Lawyers worldwide awards 2015

LAWYERS WORLDWIDE AWARDS MAGAZINE

LAWYERS WORLDWIDE

AWARDS 2015

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Lawyers Worldwide Awards 2015

Lawyers Worldwide Awards is recognised all over the world for our comprehensive awards programs we run, taking votes from countries all over the world to recognise the most prestigious professionals in their specialised areas of practice.

The 2015 Awards recognises a select number of leading professional firms around the world working both nationally and internationally in their field of expertise.

Lawyers Worldwide Awards selects the best professional & financial institutions from around the world and showcases there work ethic and skills within their area of expertise.

The Awards Magazine is aimed at not just the large corporations but the smaller companies of the advisory business sector.

Lawyers Worldwide Awards is currently being read by Lawyers, Advisers, Consultants and corporate executives.

We aim to showcase every company individually and to its full potential.

Lawyers Worldwide Awards 2015 Index Afschrift Tax Law Firm of the Year – Switzerland Bertold F Theeuwes Sovereign Representation & Government Affairs – Belgium Bezen & Partners Law Firm of the Year - Turkey CARROLL, BURDICK & McDONOUGH LLP Product Liability Law Firm of the Year - Asia Deep & Far Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year - Taiwan Desai & Diwanji Full Service Law Firm of the Year – India Fredrikson & Byron Corporate Tax Law Firm of the Year - USA Fulbrook Management Capital Fund Management Firm of the Year - USA Ghellal & Mekerba Amine Ghellal – Lawyer of the Year – Africa KSI Mexico Accounting Firm of the Year - Mexico LatourLaw P.A Private Equity Law Firm of the Year – USA Linklaters Corporate Law Firm of the Year - Belgium Luthi + Co Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year - Israel Mathys & Squire Technology Law Firm of the Year - UK

meyerlustenberger | lachenal Rechtsanwälte Real Estate Law Firm of the Year - Switzerland Moraes Pitombo Advogados Criminal Law Firm of the Year – Brazil Nasser & Associates Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year – Lebanon Natividad Abogados Labour Law Firm of the Year - Mexico PatentAxis Inc Best Patent Services Firm - Canada Rogerio Fernandes Ferreira & Associados Law Firm of the Year - Portugal Sadis & Golberg Law Firm of the Year - USA Saxinger, Chalupsky & Partner Rechtsanwalte GmbH ( SCWP Schindhelm) Advisor of the Year 2015 - M&A, Real Estate, Banking & Finance And Corporate Law Firm of the Year - Austria Yav & Associates Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year - Democratic Republic of the Congo ZeusIP Advocates Most Trusted Law Firm of the Year - Patents, Trademakrs & IP Litigation - India

Product Liability Law Firm of the Year – Asia A leader in global litigation management, Carroll Burdick has over 60 lawyers on three continents, speaking more than 16 languages including German, English, Mandarin Chinese, French, Latvian, Romanian, Russian and Spanish, with over 20 percent of the firm’s lawyers having legal educations in two or more countries. This unparalleled experience provides the cultural insights necessary for effectively working with international clients to meet their business goals.

Founded in 1948 by three highly respected San Francisco lawyers—Jack Dale Burdick, Francis Carroll and Richard McDonough—Carroll, Burdick & McDonough LLP has enjoyed a stellar reputation for providing legal excellence, creativity, intellectual aggressiveness, and client confidence for over 65 years.

Practice Areas: Appellate Class Action

Patent and Intellectual Property Litigation

Commercial & Business Litigation

Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Litigation

Construction Litigation

Privacy and Data Security

Consumer Litigation Defence

Products Liability

Corporate, Finance & Commercial Law

Real Estate

Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Employment Litigation Financial Institution Practice Food and Beverage Litigation German Practice Insurance Coverage Litigation Intellectual Property International Business Mass Tort Litigation Media & Entertainment Law Mergers & Acquisitions

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Renewable Energy Technology

David Goh, managing partner at its Asia practice, has significant experience in large, complex and international commercial disputes, with particular emphasis on corporate issues and product liability matters. He also advises clients on regulatory matters, compliance, and antibribery/corruption cases, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act. His experience includes leading or coordinating investigations on behalf of both corporations and regulators, as well as advising or acting in the defence of any prosecutions.

In his more recent roles in senior management at various multinational corporations, Mr Goh developed significant experience in handling corporate and commercial matters, in particular, M&A transactions across the Asia Pacific region. He has developed proven methodologies in assisting companies to coordinate and manage their in-house and external legal service and continues to be consulted on such matters.

“Some cases carry more strategic weight than others. When your markets are threatened, when your business model is under pressure, when your operations are attracting lawsuits, then legal matters are no longer just about favourable results—it’s about your company’s core mission. At Carroll Burdick, we’re known for helping companies with matters of strategic value.”

