François Alandry & Pascal Vieilledent Managing Partners EUROHOLD, S.L. +34 93 457 89 80 www.eurohold.com info@eurohold.com Avda. Diagonal, 361, 2º – 08037 BARCELONA, Spain Jean-François Alandry, with French nationality, is cofounder and Managing Partner of Eurohold, S.L. since 1989.Mr. Alandry has more than 20 years’ experience in Corporate Finance and closed more than 100 deals in his career. He has advised numerous corporate operations, both industrials and Private equity firms, in various sectors such as IT and Telecommunications, Environment, B2B Services or Healthcare.

Mr. Alandry holds a Bachelor Degree in Finance from the Lyon Business School and was later a graduate of ESSEC with a Master Degree in Financial Techniques.

He arrived in Spain at the end of 1987 through the French Consulate in Barcelona.

Additionally, to his native French, Mr. Alandry speaks fluent Spanish, English and Catalan.

Pascal Vieilledent with French nationality is the co-founder/ Managing Partner of Eurohold, S.L. since the foundation in 1989.

With more than 20 years of experience in Corporate Finance, he has participated in dozens of corporate Industrial operations such as Private Equity in key sectors like Pharmaceutical Industry, Distribution, Transport/ Logistics etc.

Mr. Vieilledent obtained his Bachelor Degree in Business and Company Administration in Montpellier. He arrived in Spain at the end of 1987 through the French

Consulate in Barcelona and the Trade and Industry Chamber of Languedoc-Roussillon.

Additionally, to his native French, Pascal speaks fluent Spanish, English and Catalan.

Other Practice Areas Business field: •

Mergers and Acquisitions

•

Financial and Strategic Consulting

Information about the Firm Eurohold is a Corporate Finance Advisory firm founded in 1989 in Barcelona, which has defended since its set-up a different model in terms of proximity to individuals, companies and sectors.

Eurohold also relies on strong ethical values, a clear Mid-

Orientation, a focus on crossborder transactions, and an ability to generate transactions thanks to deep sectors knowledge.

Leader in Spain in number of Mid-Cap transactions over the last years, Eurohold has created its own international network which is constantly growing in order to accompany its clients worldwide.

Eurohold advises Multinational companies, Financial and Industrial groups, Private Equity funds & Family Offices and Private companies from the conception to the structuring and closing of corporate transactions, providing insight experience at each stage of the process.

The team of professionals that forms Eurohold combines Corporate Finance specialists and industrial experts from different nationalities, enabling it to offer a global and independent service at an international level.

LEGAL ADVISERS OF THE YEAR FOR THE BEVERAGE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY R.J. O’Hara President, Shareholder Flaherty & O’Hara, P.C. 412-456-2005 www.flaherty-ohara.com rj@flaherty-ohara.com 610 Smithfield Street, Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 15222 Flaherty & O’Hara, P.C. has unparalleled experience in multi-state and multi-unit transactions. The famous quip “all politics are local” is equally applicable to liquor licensing. It pays dividends to have locally connected and well-known local liquor licensing counsel involved in multi-state transactions, so that they can use their connections and familiarity with local liquor agency employees to the client’s advantage. For this reason, we formalized a network of local liquor license counsel in all 50 states about 13 years ago. This group – known as the Alliance of Alcohol Industry Attorneys & Consultants (or AAIAC) had existed informally for another decade previous to our formal incorporation, but we formalized our organization, after conducting numerous transactions together, 10 years after we initiated our relationships. I am the Chair of the AAIAC and have been since its founding. Through the representation of national clients here in the U.S., we have also had the opportunity to represent some of those same clients on liquor licensing matters outside the U.S. Again, we are not foolhardy enough to imagine that we are able to represent clients internationally without the assistance of local counsel, and as a result we have developed relationships with local liquor licensing counsel internationally as well.

We at Flaherty & O’Hara also have unprecedented experience representing the financial industry (including numerous

Investment Banks and Private Equity Funds) as its members invest in the hospitality industry and in businesses – restaurants, manufacturers (such as brewers, wineries and distilleries), and wholesalers. On nearly a daily basis we are asked to review national and regional alcohol marketing promotions and alcohol-oriented contractual arrangements for compliance with state and federal laws.

Referred to as Compliance or Marketing Compliance work, we handle such matters quickly yet thoroughly so that our clients and their marketing departments are

clear as to where their proposals fit within the state-by-state and national laws applicable to alcohol marketing activities.

There is no doubt that our business model – acting globally and nationally with the heavy involvement with local counsel who we supervise – is not only warranted, but the best way to handle multi-state, multi-unit and multi-national liquor licensing matters. Some of our competitors are now adopting our business model, whereas in the past they would attempt the representation

of their clients across borders, without the assistance of local counsel. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery (and acknowledgement that you are doing things the right way).

Finally, liquor licensing matters demand the attention of an attorney. In this area of the law, we face increasing competition by non-attorney licensing consultants and para-professionals. Our experience is that these nonattorneys are limited in their ability to handle the subtle aspects of liquor licensing and assume to know too much that they are really learning “on the job.”

Their primary attractiveness is that they sell themselves as being a cheap alternative to actual legal counsel. But is “cheap” worth it when they do not have the knowledge necessary to avoid legal pitfalls and blind spots, as well as the legal complexities involved in a transaction? Are they adept at analysing Tied House and Trade Practice issues, which may put you at risk of a violation that could see the revocation of your license? A non-lawyer consultant who is not supervised by an attorney, or one who exceeds the limits of his or her immediate experience, or who is giving legal advice, is not an advocate, but a risk. Notably, nonlawyer consultants do not offer you the protection of the attorneyclient privilege or the attorney work product doctrine. Choose your liquor licensing counsel wisely. Choose an attorney with local contacts and a broad range of experience.

COMMERCIAL LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR NIGERIA Emmanuel Ekpenyong Esq. MCIArb. (UK) Managing Partner Fred-young & Evans LP +234 8034912096 www.fredyoungandevans.com; emmanuel@fredyoungandevans.com Suite 217A, Jinifa Plaza, Plot 1014, Samuel Adesoji Ademulegun Street, Central Business District, Federal Capital Territory-Abuja Our firm is divided into 3 practice groups, namely; Dispute Resolution, Corporate/Commercial and Intellectual property Groups.

Our Dispute Resolution Group represents the firm in negotiation and mediation towards resolving commercial disputes. They represent clients in commercial, civil, labor disputes before all courts and administrative tribunals in Nigeria. The Group also represents clients in intellectual property matters such as enforcement of intellectual property rights and defending claims of intellectual property infringements at the trademark/ patent tribunal.

Our Corporate/Commercial Group provide consultation on corporate and commercial law matters, including formation of businesses and subsidiaries of foreign companies, joint ventures, share purchase agreement, transfer of technology, company formation in offshore jurisdiction, initial public offers, acquisitions, mergers

and power projects. The Group offer advice on fiscal incentives and tax exemptions for new businesses and legal protection for foreign investors. The Group conducts due diligence searches and regularly advises companies on change in government policies in relation to their businesses.

They advise clients on the legal and regulatory regime in the budding sectors of Nigerian economy and the procedure for obtaining relevant approvals and certificates for investments in the Nigerian market.

Our Intellectual Property Group provide legal services in intellectual property matters such as registration of trademarks, copyrights, patents, designs.

They also engage in franchise distributorship, agency and license agreements. They identify infringements of various intellectual property rights and offer advice on protection of such rights both domestically and internationally.

We collaborate with China Law Firm, Guangdong on NigerianChinese cases. We are listed on Inter-law IP Law and QuantifyIP directories. We are partners with CCI Credit Management, United Kingdom and Alpha & Leader Risks and Assets Management Company Limited on international debt collection.

We are listed on Legal 500.

ACQ5 awarded our firm Copyright Law Firm of the Year Nigeria, 2017 and Restructuring & Insolvency Law Firm of the Year, Nigeria, 2017. We were awarded the Corporate Excellence Awards, Full Service Commercial Law Firm of the Year 2018-Nigeria

by CV Magazine. Acquisition International also awarded us with the 2018 Global Excellence Awards, Most Influential CrossBorder Debt Recovery Specialist 2018-Nigeria. International Advisory Experts awarded us with the Litigation Lawyer of the Year in Nigeria awards.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR SRI LANKA Mrs Anomi Wanigasekera Partner Julius & Creasy 94-11-2336277 www.juliusandcreasy.com anomi@juliusandcreasy.lk; pts@juliusandcreasy.lk 3rd Floor, No. 41, Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka

Biography Mrs. Anomi Wanigasekera, LLM (Wales), Attorney-at-Law is the Partner in charge of the Intellectual Property Group and holds Diplomas in Intellectual Property Law, International Trade Law , Banking and Insurance Law of Institute of Advanced Legal Studies of the Incorporated Council of Legal Education. She has extensive and wide experience in contentious and non contentious Intellectual Property Law matters.