Contact Details David Goh CARROLL, BURDICK & McDONOUGH LLP

Suite 5904, 59/F Central Plaza 18 Harbour Road Wan Chai Hong Kong SAR Tel: +852.2511.1040

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Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year – Taiwan 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, counselling, litigation and/or transaction thereof.

Yu-Li Tsai: Partner & Patent Attorney Practice area/industry focus: Intellectual Property, Unfair Competition, Litigation Career highlights: Mr Tsai is a patent attorney who holds a degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Master’s degree from the Graduate Institute of Communication Engineering, both awarded from the National Taiwan University.

His practice covers patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, unfair competition, licensing and litigation.

Mr Tsai also studied and gained a Master’s degree from the Law School, University of New Hampshire, also known as Franklin Pierce Centre for Intellectual Property. Upon graduation, he worked for InterDigital, Inc. in Delaware for a short period and later studied and passed the US Patent Registration Examination.

The patent attorneys and patent engineers in Deep & Far normally hold outstanding and advanced degrees and are generally graduated from the top five 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 60% 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, 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 wellbelieved that such properties are key factors for peoples to properly and competently behave themselves.

Deep & Far (D&F) is willing to take challenges to prove that it is the best IP firm, and to verify its supreme competence by e.g.: 1) Sending to D&F a pending or granted patent for its comments about how it can improve the claims;

2) Sending to D&F a pending patent specification without the claims for it to draft the claims for comparison with the original claims; or 3) Sending to D&F and the firm the client is currently using at the same time an initial disclosure so that the client can compare and find out where better claims are.

Deep & Far assures the clients that no competitors can escape from the patent rights D&F safeguards for the clients at reasonable service fees.

Because the tough economic downturn we are encountering in Taiwan, we are also encountering severe price competition. This situation also leads to that there are too many poor quality patents being granted because most enterprises do not have proper knowledge of the importance of patents. For example, they might only want to spend lower cost to file a patent application without considering the quality, or could not be alerted timely that narrow claims can protect their products of the current version only although there are reduced fees in responding to office actions.

Therefore, the patent agents or firms of the enterprises sometimes cannot help but sacrificing the quality to keep profits under the limited budgets of the clients. Under such social environment, it is very hard to anticipate that the clients have strong patents, or the patent firms or attorneys can nurture the ability of drafting wonderful scope of the claims.

Accordingly, it will not be surprised to find that there are some patent firms which cannot provide competent services but offer extreme low price to attract clients only caring about the price of filing a patent. This does also explain that there are poor quality patents being granted We persist in providing quality service rather than participating into the price war because we believe the Client will finally find the quality is the most important thing for intellectual property. If you sacrifice the quality and surrender to the price, you actually get negative return because .a poor quality IP is valueless. We did suffer a little last year in view of the reduced local generated works, but we see the situation began to change this year.

This firm is used to focusing on IPR, and takes deliberate steps to practice in all fields of law. In recent year, we make progress in either general civil law, business law or criminal law fields.

Contact Details 13th Fl., 27 Sec. 3, Chung San N. Rd., Taipei 104, Taiwan, R.O.C. -2-25856688 -2-25989900/25978989 Email: email@deepnfar.com.tw www.deepnfar.com.tw

Full Service Law Firm of the Year – India Founded on 1 April 1935, Desai & Diwanji is one of India’s leading law firms, helping clients achieve their goals by combining the highest global standards with local expertise.

With offices in Mumbai, New Delhi and Gurgaon, Desai & Diwanji is also amongst India’s largest law firms.

The firm focuses on the core areas of commercial activity: Corporate and M&A; capital markets; banking, finance & insurance; project finance; energy, natural resources and infrastructure; aviation; admiralty & maritime; technology, media & telecommunications; life sciences & pharmaceuticals; outsourcing; real estate & construction; litigation & dispute resolution.

We also have cross-practice groups formed to respond to the needs of our clients and the market and which comprise lawyers drawn together from a range of our main practice areas, to offer legal advice covering sector-wide issues.

Practice Areas Desai & Diwanji provides flexible support for day-to-day business needs as well as for specific transactions. With specialised knowledge of both the legal framework as well as the specific business requirements of various industry sectors, our team of lawyers work on some of the most challenging, complex and stimulating transactions in India.

The firm is structured around the following practice areas: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Mergers and Acquisitions Equity Capital Markets Banking, Finance and Insurance Project Finance Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Aviation Admiralty and Maritime Technology, Media and Telecommunications Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals Employment, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Outsourcing Real Estate and Construction Litigation, Dispute Resolution and Insolvency Competition

Our Clients

We are privileged to work with an impressive array of high calibre corporations, financial institutions, funds, and governments. Our continuing success relies on our building and sustaining the trust of our clients. We aim to build long-term relationships with them – relationships that over time take the form of a real partnership.

Desai & Diwanji provides its clients with: • A professional service of the highest calibre, combining technical excellence with commercial awareness and a practical, constructive approach to legal issues • Access to the best legal advice in a seamless and integrated manner • a client-focused service which means that our lawyers know their clients well, understand the operations and requirements of their businesses, and give proactive advice that goes beyond just getting the law right • a multi-specialist approach which enables our lawyers to advise on a broad range of their clients’ needs rather than bringing in many different specialists who may be unknown to the client. This further develops the trust between our lawyers and their clients • An imaginative approach to our work in all its forms, and consistently trying to develop new, more relevant solutions to issues faced by our clients We judge our success by the extent to which we satisfy our clients and motivate our people.

Contact Details: Vishwang Y Desai Desai & Diwanji Lentin Chambers Dalal Street Mumbai-400001 Email: vydesai@desaidiwanji.com Tel: +91-22-39841000 Fax: +91-22-22658245

FULBROOK

C APITAL M ANAGEMENT , LLC

Biography of Selvyn Seidel and Fulbrook Capital Management, LLC

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Selvyn Seidel founded and chairs Fulbrook Capital Management LLC. Fulbrook is an independent third party financing advisor on complex national and international commercial claims.

Fulbrook has created and occupies a special space in the funding industry, representing (1) claimants who need assistance in: evaluating their claims; preparing and/or improving the claim for investment, and prosecution; and/or sourcing capital – where Fulbrook identifies and attracts potential investors for the claimant and its claim, from (a) the institutional dedicated third party funders, as well as (b) from individual investors interested in committing only a portion of their capital into litigation finance (e.g., a family office, pension fund, hedge fund, or a private equity entity) and (2) representing and counseling investors looking for good investment opportunities.

If needed and acceptable within a jurisdiction’s rules, Fulbrook will assist in buying, selling, or otherwise trading the claim or the claimant itself.

Fulbrook also consults and advises claimants and investors, without the counseling having anything to do with linking with capital, but assisting in some fashion in monetizing investment opportunities.

Fulbrook emphasizes certain areas, particularly: patents and other IP; international litigation and arbitration; insolvency, and other serious financial distress situations; and mediation in general and high stake disputes. In exceptional circumstances, it will also work on other claims, such as those involving oil and gas, antitrust, securities fraud, insurance, whistleblower claims, and serous breach of contract and fraud claims.

In a recent Report by two think tanks that discussed Funders, Fulbrook was identified along with four other entities, as among the “prominent third-party funders” in the industry worldwide.

Additionally, Fulbrook has been awarded, since inception of operations about two years ago, 20 awards in the industry, and important aspects of the industry, as being the best in the industry globally and/or in specific important jurisdictions such as the U.S.A. Such awards include: ACQ Magazineʼs Global Award as the “Third Party Litigation Advisory Firm of the Year,” in both 2013 and 2014, based on international surveys taken from its over 50,000 subscribers, in addition to InterContinental Financer Magazine’s “Third Party Funding Firm of the Year (2013) – USA.” In November 2013, the Lawyers World, a global publication, after polling subscribers and internally judging the results, recognition as the “Third Party Funding Firm of the Year 2013 – USA.” In 2014, Fulbrook received Corporate LiveWire’s Global Award for the “Third Party Litigation Advisory Firm of the Year,” and its Global Award for the “Evaluation of International Arbitration Claims Advisory Firm of the Year.” Also in 2014, Fulbrook was awarded Dealmakers

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Magazine’s Annual Award for the “Third Party Funding Firm of the Year – USA.” Furthermore, in 2014, Fulbrook received InterContinental Finance Magazine’s Award the “Leading US Third Party Funding Firm of the Year,” in addition to the Manhattan Business Recognition Award for the “2014 Best of Manhattan Awards for Management Services.” Most recently, Fulbrook has been awarded the 2015 Corporate International Magazine’s Legal Award for the “International Finance Law Firm of the Year in New York”; the Professional Sector Network’s Global Award for the “Capital and Fund Management Practice of the Year”; the Corporate International Magazine Legal award “International Finance Firm of the Year in New York”; the 2015 Global Award of Dealmakers of the “Leading U.S. Third Party Funding Firm of the Year”;

and the Lawyers’ Worldwide Awards Magazine 2015 award as “Most Trusted Third Party Funding Firm of the Year- USA.” Before Fulbrook, in 2007, Mr. Seidel founded and chaired Burford Advisors, an expert advisor in third party finance, and then, in October of 2009, co-founded and chaired Burford Group Ltd., the investment manager for Burford Capital, LLC, which has gone public on the U.K. Aim market of the London Exchange, and is now among the leading and the largest institutional litigation funder in the world with over $500 million under management.