She has participated in several International Seminars both inland

and abroad. She has been involved in several complex Trademarks, Designs and Infringement cases for over two decades.

The Firm Julius and Creasy is one of the oldest civil law firms in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1879, the firm has established itself on rich tradition and the highest professional principles. The areas of practice of the firm includes Administrative & Constitutional Law, Corporate & Commercial, Admiralty & Maritime, Banking

& Finance, Capital Markets, Intellectual Property, IT, Media & Telecommunications, Infrastructure Projects & Project Finance, Insurance Law, Labour & Employment, Private Clients Property & Construction, Litigation & Arbitration, Mergers & Acquisitions, Probate & Trusts and Taxation. Julius and Creasyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wealth of expertise and experience in a wide range of specialised fields of Law enables it to offer innovative legal and business solutions to a diverse, sophisticated and highprofile clientele.

LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION ADVISER OF THE YEAR GERMANY Dr. Klaus U. Eyber Rechtsanwalt/Partner Arnold & Porter +49-69-25494-450 www.arnoldporter.com; klaus.eyber@arnoldporter.com Arnold & Porter, Bockenheimer Landstrasse 25, D-60325, Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany

Biography Dr. Klaus U Eyber has been a Partner in the Frankfurt office since 2004. Since his admission to the bar in 1993, Dr. Eyber has focused on Litigation and Dispute Resolution.

Based on his many years of litigation experience, Dr. Eyber concentrates on representing clients in court and before arbitration tribunals as well as in summary and enforcement proceedings. He has a special focus on damage cases based

on fraud, tort, negligence or breach of contract. Dr. Eyber is particularly experienced in advising companies on conflicts and damages and in handling the return of funds especially in crossborder cases including the conduct of commercial investigations and business intelligence.

Dr. Eyber regularly publishes articles on issues of corporate and insolvency law. He also regularly speaks at seminars and conferences on cross-border litigation including enforcement and injunctive relief on cross-

border insolvencies including International Insolvency Law. He also speaks on anti-corruption & bribery including handling those cases on the defense side and from the perspective of a damaged party.

Dr. Eyber breadth of expertise has also meant that he has acted on corporate deals and commercial deals where he has handled IPOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S and mergers and acquisitions for major national and international clients.

CIVIL LITIGATION ADVISER OF THE YEAR INDIA Ramni Taneja Advocate and Notary Law Office of Ramni Taneja +91 11 41552051 www.ramnitaneja.com ramni@ramnitaneja.com A 34 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110024, India

Biography Ramni Taneja was enrolled as an Advocate on the Roll of the Bar Council of Maharashtra, India, on 17th October 1980, which was subsequently transferred to the Bar Council of Delhi, India on 20th October 1997. She is also admitted on 3rd March 1997 as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales [now known as the Senior Courts of England and Wales]. She is also a Notary, Government of India, and was appointed on 19th July 1999. Her principal areas of legal practice covering litigation and transactional legal work are: all areas of civil law, commercial law, corporate law, constitutional law and criminal law.

Other Practice Areas Acquisitions, arbitration [international and domestic], air law, banking law, broadcasting laws, commercial law, civil law, contract law, constitutional law, corporate law, company law, consumer protection law, criminal law, due diligence, direct and indirect taxation and international taxation, extradition law, family law, foreign direct investment, foreign collaborations, foreign exchange law, energy and electricity laws, excise and

customs laws, international joint ventures, insurance law, initial public offerings [IPOs], intellectual property law, infrastructure law, labour and employment law, media and entertainment law, mergers and acquisitions, migration and nationality law, maritime law, oil and natural gas law, private equities, securities law, succession law, private international law, public international law, property law.

The Firm Ramni Tanejaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s professional experience began in 1980 when she practiced as an Advocate Assistant between 1980 to 1982, with Little & Co, Advocates, Solicitors & Notaries, Mumbai, India. Subsequently, between 1983 to 1989, she practised in Dubai as a legal consultant with A R Hilal & Associates, Advocates & Legal Consultants, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Between 1989 to 1990, she practised independently as an advocate in New Delhi, India.

Again from 1990 to 1996, she again practised with A R Hilal & Associates, Advocates & Legal Consultants, Dubai, United Arab Emirates as a Legal Consultant.

From 1997 to August 2002, Ramni Taneja practiced as a sole

practitioner in New Delhi. From September 2002 till April 30, 2006, she was in charge of and headed the branch office of the Mumbai law firm, Little & Co., in New Delhi, India. The law firm, Law Office of Ramni Taneja began as of 8th August 2006 in New Delhi, India.

Ramni Taneja has written for many legal journals, both in India and overseas. She is the author of a book entitled: Foreign Direct Investment and Globalisation, published in 2014 by Eastern Book Company. She has participated in legal conferences in India and overseas as a speaker and has presented papers in these conferences.

Ramni Taneja does litigation and argues cases as Counsel in all the courts including the Supreme Court of India, the High Court of Delhi, the Company Law Board, the Competition Commission, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, the District Courts of Delhi and also courts and tribunals in other parts of India, whenever this is required by clients. She has also handled international and domestic arbitrations.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR SLOVENIA Marko Petek, PhD, Attorney at law Founding Partner Law office Petek, Ltd. +386 1 436 43 80 www.op-petek.si info@op-petek.si Dunajska cesta 51, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Biography

The Firm

Marko Petek began his career in the police force in 1994. By 2002 he became a detective, specialized in “white collar crimes”. In the same year he graduated from Law school in Ljubljana and then in 2006 he got his master degree at the same faculty. He passed the national legal exam and started his career as an attorney at Law office Rauter in 2007. He started his own Law firm in 2010. In 2013 he got his doctorate (PhD) in civil law. His latest achievement was becoming a mediator in 2017.

Law office PETEK is specialized in Internet and Media Law. Marko Petek, founding partner, has PhD in and is specialized in Internet and Media law. Law office Petek is also specialized in contracts negotiations and disputes negotiations. Marko Petek and Andrej Milkič, as partner, were for more than a decade police officers and detectives in police forces.

After that, they obtained experience in other different professions and educations / trainings in negotiations. Law office Petek is now also specialized in mediation, as Marko Petek, PhD has officially become a mediator in year 2017.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR BELGIUM Emmanuel Ruchat Partner Lexial +32 2 880 79 52 www.lexial.eu lexial@lexial.eu Chaussée de Louvain 467, 1030 Brussels

Biography He started his career with a top-tier law firm, practising life insurance law, especially group insurance which then led him to develop a legal approach to human resources and employment law.

Since then, he has developed a particular expertise in Belgian and French immigration, criminal, business, political and labour law. He specializes in the international and European application of these fields.

Emmanuel has authored a number of articles about these topics. In 2005 and 2007 he published a book on professional immigration, Les cadres étrangers [Foreign Executives] (Kluwer). In 2003 he founded Lexial Val d’Europe, a not-for-profit group that examines

issues related to international mobility. He taught international human resources law at the Institut d’administration des entreprises (IAE) in Lille. He is a member of the Swiss Business Council for Belgium and Luxemburg.

The Firm Lexial was created in a spirit of innovation and with the desire to implement a distinctly modern approach to the practice of law.

Lexial’s innovative geographical footprint allows the firm to serve clients from offices in Brussels, Paris and Geneva dealing with European and international legal issues.

The firm focuses on specific areas of law. In addition to a selection of

traditional legal services offered in criminal, political, business and employment law, the firm has developed a specialised practice in international and European business immigration law.

The firm possesses proven expertise in the area of international mobility, expatriate issues and professional immigration, and can advise clients on specific matters including work permits, professional cards, citizenship and residence permits in Belgium, France and Switzerland.

Within this framework, we have developed strong relationships with Middle Eastern countries, in particular Gulf States (UAE, Kuwait and Qatar), Russia as well as most countries in Asia, South America and North America.

Lomera Aslam Office Manager Liquidity Services +44 (0) 113 246 5570 www.liquidityservices.com lomera.aslam@liquidityservices.com

The Firm Seven Key Criteria for Selecting the Right Valuation Partner Asset valuations play an integral role in helping your business enhance asset management, make educated business decisions, manage risk, and meet reporting requirements. Valuation is also a specialized process that requires market, industry, and asset expertise. Because valuation is a non-core business function, most organizations lack the time and resources required to effectively value their assets.

The best solution is often to enlist a trusted valuation provider, but what criteria should your ideal partner meet? Your partner must understand your business and the market for your assets. But it should go beyond these basic requirements and partner with you consultatively to expertly analyze market data, provide a comprehensive asset management solution, and be transparent and accountable.

There are seven key criteria your organization should require in an asset valuation partner. A provider that meets these requirements will ensure your organization extracts maximum value from asset valuations, helping you make strategic decisions and achieve key business goals.

1. Supplements Data with Expert Analysis To deliver a winning valuation, your partner must possess not only superior data but the expertise to analyze it. A professional valuation provider

will appraise your assets primarily based on market data from similar assets, as this data is the strongest indicator of value. But your partner should also expertly interpret this information by making allowances for dealer markups, warranty values, asset conditions, and other factors.

By observing historical sales, profitability, open orders, and other types of data, your partner can produce a serviceable valuation. Only through experience-driven analysis can it deliver a best-in-class appraisal.

2. Uses Multiple Methods to Value Assets While your provider should base its valuations on market data whenever possible, in some situations this information may not be available. Look for a resourceful provider that can leverage other methods if needed to deliver an accurate valuation.

There are several ways a skilled provider can value your assets: •

• •

•

Determine the cost of your assets new, then apply depreciation factors to arrive at values. This is the “cost approach.”

Multiply the income or profits derived from your assets Tap industry connections to corroborate your assets’ values based on similar assets and market trends Observe what similar assets are selling for on its online marketplaces

An experienced provider will deliver an accurate valuation regardless of availability of market data.

3. Provides a Comprehensive Asset Management Solution Valuation is just one aspect of your reverse supply chain. Postvaluation, your surplus assets should be redeployed internally, resold in secondary markets, or disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. An expert valuation partner will provide comprehensive solutions spanning your entire reverse supply chain.

Look for a partner that offers software to facilitate the asset management process throughout your organization. This software should provide complete visibility into all surplus across all your locations, empowering you to more effectively execute every stage of your asset management program. Also choose a partner that can leverage a wide range of marketing and sales strategies to sell your surplus assets to the right buyers for the highest recovery value.

4. Meets Tight Deadlines In certain circumstances, such as facility closures, your assets must be valued and sold in a timely manner. Select a partner that can deliver accurate, thorough valuations within tight timelines.

An experienced provider will work within your timeframes to efficiently inventory and appraise your assets. It will have the experience needed to quickly solve any challenges and make allowances for time to remove and sell assets.

Ideally, your valuation provider can also facilitate resale and redeployment, saving you time and money by handling the entire asset management process.

ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY OF THE YEAR

5. Is Committed to Transparency and Accountability Your valuation provider must have sterling ethics and professional standards. Make sure your partner is transparent with its processes and discloses any potential challenges, such as relying highly on advance rates. Look for a provider that belongs to respected industry organizations such as the American Society of Appraisers and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Also ensure your provider will deliver a detailed valuation report and provide back-up upon request.

6. Understands How to Value Intangible Assets An experienced provider will be able to appraise a wide range of intangible assets, whether related to marketing (e.g. trademarks, brands, web domains), customers or suppliers (e.g. customer lists), or technology (e.g. patented technology).

Your provider should understand that a traditional market approach may not be optimal for these types of assets and consider other options such as these: • Cash Flow Valuation: Through the use of discounted cash flow methods, this income practice uses a marginal cash flow figure to ascertain the present value of your assets’ future economic benefits • Cost Approach: This method values your intangible assets by assessing the cost to “build” them from scratch, making allowances for obsolescence, maintenance, and inflation.

7. Solves Your Trade Compliance Challenges A strategic partner will add value by mitigating all potential compliance risks associated with the management, valuation, and sale of surplus assets. For instance, many countries have laws restricting sales within specific asset categories or to certain countries, individuals, and entities. And assets with sensitive data need to be wiped before being sold.

Your provider should integrate its compliance team into your valuation program to ensure you comply with international trade, data privacy, financial, health and safety, environmental, and all other applicable regulations and procedures, including your internal policies.

Case Study: Publicly Traded Manufacturing Company Receives Timely Valuation on Restructured Facility Challenge A large publicly traded manufacturing company was reorganizing and decided to sell one of its international locations as part of the restructure.

Before purchasing the facility, the potential buyers required a valuation of the property. The client reached out to Liquidity Services to efficiently meet this need.

Solution: Leveraging its up-todate proprietary transactional database generated from government, capital asset, and consumer transactions, the Liquidity Services valuation team provided relevant guidance to properly assess the facility. The team spent three days onsite to

compile detailed information for all assets located onsite and marked for sale.

Results: Challenges such as language barriers, international travel, and requirements added post-contract did not delay the team in swiftly and expertly pulling together its analysis.

Within just 10 days, the Liquidity Services team presented a detailed valuation report on the facility and its assets for the client to use in negotiation with potential buyers.

Liquidity Services provided this information in advance of the requested deadline, giving the client extra time to prepare its buyer follow-up. The resulting valuation and auction proposal coordinated efforts from four offices and resulted in a successful sale for the client.

Conclusion From mergers and acquisitions to required financial reporting, asset valuations help you meet a wide range of business challenges.

Selecting the right valuation partner will ensure you maximize value from these and other scenarios. This white paper has provided you with seven critical criteria to look for in a valuation provider. A superior partner will go beyond delivering an accurate valuation and provide expert analysis, flexibility, transparency, compliance services, and comprehensive solutions.

CRIMINAL DEFENCE PRACTICE OF THE YEAR AUSTRALIA Dennis Miralis Partner, Criminal Defence Lawyer Nyman Gibson Miralis +61 2 9264 8884 www.ngm.com.au dm@ngm.com.au Level 9, 299 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000

The Firm Nyman Gibson Miralis is an award winning criminal defence law firm based in Sydney, Australia.

Established for over 50 years we are market leaders in all aspects of general, complex and international criminal law and are widely recognised for our involvement in some of Australia’s most significant criminal cases.

In the field of domestic and local criminal law our reputation has been built on the principles of delivering the highest quality legal service in every type of criminal case for over half a century, including leading cases in the High Court of Australia and the Court of Criminal Appeal.

We are experts in assisting companies and individuals the subject of white collar and corporate crime investigations and prosecutions. We specialise in matters involving money laundering, complex fraud, domestic and foreign bribery, insider trading, embezzlement, taxation offences, and other dishonesty offences, which are prosecuted by the Australian Tax Office (ATO), the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Commonwealth DPP (CDPP), the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the State Police, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

We act in complex crimes such as murders, sexual assaults, drug

importations and frauds and are acknowledged experts in general crime, drink driving and traffic law (including license appeals).

We have specialist capabilities in Crime Commissions, Royal Commissions and ICAC inquiries as well as a niche practice in civil proceedings against the Police for malicious prosecution.

Our international criminal law practice focuses on transnational corporate and financial crime, bribery and corruption, international money laundering, cybercrime, international asset freezing and forfeiture, extradition and mutual assistance law.

We strategically advise and appear in matters where transnational cross border investigations and prosecutions are being conducted in parallel jurisdictions, involving some of the largest law enforcement agencies and financial regulators world-wide.

Working with our international partners we have advised and acted in proceedings involving the USA, Canada, the UK, the E.U, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, Russia, Mexico, South Korea, British Virgin Islands, New Zealand and South Africa.

We are approached regularly by international lawyers to provide expert advice and consultancy assistance concerning Australian criminal law, Australian criminal practice and procedure and compliance with Australia’s Anti – Money Laundering laws.

Our approach to criminal litigation is client focused and involves a deep understanding of criminal practice and procedure, both locally and internationally, combined with strategy, legal technical excellence and sophisticated advocacy.

Our criminal lawyers are recognised as amongst Australia’s leading lawyers as well as the rising stars of criminal law.

TRADEMARK LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR TAIWAN Carice (Tsui-Hua) Chen Managing partner /Patent Attorney Rich IP & Co. (a patent and trademark firm) +886-2-2713-1060 ext. 328 www.richip.com clarice.chen@richip.com 6F, No. 261, Sec. 3, Nan-king E. Rd.,Taipei, Taiwan

Education Ms. Carice (Tsui-Hua) Chen is the managing partner and cofounder of Rich IP& Co. (RichIP).