Mr. Seidel is recognized in the industry as a pioneering voice. He was described in the Report referred to above as “probably the frontrunner in the industry,” and is usually described as a leader or the leader in the industry.

Before Burford and Fulbrook, Mr. Seidel practiced as a litigation attorney for over 40 years in complex litigations and arbitrations, specializing in international. In 1985, he co-founded the New York office of Latham & Watkins, a premier international law firm. Until December 31, 2006 and for almost 25 years, he was a senior litigation partner at Latham and was, at different times, the Chairman of the firm’s International Practice, the founder and Chairman of Latham’s International Litigation and Arbitration practice, and the Chairman of its New York Litigation practice.

Mr. Seidel has been and is an active educator. He was for ten years an Adjunct Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law, teaching courses related to litigation and arbitration.

He is an Alumnus Lecturer at Linacre College, Oxford University. He chaired for a number of

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C APITAL M ANAGEMENT , LLC

years the Advisory Board of Oxford Law Alumni of America, and chaired the Advisory Board of Columbia’s Law School’s Center on International Commercial and investment Arbitration. He currently works with the New York University Law School’s Center for Justice. He lectures on third party finance and participates in conferences and presentations at various law schools in the U.S. and U.K. (including Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, Oxford Law, and the University of Iowa Law School), and at various Institutes (such as the RAND Institute of Civil Justice, and at LEXIS NEXIS programs on litigation costing and funding). He has authored many articles and papers in the industry, (see www.fulbrookmanagment.com for references to lectures, presentations, articles and papers), the Fulbrook Primer on Third Party Finance of Commercial Claims, and the Fulbrook Snapshot on Third Party Finance of Commercial Claims.

He is regularly referred to and cited in the media. (See www.fulbrookmanagement.com) Mr. Seidel is a graduate of the University of Chicago (B.A. in Economics, 1964), J.D. Berkeley School of Law, 1967, member of Law Review), and University of Oxford, 1968, Diploma in Law).

© Copyr ight, 2015

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Amine Ghellal – Lawyer of the Year – Africa Amine Ghellal, the founding partner of Ghellal & Mekerba, has 44 years of experience and is considered as one of Algeria’s leading law practitioners.

He is said to know the Algerian Business framework “like the back of his hand”.

He has a wide knowledge of all aspects of Algerian law regarding investment, corporate, financing, exchange control, tax and customs law.

He is an international arbitrator and a member of the International Arbitration Institute. He has a perfect knowledge of contractual mechanisms and precautions governing dispute resolution. Dr. Ghellal acts as an arbitrator before the International Chamber of Commerce (CCI) and the Algerian Chamber of Trade and Industry (CACI).

He is also currently seen as one of Africa’s leading gas and oil practitioners and regularly advises major international firms on all the intricacies of energy regulation. Dr. Ghellal has counseled the Algerian Ministry of Energy and has also headed Sonatrach’s “International Legal” and “International Negotiation” departments. Between 1979 and 1981, he was Algeria’s legal expert within the OPEC and the OPAEC. Dr. Ghellal is a graduate in both public and private law and in political sciences. He studied in France and obtained a Higher Diploma in Public law with Magna Cum Laude, a Higher Diploma in Political Sciences with Magna Cum Laude and a PhD with Summa Cum Laude and praises of the examination board. He also taught public law, both in France and Algeria, for many years, and has published many articles. Dr. Ghellal is a member of the Algerian Bar Association, a member of the International Bar Association, a member of the International Arbitration Institute (IAI), a correspondent of the World Bank in Algeria, an honored Member of the International Who’s Who of Professionals and of Project Finance, a member of the International Lawyers Club (Head Office in France), a member of the International Lawyers Association “Mackrell International” (Head Office in Great Britain), he is a member of Primerus and is one of the 5 ambassadors worldwide of the Chinese European Arbitration Center.

Contact Details 7 Rue Doudou Mokhtar, Lot no. 2, Ben Aknoun, 16000, Alger, Algérie Tel: 213 21 91 42 30 Mobile: +213 661400248 Fax: 213 21 91 42 36 Email: amine.ghellal@ghellal.com

Best Patent Firm – Canada PatentAxis Inc. is a patent services firm located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada that was founded with the mission to provide streamlined and practical solutions to clients trying to obtain patent protection. Emphasis is placed on client communications and understanding client goals and objectives so that each patent prosecution strategy and work product is uniquely suited to each client. For Canadian clients the firm provides a full service international patent prosecution, and directs and manages patent protection and analysis for desired markets worldwide. Conversely, for International clients the firm provides a focused approach to obtaining patent protection and patent analysis in Canada, prosecuting Canadian counterpart patent applications stemming from PCT International applications or priority applications filed in other countries.