Ms. Chen received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Chemical Engineer from the National Taiwan University, and received her master’s degree in Law from Shih Hsin University.

Ms. Chen also took the summer courses in Franklin Pierce Law Center, Research in Intellectual Property (IPSI & ALI) in 1999.

Biography Before establishing RichIP in 2005, Ms. Clarice (Tsui-Hua) Chen worked for the largest international law firm in Taiwan for about fifteen (15) years, and was the Principle of the Patent and Technology Department of said firm.

Ms. Carice Chen excels in not only the patent and trademark prosecution matters, but also the offense and defence of patent and trademark rights as well the litigation involving patent/ trademark rights. She has been engaged in international IP practice since 1990, especially in patent and trademark matter.

Ms. Carice Chen has lectured for local and national organizations in Taiwan on various intellectual property topics.

Ms. Carice Chen supervises both the trademark department and the chemical/biotech team in patent department of RichIP, and provides local and international clients services covering patent prosecution, invalidation, infringement analysis and litigation, as well as trademark registration, opposition, invalidation, cancellation and litigation.

In Taiwan, there are only a handful of IP firms equipped with a fullfledged chemical/biochemical team, among which the chemical/ biochemical team supervised by Ms. Clarice Chen has particularly been recognised as the most responsive, detail-orientated and disciplined. The technical fields covered by the unique chemical/biotech team include, but not limited to, chemistry, chemical engineering, material science, polymer, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, agricultural, life science and biotechnology.

Other Practice Areas -

patent prosecution, invalidation, infringement analysis and litigation

-

trademark registration, opposition, cancellation and invalidation

ORTHOPAEDIC EXPERT WITNESS OF THE YEAR

LITIGATION ADVISER OF THE YEAR

ITALY

Lucioano Castelli SeAS – Sanzo e Associati Tel. +39 02 794968 Fax +39 02 76020284 www.seaslex.it – p.iva 07257570965 segreteria@seaslex.it Milano, 20121, c.so di Porta Nuova n. 18

The Firm Sanzo e Associati – SeAS is a partnership established in 2011 as an evolution of the Law Firm founded in Milan by Atty.

Salvatore Sanzo in 2001.

From its very early days, the primary objective of the Practice, formed by young professionals from a strictly traditional legal background, has been to provide services that combine tradition and innovation in the legal profession.

On one hand, there was the need to keep (and, possibly, add value and preserve) the most positive and qualifying aspects of the legal profession, in its most traditional connotation, focusing first and foremost on the fundamental relationship of trust that must exist between legal professionals and their clients, and offering professional services centred on individuality, giving clients the confidence that their issues will be handled personally by the lawyers selected for the case.

On the other hand, the Practice was aware of the need to fine-tune its professional activities to the structural changes taking place in the economic context, to provide services and assistance that are grounded on a personal approach, but are also specialised and integrated.

The Practice developed reinventing this synthesis, and though its clientele and spheres of activity covered an increasingly broader spectrum, it kept its mediumsized structure, with around fifteen legal professionals, all capable of carrying out, individually or collectively, the tasks required.

Consistently with this approach, the Practice assists private individuals and legal entities, in the business and other sectors, mostly Italian and ranging from small to medium and large, and handles insolvency procedures. In every sphere of activity, the key element that characterises the Practice is a specialised approach in matters characterized by a high degree of complexity.

Our Activities The legal professionals at SeAS - Sanzo e Associati all come from a “traditional” education background, therefore, particularly in the first years of their activity, they gathered experience in litigation, to later pursue more specialised fields of expertise.

Today the primary activity of the Practice focuses on providing assistance and consulting services to the business sector, particularly companies, ranging from small-medium to large (including companies listed in the Italian stock exchange).

Assistance and consulting services are provided to handle the physiological events of corporate life (assistance in civil and business litigation, consulting on contract drafting, and issues in the area of Civil and Business Law), and to deal with pathological-critical events, through assistance in drafting recovery plans, restructuring agreements, agreements among creditors, and composition with creditors after bankruptcy.

The Practice provides assistance in the following areas: • Company Law • Bankruptcy Law • Contract Law • Insurance Law • Banking Law • Arbitration Law • Public and Private Contracts Law • Succession Law • Family Law and Minors and Legally Incapacitated Persons’ Rights • Rights in Rem • Lease Law

Biography: Before joining Sanzo e Associati, Luciano Castelli was the founding partner of Mariconda e Associati, together with

Attorney Vincenzo Mariconda. Luciano has over ten years of experience in business and litigation consulting, which he acquired assisting Italian and international companies, focusing on Civil and Business Law, always offering ‘tailored’ services based on his clients’ specific needs. He has been involved in a number of important disputes at national level, and is often appointed as arbitrator, by colleagues and institutional organisations, including the President of the Court of Milan, the National and International Chamber of Arbitration of Milan, and the President of the Council of Chartered Accountants and Tax Experts of Milan. Before starting his collaboration with Attorney Professor Vincenzo Mariconda in 2008, he worked with the Gramellini Leonelli Law Firm, and, earlier, he worked in Geneva in the legal department of Banque Safdié (formerly known as Multi-Commercial Bank). From 2009 to 2016 he was honorary fellow in Private Law at the Catholic University of Milan; from 2011 to 2014 he attended the University of Milan’s doctorate program on Civil Procedural Law, where he is currently honorary fellow in Civil Procedural Law. He is the author of a number of publications in the field of Civil and Procedural Law, and, as of 2012, he collaborates with the Ipsoa Group Wolters Kluwer in the updating of the ‘I Contratti’ databank, and in the editing of the Commentated Civil Code, written by Guido Alpa and Vincenzo Mariconda. He successfully completed a post-graduate specialisation course held at the University of Milan on Financial Markets Law in 2014, and the post-graduate specialisation course on Corporate Law in 2015. After passing the exam, in 2017 he was admitted to practice before the Higher Courts. He is a member of the arbitration society Associazione Italiana per l’Arbitrato. He is listed as the only Italian contact person in the area of Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution, by several independent institutions.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR NIGERIA Afam Nwokedi Principal Partner & Group Head Stillwaters Law Firm +234-803-324-8860 www.stillwaterslaw.com afamnwokedi@stillwaterslaw.com 2nd Floor, 11 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria

Biography Mr. Afam Francis Nwokedi has over 29years of practice experience especially in the areas of intellectual property law. He is the Principal Counsel and Group Head of Stillwaters Law Firm.

towards the harmonisation and setting up of an IP Commission in Nigeria and currently chairs many IP related initiatives. Mr. Nwokedi is the current Chairman of the IP Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association-Section on Business Law.

He has been involved in several intellectual property (IP) law initiatives, building processes and case law development in Nigeria. He was a member of the Federal Government Committee for the establishment of Intelectual Property Commission in Nigeria, a member of the Nigerian delegation to OHADA (African Association for the Harmonisation and Development of Commercial Law) with particular representation on IP issues, he has worked closely with the Commercial Law Development Programme (CLDP) of the United States Department of Commerce

Mr. Nwokedi advocates before the trial and appeal courts in Nigeria and has authored and presented several papers on intellectual property law in Nigeria. He is the editor-inchief of the Nigeria Industrial Property Opposition Reports. He is also a certified Management Consultant and a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants and a member several local and international associations including: Association of European Lawyers (AEA), MARQUES, PTMG, INTA, AIPPI, BMM, IBA, IPLAN, APAA and many others.

The Firm STILLWATERS LAW FIRM is an award winning leading law firm operating from the cities of Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria. The firm specializes in corporate commercial; intellectual property; media, entertainment, technology and sports laws; taxation and litigation. Our has been ranked by IFLR 500 and Chambers.

It has an enviable reputation for rendering an efficient, time conscious and high quality services across it practice range.

Practice representative clients include over 600 foreign and local multinationals, private entities, public quoted companies, financial institutions, industries, small and medium size businesses and individual entrepreneurs.

CRIMINAL DEFENCE LAWYERS OF THE YEAR AUSTRALIA Ugur Nedim Principal SYDNEY CRIMINAL LAWYERS +61292618881 www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au info@criminallaw.com.au Museum Towers, Suite 507, 267 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000

The Firm Sydney Criminal Lawyers is a team of experienced criminal and traffic defence lawyers who work together to ensure you achieve the best possible result in your case. We offer a Senior Lawyer Guarantee, which means you are assured of representation in court by a specialist lawyer with years of defence experience. If you are going to court, we offer a free first conference and affordable fixed fees for most cases.

Our firm is spearheaded by Accredited Specialist Criminal Lawyers, and we available to contact 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through our legal helpline.

MEDIA & PRIVACY LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR Daniel Taylor Director Taylor Hampton Solicitors LTD 0207 427 5971 www.taylorhampton.co.uk enquiries@taylorhampton.co.uk 218 Strand, London WC2R 1AT

The Firm Taylor Hampton Solicitors - “A Leader in its Field” The firm’s lawyers are recognised as leaders in the fields of Defamation, Privacy, Data Protection, phone hacking and Internet Litigation law.

Taylor Hampton has achieved a remarkable rise to prominence.

Based opposite the High Court, the firm has been at the front of media law for 10 years.

Representing a range of clients, from A-list celebrities to small and large businesses, the firm prides itself on listening to clients’ personal and/or commercial objectives and ensuring that these objectives are met.

The firm is at the forefront of the phone-hacking litigation and continues to be heavily involved in ongoing phone hacking claims against News Group and Mirror Group Newspapers. Recently, Taylor Hampton brought action against the Mirror Group for the hacking of client Hugh Grant’s phone and emails, as well as

the use of blagging and private investigators to unlawfully obtain and publish his private information at its three national newspapers for over a decade.

In an unprecedented settlement, Mirror Group paid Mr Grant a six-figure sum in damages (all of which he donated to the campaign group Hacked Off), as well as publicly admitting to a cover-up of its illegal activity that had taken place at the heart of the company within senior levels.

Another important landmark case is that of Bruno Lachaux v Independent & Others, where Taylor Hampton was successful in satisfying the newly required serious harm threshold. The Court of Appeal held that serious harm to a claimant’s reputation could be proved by a process of inference from the seriousness of the defamatory meaning.

Daniel Taylor says the following about the evolution of libel law: “The nature of actions is changing from predominantly hard copy newspaper articles being the focus

to that of internet-based reputation management, where reputations can be damaged in seconds” At a time where more material than ever is being shared and published online and the press and paparazzi culture shows no sign of abating, it is becoming increasingly difficult for individuals to protect their private and confidential information and that of their family from being made public. The law recognises that misusing private information about an individual is wrong and Taylor Hampton frequently acts to stop it.

The quicker one can act, the better the outcome. The best way to safeguard your privacy is to prevent your private information from being published in the first place. Taylor Hampton can engage with the prospective publisher to obtain an undertaking that they will not publish and will destroy and/or return your private information, failing which Taylor Hampton are experienced in applying to the Court to obtain an injunction to prevent publication.

TAX LAW ADVISERS OF THE YEAR ITALY Giancarlo Zoppini Partner Tremonti Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati + 39 02 58313707 www.virtax.it zoppini@virtax.it Via Crocefisso 12, 20122 Milan, Italy

Biography Giancarlo Zoppini is a practicing lawyer, specialising in tax litigation. His areas of expertise include providing assistance in tax audits, pre-litigation settlements, litigation, advance ruling proceedings, legal defence in fiscal cases and taxpayer representation in cases before the Italian Revenue Agency. He also acts as counsel in criminal tax cases. He was admitted to the Italian Bar in 1995, and to the Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) in 2007.

He has been a Partner of Tremonti Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati since 2000, having joined the firm in 1993. Prior to joining Tremonti Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati, he was engaged in professional practice with another leading Italian firm. He also previously

served as an officer in full permanent service with the Italian Tax Police, where he was engaged in tax and criminal matters.

The Firm The Firm was established in the mid-1980s by Giulio Tremonti - the former Italian Minister of Economy and Finance - under the name Studio Tremonti e Associati.

Since its inception, the Firm has been growing steadily to reach its current size of approximately 50 professionals working between its Milan and Rome offices.

For more than 30 years, the Firm has been providing a full range of tax advice and related services to domestic and international clients on the main corporate, industrial and financial transactions carried out in the Italian market.

Furthermore, the Firm provides ongoing advice and assistance to clients during the course of tax audits, tax litigation and settlement proceedings with the Revenue Agency; defending clients in proceedings before the tax courts at all levels of jurisdiction, including the Supreme Court and the European Courts.

In 2013, the Firm signed a strategic alliance agreement with the prestigious international law firm, Shearman & Sterling LLP. This agreement, geared towards the global market, allows Tremonti Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati to provide clients with integrated legal and taxation assistance and advice on an international scale.

MOST INNOVATIVE DIGITAL MEDIA COMPANY

UK

Chris Sykes CEO and Head of AI & Robotics Volume Ltd 0118 977 5800 www.volume.ai; chris.sykes@volume.ai Volume Ltd, Buckhurst Court, London Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 1PA Volume Ltd was established in 1997 and has built a reputation as a leader in the development of Conversational AI Platforms and AI middleware. The Company’s Digital Concierge® application framework has changed the face of customer experience and interaction. With a mission to turn change the ‘search’ generation into the ‘ask’ generation, Volume is turning traditional digital content into conversations and beyond.

The Company showed its strength in digital content-based marketing, eLearning & channel marketing and continues to service and support its legacy long-term customer portfolio. As Volume has continued to develop its ‘experiential’ AI capabilities, it became the first company globally to replace its traditional website with a Conversational AI Platform in October 2016 (volume.ai) and has subsequently launched its 2nd (cogcom.ai) in July 2017, supporting Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Tamil & Sinhala languages.

Its latest CAP (artesian.ai) was launched for software developer Artesian Solutions in October 2017.

Volume’s headquarters are at its Digital Campus, strategically positioned just 30 minutes from London Heathrow. Volume has further offices in Plymouth, UK, where its eLearning and Interactive Experience Team is based, its wholly owned subsidiary, the Colombo Centre for Cognitive Computing (CogCom) in Sri Lanka and soon to be opened office in Silicon Valley, California (Jan ’18).

In 2016, Volume became the only company globally to replace its traditional website with a CAP called ‘LUSY’. This platform allows users to interactive with a smart machine to stimulate natural language conversations. Users are prompted to ask questions about Volume, from company information, services, recruitment, through general information to offtopic questions. In June of 2017, Volume launched ‘Cody,’ a CAP to support the Company’s activities in Sri Lanka, the Middle East and Asia. ‘Cody’ is trained in English, Mandarin, Arabic, Tamil and Sinhala. The third CAP, ‘Arti’, was launched in October 2017 to support lead generation efforts for sales

acceleration software developer, Artesian Solutions.

Volume’s trademarked Digital Concierge® application framework provides a dash board to allow the customer to see all dialogue, questions and interactions to enable the CAP to be retrained, tooled and scaled.

QBox.ai is Volume’s unique differentiator.

Working with Natural Language Data Models is challenging, as essentially developers are working with a ‘black box’, meaning they can’t easily ascertain the performance of the model or the impact on the model when scaling (adding new intents to broaden the subject matter). QBox was derived to help Volume deploy CAPs faster with a higher degree of accuracy and to helps customers to more easily manage their AI corpus.

Gartner has acknowledged that Volume is the leader in this field. Qbox.ai supports NL Data models developed with IBM Watson, Microsoft LUIS, Google DialogFlow and wit.ai.

MOST INNOVATIVE CASH FLOW PROVIDER OF THE YEAR Emma Swan Marketing Manager Working Capital Partners Ltd 020 8203 6500 www.workingcapitalpartners.com emma@wcpuk.co.uk Buckingham House, 45 Vivian Avenue, Hendon, London, NW4 3XA

The Firm Working Capital Partners Ltd Most Innovative Cash Flow Provider of the Year In 1965, Gordon Moore famously postulated that the number of components in an integrated circuit would double every two years without a concomitant increase in cost. And more or less, this still applies today. With the relentless doubling of processing power comes a similar explosion in the ability of systems to service customers’ needs and a massive increase in client expectation.

This increase of capability has had implications in practically every walk of life. In 1965, the idea of carrying a computer in one’s pocket was pure fantasy. Yet today we take this for granted and even find it frustrating if our wireless Wi-Fi doesn’t connect us instantly to our online digital world.

So the challenge for financiers is how to respond to this burgeoning expectation without sacrificing prudence and the necessity to be a responsible lender. And that is where Working Capital Partners Ltd has led the pack.

•

Pre-agreed fixed fees with no hidden charges

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Bad debt protection as standard Online deal submission and progress tracking

For years, invoice factoring had been a mainstream financial

•

product offered by banks to help customers improve cashflow.

Entering the market in 2010, WCP identified that the constraints imposed by traditional thinking were limiting the ability of business to take advantage of opportunities as they arose in the market. So while it was necessary to preserve the integrity of the underwriting process, WCP set about completely redesigning the factoring offer.