When notified of the win, the firm’s Director Jai Chatterjee expressed appreciation: “Recognition from Lawyers Worldwide Awards is an invigoratingly happy event and enthusiastically accepted. Accolades such as this are valuable as they provide a relevant measure of client satisfaction. PatentAxis Inc. understands that clients are fully occupied executing business models to commercialize inventions, and therefore the significance of taking time to vote and the value of each vote is never taken for granted. Sincere gratitude is extended to all those who voted to provide a cumulative compliment in the form of this award win.”

We queried Mr. Chatterjee to provide further details of the firm’s winning approach to patent services.

He has over 10 years of experience helping clients obtain patent protection for various technologies. His scientific background is in the health sciences having received a PhD in Biochemistry from McGill University. Early in his career his patent practice focused on biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and has since grown to include other technologies.

“When I first started in patents, working with inventions related to medical and biotechnology fields was a natural progression from my doctoral research, but over the years I have been fortunate to work with a great variety of clients having diverse technologies to the point that now I welcome discussions on most technologies,” explained Chatterjee commenting on the firm’s varied client roster. “Exposure to the enthusiasm of inventors and their new concepts in varying technologies keeps me fully engaged and inspired to ensure that each client receives excellent service.”

PatentAxis Inc. is dedicated to providing high value service and achieving successful results for clients of all sizes and technology areas. Innovation and impactful inventive ideas can originate from any source – ranging from an independent inventor to a large corporation. The firm’s client roster reflects this belief with clients ranging from small companies to large universities. While a strict confidentiality policy prevents naming of

clients, ultimately, the recruitment of any new client or new business from an existing client is considered a successful and significant event.

Whether in good economic times or tough times the firm’s adherence to cost efficiency serves clients well and maintains a positive outlook on client relationships. Sophisticated entities holding large patent portfolios can readily recognize the value provided. With smaller companies that are novice patent filers a more managed approach is often needed to explain steps and associated costs and implications. Innovation is a cyclical relative to economic trends, and regardless of an expanding or retracting economy, clients are ready to invest time and money to protect inventions. In tough times however, clients can benefit from greater transparency and predictability of their patent budgets, an area where PatentAxis Inc. excels.

PatentAxis Inc. provides several distinguishing advantages in its business approach. The firm is dedicated to providing service with time and cost efficiency - the intent is to always provide a value to cost ratio that exceeds client expectations. PatentAxis Inc. is also committed to accessibility and quick responses to client inquiries – clients always feel included and engaged in the patent process Management of the firm’s distinguishing advantages comes down to a constant focus on client service details. For example, invoices or debit notes are always checked to ensure that costs are in line with client expectations for each work product. Prior to initiating each work product estimates can be provided and fixed price options are available. As another example, an environment of client accessibility is fostered by encouraging discussion so that clients maintain an understanding of the patent process and are able to input questions and comments at each step. Moreover, communication with clients to explain options and implications of each step is a staple of the firm’s business approach.

The firm’s future is bright. PatentAxis Inc. is fortunate to have a client roster of talented innovators that reflects a variety of technologies and a variety of business models.

Experience indicates that these innovators will continue to invent and develop patent portfolios. The firm is excited to expand a new service product of a fixed cost Canadian prosecution that covers all steps from patent application filing to issuance of a patent grant – this product provides a highly distinguished advantage of cost transparency and predictability and has been overwhelmingly encouraged in client surveys. Finally, this recognition from Lawyers Worldwide Awards will inspire a continued devotion to achieving client success and providing a rewarding client experience.

CONTACT DETAILS Company: PatentAxis Inc. Name: Jai Chatterjee Email: mail@patentaxis.com Web Address: www.patentaxis.com Address: 10 King Street East, suite 500, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1C3 Canada Telephone: +1-416-556-2999

www.patentaxis.com Patent Services from Canada to the World Prime access to Canadian Patents

Accounting Firm of the Year – Mexico KSI México is a global network, member of KS International, an association of independent accountancy firms with over 100 offices; we operate in some 50 countries around the world to deal with your international business need.

KSI México offers a personal service, focused on the growth and success of our clients. We outstand for the quality of our services, offering a complete solution for each client.

We provide a wide range of business service to companies in a variety of industries. The firm specializes in corporate finance advice, accounting, tax planning, consultation, and auditing services.

We belong to the PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board), as a corporation to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect the interests of investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate and independent audit reports.

Our commitment is to help your business succeed by keeping up-to-date with your affairs and offering a high standard of both commercial and supportive advice.

The Key to our approach is to build a close relationship between partner and client.

Qualities you will find in a KSI México firm include: A real understanding of your business.

The partners are in tune with your needs and aspirations.

Regular attention and support from accessible partners.

Commercial realism in the advice you receive.

Technically reliable responses to your enquiries.

Additionally, KSI México firm attach great importance to recruiting and training quality staff.