Starting by considering what the client really needed and focusing on providing a personalised and quick response WCP introduced a unique selective product offering: •

No long-term commitment

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The ability to finance one, some or all transactions

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A facility to fund milestone payments

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No termination fees

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No monthly minimum

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No administration fees

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Client handling of their own collections

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Full compliance with the UK Finance Factoring standards framework Starting from a zero base, WCP quickly earned a coveted Five Star rating on Trustpilot and from a modest base has now provided more than £125,000,000 of finance for small business.

But not content with totally disrupting the traditional invoice finance market, WCP went further.

Although businesses were now able to release cash tied up in their receivables, supplier payments could still be problematic. So WCP introduced an innovative supply chain product, completely integrated with the invoice finance offering which meant that customers could buy goods and components from suppliers and deliver them to their customers without having to worry about the day to day cash flow. And WCP even extended this to include the incidental charges such as the cost of freight, VAT and duty that have to be paid when goods enter the UK. WCP has redefined SME working Capital Finance and is a worthy winner of this prestigious award.

International Hotel Network Our hotel section ,The International Hotel Network (IHN), ensures that corporate needs outside of the working environment are also met. We proďŹ le only the ďŹ nest hospitality establishments from around the world, and allow our users to easily book their stay using our site.

Our aim is to provide the global business community with access to hotels that meet their requirements be it for leisure, business or a special occasion.

Country: Ethiopia | Location (City): Addis Ababa | Hotel Name: Hilton Addis Ababa Welcome to Hilton Addis AbabaYour urban Oasis where business meets pleasure. Hilton Addis Ababa is a preferred venue for a wide choice of larger and smaller meetings, conferences and exhibitions.

Specialized over many years on all kinds of outside catering. Great place to relax from the urban noises of the big city, private parking with huge leisure facilities. Increasingly popular amongst the young, trendy and the famous. Discover for yourself the origins of so much history and culture, still vibrantly alive in a landscape of dramatic beauty.

Hilton Addis Ababa, a classic hotel set on 15 acres of lush foliage is located in a hub of international diplomacy, just 15 minutes from Bole International Airport. The hotel is also close to UN Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union and many other popular attractions. It is ideal for long term apartment rentals with various facilities including ample parking space. Enjoy the geo-thermal outdoor swimming pool, squash court and an 18-hole minigolf course. This makes Hilton Addis Ababa, the perfect choice for business and leisure travellers. This landmark hotel offers spacious guest rooms, fine dining and our warm, professional service to ensure a memorable stay.

Hotel Dining Hilton Addis Ababa has three dining restaurants and two bars, serving traditional local cuisine and international fare. Choose from varieties of dishes showcasing diverse styles and tastes from around the World.

Kaffa House: - Local specialties for all day meals. Open from 6:00 - 23:00 Lobby Bar: - snacks and cocktails open from 10:00 until midnight.

Gazebo- Restaurant on the Park- open from 10:00 until 23:00 IL forno Restaurant: - Italian cuisine Open from 18:00.

HOTEL OF THE YEAR

Hotel Leisure Personalized fitness center for a balanced lifestyle, featuring cardio and strength training equipment.

Naturally heated geothermal out-door swimming pool, four professional 4 floodlit tennis courts and scenic outdoor grounds, squash court, playground, volleyball and basketball grounds, spa, beauty salon and barber shop, Supermarket and Souvenir Shop, travel agency, car hire and exchange bureau.

Hotel Business Services Business centre Designed for productivity and

comfort, our advanced business centre offers: • Wireless internet • Wired and wireless private work station • Colour copying up to A3 • Scanning • Faxing • PDF printing from flash disk • Binding • Laminating Hotel Rooms All 372 guest rooms, suites and apartments offer majestic view of mountains, gardens and the city. Guest room amenities include balcony, work desk, HD TV and coffee maker, while

ETHIOPIA

all suites featured a separate living room and two bathrooms.

286 Hilton guest room with view 33 Executive Rooms 22 suits 31 Apartments

Country: United States of America | Location (City): New York| Hotel Name: Wyndham Garden Brooklyn Sunset Park Get the most out of your next New York City vacation or business trip.

When it comes to hotels in Brooklyn, ours offers premium value for your money.

The Hotel Our eco-friendly Wyndham Garden Brooklyn Sunset Park hotel offers you innumerable opportunities to explore greater New York Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many offerings with contemporary architecture, friendly associates, and delightful affordability. We offer convenience to mass transit, with the N, R, and D NYC subway lines nearby, putting you within reach of must-see New York destinations. Our services

and location in the heart of New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bustling Brooklyn borough allow you to easily navigate around our iconic city, with onsite parking and local and airport transportation available upon request for a nominal fee.

The Restaurant Open daily for light meals, snacks, coffee and cocktails, our on-site Constantine Restaurant & Bar is convenient and classy. Whether you plan to sip a glass of wine with colleagues and friends, or find some quiet time to catch up on e-mail over a mug of herbal tea, you can do it in style at our Wyndham Garden Brooklyn Sunset Park hotel.

The Area There are so many things to see and do just steps from our door. Take in a show, cheer on your favorite sports team, or go on a shopping spree.

If you prefer to venture out into Manhattan, the hotel is only two stops from Downtown Manhattan on any of the nearby express subway lines.

There are also several local businesses in the area, making our hotel the perfect place to work and play.

Hotel Business Services Our 70 well-appointed guest rooms feature a host of convenient amenities for the modern business traveller,

HOTEL OF THE YEAR

including work desk, ergonomic chair and free Wi-Fi. Stop by the Business Center for your complimentary printing needs.

accommodations, you are in store for top quality service and worldclass amenities â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the best available in Brooklyn.

Hotel Rooms

Telephone: 718-972-0900

At the end of a day touring Brooklyn, retreat to our guest rooms and enjoy upscale amenities that include plush bedding, bathrobe, and mini-refrigerator, as well as a coffee/tea maker, and ergonomic work station for those late night work sessions. Whether you select one of our Executive rooms with Manhattan views, including peeks at the Freedom Tower and Empire State Building, or our standard upscale

Email:

obouchaar@wyndhambrooklyn.com Website: wyndhambrooklyn.com

NEW YORK

Country: Greece | Location (City): Elounda Lassithi Crete Elounda is a destination that continues to be the secret holiday hideout of the most elite members of the international jet set since the 1970’s. It is surrounded by mountains in a secluded bay of crystal waters on the island of Crete and was originally chosen by Greek Hoteliers as the most blessed spot in Greece. Elounda has the most stunning views and desirable climate in the country with 7 months a year of perfect temperatures, summer breezes and sunshine… guaranteed!

Part of the Elounda myth, is the Venetian Castle on the Island of Spinalonga, the setting for Victoria Hislop’s bestselling novel “The Island”. Domes of Elounda is set on the most privileged hill, isolated from

the other resorts and with the closest breathtaking views of the Venetian castle and the sea.

an abundance of living space, privacy and extraordinary service.

Elounda Reinvented

Domes of Elounda all Suites and Villas Spa Resort offers guests the true Mediterranean experience, connecting luxury to natural environment and local culture. This is a new alternative luxury one isn’t afraid to touch, one you can live in, and one with extraordinary character that allows you to remain in sync with the landscape of Greece while enjoying world class accommodation. Our staff is always there when your client needs them and is dedicated to uphold our motto: “There’s nothing we can’t do for our guests”.

Domes of Elounda is the realized dream of Ledra Hotels, an organization that operates several hotels in the area. This is the newest luxury resort in the region and by introducing the ultraluxe facilities reinvented Elounda’s lost principal of exclusivity. The food, the culture, the architecture is all brought to life in the form of a luxury resort that consists only of suites and villas. The essence of the concept is to provide a small number of exclusive guests with all the amenities of a resort while offering

A Human Approach To Luxury

EXCLUSIVE RESORT OF THE YEAR GREECE

Hotel Name: Domes of Elounda all Suites and Villas Boutique Beach Resort

Truly Authentic Architecture And Design

Minimally interfering with the natural habitat and harmonically blended with their surroundings, the domed structures emerge from the ground, respecting its natural contours and creating a Mediterranean settlement on a hillside of flower gardens, stone pathways, and olive groves.

Each suite and villa finds its roots in architecture from Greece, Carpath and Syria, borrowing features such as domed and pyramidal ceilings that cool rooms capturing sea breezes, and create organically shaped living spaces at a human scale. Mild earth tones are found throughout, embellished

with works of art from internationally recognized art houses as well as one of a kind pieces from local artists.

Distances

75km from Heraklion airport (largest airport in Crete) 1.5km from the village of Plaka and 2.5kms from attractions in the village of Elounda 12km from Agios Nikolaos and 45km from nearest golf course 80km from Archaeological site of Knossos Telephone: Head offices & Reservations: (+30) 2310 810 624 Email: info@domesofelounda.com Website: www.domesofelounda.com

Country: Thailand | Location (City): Chiang Mai Golden Triangle (Chiang Rai) Koh Samui (Suratthani) Two sophisticated resorts – one nestled in a lush valley, the other secluded on an island shore – and an incomparable tented camp. Sample each individually, or combine two or three unique views of Thailand into a once-in-a-lifetime journey.

As different as they are, our three Thai properties welcome you with the same Four Seasons spirit, highlighting thoughtful service and exceptional quality.

Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui is an away-from-it-all hillside resort set

amid the stunningly beautiful Gulf of Siam. Spacious Pool villas nestle tropical gardens, conserved coconut groves, and the glorious amphitheatre of sky, sea and exotic island. Explore the forest spa. Dine delectably at hillcrest or beachside. Glide through the 50-metre Infinity Swimming Pool.

Sit back and relax at CoCoRum bar, boasting authentic and extensive collection of rums in Thailand. Sip something special as you survey the exotic ambiance and savour the exquisite cuisine and music of Latin America. Splash in the private bay.

Encounter a pristine world of white sand beaches, vibrant reefs, rainforest and sunshine.

Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai Nestling the majestic Mae Rim Valley, Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai features refined local Lanna Kingdom culture and contemporary designerenriched Pavilions with stunning views of terraced rice fields and misty mountains beyond. Minutes from the historic city of Chiang Mai, the resort is a perfect springboard for discovering the Northern region’s most glittering heritage sites and colourful contemporary life. Explore the resort’s lush tropical grounds to discover intriguing insights into the exotic local flora and fauna. Tick off atmospheric ancestral shrines, rice

HOTEL BRAND OF THE YEAR THAILAND

Hotel Name: Four Seasons Resorts Thailand fields and beloved water buffaloes.

Discover local flavours and original cocktails, especially those created by world-renown mixologist Javier de la Muelas. Add another talent to your repertoire at the resortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acclaimed Thai cooking school and feel the world from different perspectives at The Spa.

active adults cover every detail, from elephant mahout training to riverside drinks in the stilt-top bar.

FOUR SEASONS TENTED CAMP GOLDEN TRIANGLE

Email:

Enjoy an escape shared by a select few within just 15 luxurious tented accommodations. Amid Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exotic bamboo jungles, and reachable only by river boat, these all-inclusive two- or three-night adventures for

Telephone: 66 53 298 181 (Chiang Mai) 66 53 910 200 (Golden Triangle) 66 77 243 000 (Koh Samui) contactus.chiangmai@fourseasons.com contactus.goldentriangle@fourseasons.com contactus.kohsamui@fourseasons.com

Website: http://www.fourseasons.com/chiangmai/ http://www.fourseasons.com/ goldentriangle/ http://www.fourseasons.com/kohsamui/

Country: The Maldives | Location (City): Rangali Island | Hotel Name: Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Barefoot luxury meets unpretentious style here. Home to whale sharks, manta rays, dolphins, turtles and an extensive coral reef, it was recently voted the “Best Luxury Resort in the Maldives”.

Reached by a 30-minute seaplane flight, this spectacular resort offers three resort experiences on two islands and is home to 11 restaurants and bars including: Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, 101 of the world’s best cheeses, the underground Wine Cellar and 20,000 bottles of fine wines.

For relaxation, there are two spas, an extensive range of excursions, diving and watersports– including a submarine – a vibrant coral reef and the world’s most perfect beaches

Barefoot luxury meets unpretentious style at the spectacular Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. Home to whale sharks, manta rays, dolphins, turtles and an extensive coral reef, it’s been awarded “The Best Water Villas in the World”, “The Best Suites in the World” and “Best Spa Resort in the Maldives” among other accolades.

Reached by a 30-minute seaplane flight, this luxury resort offers three different resort experiences on two islands: guests can enjoy the typical get-away-from-it-all Maldivian hideaway on tiny Rangali Island while also having access to the facilities of the larger and livelier main island which is linked to it by a 500m bridge.

The third resort experience is at the Spa Retreat, an over-water destination spa that operates as a resort-within-aresort set 100m off the tip of the main island.

Accommodation varies from 50 romantic water villas on Rangali Island and 79 contemporary beach villas tucked away amongst tropical greenery on the main island to 21 stunning over-water villas at the Spa Retrea.

No matter where they stay, guests can enjoy all the resort’s facilities in full, which includes 11 restaurants and bars, two spas, two pools and unique experiences such as manta watching

EXCLUSIVE RESORT OF THE YEAR MALDIVES

at night, turtle conservation, dolphinspotting excursions and snorkeling with whale sharks.

A gastronomist’s dream, the resort is the home to world-class dining such as Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, the only all-glass undersea restaurant in the world, Japanese-inspired dishes under the stars at Koko Grill, 101 of the world’s best cheeses in the Cheese Bar or visit The Wine Cellar for degustation wine dinners hosted by our chef and sommelier. Over 20,000 bottles of fine wines, from rare vintages to new discoveries, ensure that every meal becomes a feast for the senses.

For relaxation, guests can find bliss in the resort’s two spas, enjoy an extensive range of excursions, diving and watersports options – including a submarine – snorkel the resort’s vibrant coral reef which is just steps from the beach or simply celebrate the art of doing nothing in a million different ways on the world’s most perfect beaches.

Telephone: +960 6680629 Email: Mlehi.maldives@conradhotels.com Website: www.conradmaldives.com

Country: Greece | Location (City): Oia, Santorini | Hotel Name: The Katikies Hotel Inspiring deep emotions of enchantment and fascination, the Katikies Hotel in Oia Santorini is renowned for its leading luxury, unparallel services, warm atmosphere and sense of romance uniquely combined in an exceptional setting and natural environment in Oia Santorini, inviting its guests to experience moments of pure luxury.

A Santorini legend and leading hotel in Greece, the Katikies Hotel is synonymous with many unrivalled characteristics. Awe inspiring Caldera views, sublime Santorini sunsets and perfectly manicured pink bougainvilleas provide the magnificent backdrop for this perennially gleaming, glistening white

Santorini luxury hotel that spills down the cliffs of the magical Caldera.

With a history as spectacular as its free form fantasy architectural formation of stairs, bridges, cubist cottages, infinity pools and Caldera views, the Katikies Hotel in Oia Santorini has garnered the reputation of the Grande dame of Caldera luxury hotels. Gorgeous luxury rooms in this Caldera hotel are both pristine and welcoming where magical private terraces hover over the most unforgettable of views.

Perched on the Caldera cliffs, 300 feet above the azure waters of the Aegean, Katikies The Hotel in Oia Santorini provides an experience of unparalleled romance and prestigious luxury.

Hotel Dining The Katikies Hotel has come to be known as the luxurious jewel of Santorini hotels, boasting some of the most elegant dining in Greece.

The Kirini pool restaurant and celebrated pool bar reflect all that is art and magic in the remarkable avant garde Santorini restaurant culinary scene that wholly characterizes the Katikies Hotel.

In addition, The Katikies Dinner Restaurant, with its four tables suspended on a secret rooftop veranda on the volcano rim, offers one of the most sumptuous and romantic dining experiences in the world.

LUXURY ESCAPE OF THE YEAR GREECE

Hotel Leisure The K – CLUB, the hotel’s concierge service, instils a sense of comfort, creates enriching experiences and offers exclusive access.

Whether it is art or culture, food or drink, a spa treatment, exploring the island on a «caique» or a night out, the K-Club brings you nothing but the best. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it is there to help with all of our guests needs, no matter how extraordinary or demanding they may be.

Hotel Rooms

Luxurious romantic and mysterious grandeur describe each of the 27 rooms and suites that artfully combine

the classical with the contemporary.

Well proportioned characteristics imbued by romantic Santorini white - washed walls, touching powder blue textiles and lovingly handpicked Greek antiques, match the traditionally beamed ceilings.

Each one of the suites combines gentle references to the past with today’s cosseting technology.

Elegant symmetry, simplicity and harmonious refreshed palettes adorn throughout this luxury accommodation where bold white bathrooms have been interpreted using the finest natural materials, striking marble that reflects both cleanliness and purity in spaces dedicated to sleep and contemplation.