Contact Details: KSi Mexico Miriam Robles Address: Paseo de la reforma 935, Mexico City, 1100 Tel: +52(55)5520-5353 Email: info@ksi.mx Website: www.ksi.mx

Overall Tax Law Firm of the Year Belgium AFSCHRIFT is a niche tax boutique: its lawyers, most of which teach at the University, practice almost exclusively tax cases. Services are highly personalized and confidentiality is jealously preserved.

AFSCHRIFT (Listed several times in www.worldfinance100.com and 3 times recipient of the Belgian legal awards) is a multi-awarded 24 lawyer’s boutique law firm established in Brussels, Antwerp, Geneva, Luxembourg, Madrid, Tel Aviv and Hong Kong.

The firm provides personalized consultancy services on the fields of direct and indirect taxation, especially (international) tax optimization and (corporate, estate and real estate) planning, while defending taxpayers in tax and white collar crime cases before the courts; it has participated in the major tax trials of the past 20 years.

The firm’s clientele includes individuals, industrial and commercial companies, Luxembourgian, Swiss and Belgian banks, as well as companies established out of Belgium. Due to the partners’ expertise on European tax law, as well as their specific knowledge of Swiss, Belgian, Luxembourgian, Spanish and Israeli tax law, AFSCHRIFT’s lawyers are in position to help companies to achieve the best optimization of their tax situation and individuals to optimize the planning of their estate.

Managing partner and founder Thierry Afschrift, professor to the Free University of Brussels, deputy judge to the Court of appeal and referred as “Best Tax Lawyer-Belgium 2009” (World Finance Magazine), is admitted to the Brussels, Antwerp and Madrid Bar, while being member of Luxembourg, Geneva and Hong Kong bars.

Companies and individuals have to face the three principal problems in Belgium: over-regulation (but not always of optimal quality), constant increase of the State’s powers and, also constant, increase of taxes. In this frame, Afschrift’s role is to help its clients to prepare, efficiently and legally, future operations… and/or to mend existing ones.

That means that the crisis did not really touched the firm, except on the field of consultancy on commercial operations, as business have been slowed down by the crisis.

No special measures have been taken, nor have changes of the firm’s policy been made.

AFSCHRIFT’s lawyers still work in the same manner, trying to always achieve the best results for their clients.

From a business point of view, our goal is to reinforce our position in the Benelux and Switzerland and Luxembourg, where the lawmakers prove themselves of a great creativity on the tax field.

The firm will also probably spread its activities in Asia, as the situation in Europe risks to worsen, given the increase of sovereign debts, and the austerity policy followed by the most of the European countries, which will probably result in an new increase of taxes, while the business and labor markets will, in the best of the scenarios, only stabilize.

This recession, which will probably touch also the Scandinavian countries, as well as the stagnation of the economic growth, will force a number of European companies to extend their activities in other, more distant, markets.

Contact Details Avenue Louise, 208 1050 BRUSSELS BELGIUM T +32 2 646 46 36 F +32 2 644 38 00

Criminal Law Firm of the Year – Brazil MORAES PITOMBO ADVOGADOS is a Law Firm that was founded with the objective of harmonically combining two different qualities of contemporary legal practice: personally tailored client service - characteristic of small Law Firms - and the cutting-edge technology and organization of big Law Firms. Right from the project phase we decided to serve clients, both individuals and companies, within a specific niche of legal practice, without extending our activities to other fields of Law. Therefore, the attorneys who are part of MORAES PITOMBO ADVOGADOS staff dedicate themselves to improve the technical quality of the specialized services rendered. Each individual lawyer has the mission to expand his/her legal knowledge, by studying and getting updated constantly. In this sense, lawyers are stimulated to further their academic careers and to participate in courses abroad.

Consequently, the preparation of procedural documents follow strict methods of doctrinal investigation and application of updated jurisprudence, as a form of emphasizing the peculiarities of each case, so as to meet the main goal, which is convincing those who judge.

In order to meet such a goal, our firm has not only organized a vast legal library, but has also put together an extensive collection of periodicals and journals plus a wide database of past trials, organized by subject matters. When defending the points of view of our clients, guided by the highest ethical norms, our lawyers are trained to put forward graceful and easy deliveries in hearings and oral statements in general. Our attorneys carry out their daily tasks attending the courts of law, even the Supreme Federal Court and the Superior Court of Justice, with the purpose of ensuring the perfect follow-up of trials.

Also, communication between attorney and client is privileged at our offices. In hearings, meetings, trials and judgments, or awaiting urgent judicial decisions, among other important situations, our team of lawyers is organized in such a way that clients can as swiftly as possible have crucial information available and services provided, thanks to the ample use of cuttingedge communication technology.

Another relevant aspect of our legal practice is reliability. Professional secrecy regarding legal processes is the golden rule, a true way of ensuring the privacy of the client and the preservation of the case. In the so-called popular or mediatic cases, improvisation is totally avoided. Jointly with media and communication professionals we develop specific strategies on how to deal with the mass media.

With the view of best serving our clients, as other law firms have done, we decided to open a subsidiary office in the capital city of Brasilia (Federal District), where all the Superior Courts of Justice of Brazil are based, so as to have a much closer follow-up of the progress of appeals and original procedures.

The staff at MORAES PITOMBO ADVOGADOS is presently made up of lawyers and trainees recruited from the best law schools in Brazil, people who wholeheartedly commit themselves to the defense of our clients’ interests, using cutting-edge technology combined with legal knowhow and experience.

Contact Details:

SÃO PAULO Rua Pequetita, 215 - 8º andar Cep: 04552-060 - São Paulo - SP Tel / Fax: (55 11) 3047-3131 Email address: asp@mpa.adv.br

Corporate Tax Law Firm of the Year - USA At Fredrikson & Byron, we’ve built a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet” by bringing business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to our work with clients, and by operating as business advisors and strategic partners as well as legal counselors.

A proactive, problem-solving mindset runs throughout our service areas, from our traditional legal areas of support like litigation, real estate, and intellectual property to our more consultative practices like government relations and health care consulting. It’s a mindset that enables us to understand and keep client objectives firmly in mind, and to anticipate and address problems before they arise.

Our lawyers blend a common sense approach with in-the-field experience, and we utilize our firm’s strong reputation and our lawyers’ broad networks of business and industry contacts to get things done for clients.

Clients have relied on us since 1948 for great solutions that help them minimize legal risks and maximize business benefits. We look forward to an opportunity to show you what it is like where law and business meet.

Tom Wilhelmy has practiced Property Tax and Real Estate Law since 1978 and has been an MSBA Board Certified Specialist in Real Property Law since the inception of that designation.

Practice Areas: Property Tax Appeals Tax Disputes & Resolution Real Estate Litigation Real Estate Litigation Contact Details: 200 South Sixth Street Suite 4000 Minneapolis, MN 55402-1425 Phone: 612.492.7000 Email: twilhelmy@fredlaw.com Office: 612.492.7058

Private Equity Law Firm of the Year - USA Attorney JosĂŠ E. Latour emigrated to the U.S. from Cuba with his parents at the age of four. Growing up in South Florida, he attended the University of Florida for both undergraduate and law studies. Upon graduating law school, Mr. Latour was appointed to the U.S. Department of State as a Diplomatic and Consular Officer by the late President Ronald Reagan. After serving abroad in Mexico and Equatorial Guinea (Africa), he left government service to begin private law practice.

Focusing on business immigration, international trade, and consular law, the firm rapidly expanded in the 1990s, opening branch offices in Washington D.C., Manila (Philippines), and Hong Kong. In 2003, Mr. Latour sold his US immigration practice and co-founded One World Development, a non-profit organization created to battle malaria in Equatorial Guinea, West Africa, where he had served as administrative officer for the State Department; the project, funded by the U.S. oil industry, ultimately resulted in a dramatic reduction in malaria-caused infant mortality. Upon completion of the five year contract, in 2008 he returned to private practice, since focusing exclusively on representing high net worth individuals and families and structuring EB-5 projects for U.S. and international businesses and developers.

In 1992, shortly after beginning private practice, Mr. Latour received the highest possible A/V peer rating by Martindale-Hubble law directory, a distinction which he has preserved continuously until today. Long a proponent of technology in the practice of law, he pioneered the concept of Internetbased delivery of legal services in the 1990s, providing direct client case management online for a broad spectrum of leading national healthcare and technology clients. Port of Entry, his daily Web column online long before the term "blog" existed - had over 30,000 daily readers in its prime in the 1990s. Mr. Latour has received a number of awards and distinctions from organizations including Inc. Magazine, Florida Trend Magazine, and Cisco Systems.

Today Mr. Latour heads LatourLaw, P.A., and a private client law practice based in Miami, Florida.

Contact Details: LatourLaw, P.A. Jose E. Latour, Esq. 4500 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 206 Miami, Florida 33137 Telephone: (786) 866-9775 Fax: (305) 675-6195 Email: jlatour@latourlaw.com

Labour Law Firm of the Year - Mexico Natividad Abogados, S.C., is a Law Firm that has consolidated a position, relations and prestige in the forum, based on development and innovation in consulting, planning and conflict solution, in all areas of Labour Law and Social Security.

The Firm is acknowledged expert in Mexico’s labour matters with presence of more than 35 years.

We offer our clients integrated solutions, providing the best cost/benefit relation, seeking to increase their competitiveness and security. We are known for offering quality services, business sustainability, opportunities for professional and personal development of our collaborators, making a positive contribution, always based on reason and passion for our work.