Telephone: 0030 22860 72380 Email: info@katikies.com Website: http://www.katikieshotelsantorini.com/

Country: Portugal | Location (City): Lisbon | Hotel Name: Palacio Belmonte At the Belmonte there is no crowd, no noise, no chocolate on the pillow, no television, just fresh air, space, light, your own laughter and music.

For an experience beyond compare, far back to our roots, to our childhood, to fantasy, let Palácio Belmonte be your house while discovering the wonderland of Portugal.

Palacio Belmonte offers 10 suites, all different, all unique, some with terraces, winter garden or built in a roman tower with 360º view or in a Muslim one on top of a 40 meters high rock , all equipped with fully modern bathrooms, natural ventilation, a Mediterranean garden and black marble swimming pool to relax, read or dream.

House of the Earl of Belmonte, Cabral and the Marquis of Atalaia for the past 500 years, the Belmonte is a stunning sculpture, a 2197 years synthesis of

Portuguese history. It became a few years ago the House of a Landscape Collector.

He then decided to open his House to a very few for whom, luxury is synonymous of encountering one’s emotions. Palácio Belmonte prides itself on delivering memorable unique customized experiences for those who choose to stay with us. For this reason Palácio Belmonte suggest experiences that can be personalized for you, either it be a fabulous sunset in a yacht on the Tejo River, a private tour to unique architectural features of old Lisbon, your own private Fado singer, a special day out with wine, olive oil tastings and Lusitano horses in the Alentejo or maybe a dinner at the unique local “Tascas” in which you will experience the real authentic Portuguese hospitality.

The Belmonte is the most veiled secret in Lisbon… and definitely a place to experience! History, Architecture,

Culture, Sustainable Development… here you will not find a standard accommodation but a single life option!

While receiving the highest level of service, you will be merged by this deep philosophy of wellbeing, exclusivity, simplicity, natural comfort, intimacy and introspection. Palácio Belmonte is a real alternative way of life… come join us!

A resume of The Belmonte: The Belmonte is about light, privacy, beautiful landscapes.

An attitude and a lifestyle.

A house for whom, luxury is synonymous of encountering one’s emotions.

Ten suites, on 3700 sqm, 7 terraces, books, art, chimneys, piano, infinity pool.

A very discreet, attentive and imaginative team to show you the best.

HOTEL OF THE YEAR PORTUGAL

Fact Sheet

Accommodations

Location

Each of the 10 exquisite suites is an original masterpiece with individual character, blending historic architectural features with the utmost comfort in contemporary design. Visitors are immersed in culture – within the suites, guests discover the remnants of Roman and Moorish towers, and distinctive, blue and white XVIII century’s portuguese tiles (azulejos) that recall stories of adventure and romance.

Each suite is named for a Portuguese writer, artist, philosopher, adventurer, inventor or ecologist. Many have beautiful terraces or verandas overlooking the River Tagus, the inviting city of old Lisbon below or the palace’s striking swimming pool. Suites range in size from 29 sq meters to more than 162 sq meters

Palacio Belmonte, the most acclaimed and historic “hotel” in old Lisbon, seats majestically atop one of the city’s renowned seven hills, adjacent to the picturesque Castelo de São Jorge.

Surrounded by winding, cobblestone streets, Palacio Belmonte overlooks the Alfama district’s medieval churches and the Tagus River, affording breathtaking views of the redroofed valley and lush gardens below. Here, history and modern luxury blend seamlessly to create an aura of peace and exclusivity, where thoughtful service assures a gracious experience, reminiscent of Portugal’s storied past.

Address: Pateo Dom Fradique 14 1100-624 Lisbon, Portugal Telephone: + 351 21 881 66 00 Fax: +351 21 881 66 09 Email: office@palaciobelmonte.com Website: www.palaciobelmonte.com

Country: China | Location (City): Shanghai | Hotel Name: The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong Immerse yourself in the energy of the city’s financial and commercial epicenter when you stay at The RitzCarlton Shanghai, Pudong. Ideally located on Century Avenue, in the heart of the Lujiazui finance and trade zone, our hotel is just moments from popular Shanghai destinations, such as The Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Yuyuan Garden and Bazaar, and Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.

Hotel Information The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong is Shanghai’s ultimate destination for uncompromising style and luxury.

Positioned in Pudong’s social and commercial hub at the top of Shanghai ifc with views over the Bund, the hotel is designed by world famous Richard Farnell and is situated on the top 18 floors of the ultra-modern, 58-story Tower 1 of Shanghai ifc in the heart of the city’s Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, offering luxury commercial, residential and retail space.

Hotel Dining Three-meal Italian restaurant Scena with interactive open kitchen. Chinese restaurant Jin Xuan featuring 8 private dining rooms for special occasions.

Rooftop Restaurant & Bar Flair serving stylish Asian dishes and overlooking

The Bund. Aura Lounge and Jazz Bar offering tea, light meals, signature Afternoon Teas and varieties of wines.

Aroma is the ideal meeting point for gourmet coffee, refreshing beverages and light fare.

Hotel Leisure 24-hour Fitness Studio, pool, Jacuzzi, steam room and dry sauna on the 53rd floor, featuring uninterrupted views of the Bund. The Ritz-Carlton Spa

by ESPA, offering a variety of beauty treatments and rejuvenating therapies in 10 treatment rooms. The exquisite collection of treatments represents complete care, personalization and the ultimate in luxury.

LUXURY HOTEL OF THE YEAR SHANGHAI, CHINA

Hotel Business Services More than 2,600 sq m/ 27,300 sq ft of meeting and conference space. 1.135 sq m/ 12.200 sq ft Grand Ballroom divisible into three salons. Four multipurpose function rooms and two boardrooms.

Hotel Rooms 285 guest rooms including 52 suites.

There are 53 Ritz-Carlton Club rooms and The Ritz-Carlton Club Level features a separate Club lounge which offers five complimentary food and beverage presentations throughout the day and evening, and a dedicated concierge staff. An array of luxurious

amenities including twice-daily housekeeping attention with evening turndown service and 24-hour inroom dining.

Telephone: 86 21 20201888 Email: joy.deng@ritzcarlton.com Website: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/ Properties/ShanghaiPudong/Default. htm

Country: South Africa | Location (City): Cape Town| Hotel Name: Taj Cape Town Taj Cape Town welcomes guests to the vibrant heart of one of the world’s most scenic and desirable cities, Cape Town.

Taj Cape Town is a combination of rich history and elegant contemporary architecture. Originally home to the South African Reserve Bank and Temple Chambers, later the Board of Executors (BOE), it successfully combines the heritage of the old with the luxury of the new.

This five-star hotel is ideally located in the centre of historic Cape Town at the entrance to the famous pedestrian precinct, St George’s Mall. Its prime location ensures that Taj Cape Town

is perfectly situated for those looking to discover authentic Cape Town; and its blend of fascinating history, exotic culture, soulful art, lively entertainment and delectable cuisine.

A proud member of The Leading Hotels of the World Taj Cape Town is a luxury hotel set in the vibrant heart of Cape Town.

Occupying two historic buildings, it retains the architecture and many meticulously restored interior features of the original South African Reserve Bank and the old BoE building – formerly the Temple Chambers, built in 1890. Seventeen new storeys house

suites, guestrooms and residences with magnificent views of the Mother City and the iconic Table Mountain.

Taj’s doors open to a precinct that includes the national and provincial parliaments, Government Avenue leading through the 350-year-old Company Gardens from St George’s Cathedral, the cosmopolitan crafts of St George’s Mall and Greenmarket Square and a diversity of culture, art, entertainment and cuisine.

Taj Cape Town’s 176 exceptional rooms and suites offer an oasis-like retreat from the lively bustle of the city centre. The historic structure of Taj Cape Town is home to the exquisite

LUXURY HOTEL OF THE YEAR

Heritage Rooms and Suites, Tower Rooms and Suites, The Presidential Suite and the Taj Club.

The rooms combine old-world quality and modern amenities. As well as the gamut of facilities that guests would expect in a luxury hotel room such as a mini-bar, safe, voicemail and international plug sockets, standard features include high-speed wireless internet, an iPod docking station and charger, an internet-enabled television and a work station with a multi-media hub so laptops can be interfaced with the television.

The first floor of the BoE building, with its large sash windows looking

out on St Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral, the Company Gardens and the Provincial Legislature, houses the banqueting and meeting rooms.

Telephone: +27 21 819 2000 Email: willie.williams@tajhotels.com Website: www.tajhotels.com

SOUTH AFRICA