The Law Firm is member of L&E Global, world-wide alliance of boutique labour law firms in the main countries and key business centers in the world. Our partners can provide advisory services to our clients: www.leglobal.org.

We have a portal: Renatio, where our clients can consult the status of their matters. They can enter directly using their user and passwords, thus keeping them continuously informed of their matters.

Because of its strengths, the Law Firm is recognized in the Labour Law environment, among other things, because: • We provide direct and personalized attention.

• We participate in the work teams of our clients.

• We protect exclusively the rights of companies and employers, both national and multinational as well as governmental.

• We actively participate in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, representing employers’ organizations, before the Federal and Local Conciliation and Arbitration Boards, the National Minimum Salaries Commission, as well as in renowned national and international forums.

• We promote the Labour Reforms.

• We teach courses and give training and education programs which enable compliance of the worker-employer relations; prepare labour diagnostics, elaborate and prepare contracts, deeds and any document our clients may require.

The firm has the relations to help and guide our clients to obtain the required legal approvals and has relations with Unions throughout the country. Our unique selling point is collective bargaining in employment relations. Our Director Partner and Founder, Tomas H. Natividad, is member of the Social Security and Labour Committee of the Employers’ Coordinating Council, and Member of the Labour Committee of the Employers’ Confederation of Mexico (Coparmex).

Our main clients are Banks, auto parts, food industry and services provision companies. We negotiate collective agreements.

Our main complexities and challenges over the past year were having negotiated with the unions Collective Bargaining Agreements to adjust the benefits taking into account our clients’ economic situation.

We have overcome complexities, challenges and changes through our professional negotiators, who are aware of the particular needs of each client.

The law firm has an area of 18 specialized lawyers in collective matters, who are well related with all the Union Centrals throughout the country and can fully handle all union matters, as external advisors or through implant personnel who work for the law firm while directly collaborating at our client’s companies.

In 2015/2016 we will continue working in the same way that we have consolidated during these 35 years and negotiate employment conditions that will allow us to maintain competitive sources of work, and observing the rights of the workers.

Contact Details: Buffon No. 4, Col. Nueva Anzures, Deleg.

Miguel Hidalgo MĂŠxico Distrito Federal 11590.

Contact Number: +52 55 5089 7200 Email Address: gilda.sanchez@natividad-abogados.com.mx

Nasser & Associates Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year - Lebanon Nasser & Associates was established by Walid Nasser in 1981. Nasser & Associates is in an excellent position to assist and advise international clients as our attorneys hold law degrees from the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S.A., and have previously worked for law firms and corporations in those territories. Our association with established law firms in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S.A. complements our Lebanese practice, and reinforces our ability to handle the inbound and outbound assignments. Our exposure to international laws and international businesses has made us sensitive to the needs of our domestic and international clients. Our advice is communicated clearly and succinctly, taking those needs into account.

The firm consists of four partners and three associates. It is associated with law firms in Dubai and Erbil, Iraq, and has correspondent law firms throughout the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. Walid Nasser Studied law at Saint Joseph University in Beirut and graduated with Honors in 1975. He then obtained a Masters Degree in Law (DEA) from Jean Moulin University in Lyon, France, in 1977, and Masters Degree in Law (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1984.

Former associate with Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton and Garrison in New York, and former vice president and deputy general counsel of the Motion Picture Association of America in Los Angeles.

Most of our clients consist of major international companies in the fields of software, music, motion picture, pharmaceutical, banking, real estate, television broadcasting and licensing, commercial agency and distribution.

We have recently worked on mega and moderate size M&A transactions. We have also drafted various agreements such as distribution agreements, sales agreements, and shareholders agreements. We have successfully represented clients in IP and other litigations in Lebanon.

Contact Details: Walid Nasser Nasser & Associates Al Mathaf Center, 7th Floor Hotel Dieu Street Achrafieh Beirut Lebanon Email: walidnasser1951@gmail.com

Legal Costs Specialists A&M Bacon Limited are an award winning national firm of Civil Litigation Costs Specialists.

We have been established for over 25 years and were founded by Michael Bacon, the father of the Leading Costs Counsel, Nicholas Bacon QC. The practice is led by Jessica Swannell and together with Senior Costs Lawyer Caroline Cousins were both awarded the Gold Cup for qualifying as Costs Lawyers as top of their class.

A&M are an industry leading practice with a wealth of knowledge in all areas of Legal Costs.

A&M are fully regulated by the Costs Lawyers Standards Board and must comply with a strict code of conduct. As fully qualified Costs Lawyers, we have rights of audience in all costs matters up to but excluding the Court of Appeal.

We are a special advisors to the Law Society Practice department on practical costs budgeting.

www.lawyersworldwideawards.co.uk