Freshfields

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (informally Freshfields, or FBD) is an international law firm headquartered in London, and a member of the Magic Circle. The firm has 28 offices in 17 jurisdictions across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. It advises national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

History

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was created in 2000 when U.K.-based Freshfields merged with the two law firms, Germany-based Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund and Germany-and- Austria-based Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber.

Dubbed as the oldest firm within the Magic Circle, Freshfields' origins arguably go back to around 1716, when Thomas Woodford began to practise law. Woodford was succeeded in his practice in 1730 by William Wall, who was succeeded in turn in 1743 by Samuel Dodd.Slinn 1984, p. 177. That same year, Dodd was appointed attorney to the Bank of England.Slinn, Judy (1993). ''Freshfields, 1743–1993'', London: Freshfields In 1788, Winter and Kaye began advising Sir Richard Arkwright, inventor of the water frame. When James William Freshfield joined in 1800, Dodd had died and the Freshfields family became the dominant force in the law firm. Dodd's appointment is treated by Freshfields as the firm's foundation date.

The firm changed its name on numerous occasions as different partners joined or left. In 1800, James William Freshfield (1775–1864) was the first member of the Freshfield family to become a partner, and the firm became known as Winter, Kaye, Beckwith & Freshfield. Following further name changes, it became Freshfield & Son in 1825, and eventually Freshfields 1868–76, Freshfields & Williams 1876–98, Freshfields 1899–1918, Freshfields & Leese 1918–1921, Freshfields, Leese & Munns 1921–1945, and Freshfields 1946–2000. The last member of the Freshfield family to be a partner, another James William Freshfield, retired in 1927.

Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber traces its origins back to Hamburg in 1840. At the time of its 2000 merger with Freshfields, the firm was one of the two largest law firms in Germany. Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund was founded in 1962 by Arved Deringer and Claus Tessin and was based in Cologne from 1970 to 2000.

In 2019, the firm became the first non-US law firm to raise the salaries of newly qualified junior lawyers in the United Kingdom to £100,000, then £125,000 in 2022.

In September 2020, Freshfields announced Georgia Dawson as its new senior partner after time leading the firm’s Asia operations. In October 2022, the firm announced the appointment of Jake Reynolds as its head of Client Sustainability and Environment to support energy transition, human rights, corporate governance, climate change and sustainable finance.

Emblem

The first James William Freshfield (1775–1864) adopted the crest of John Freshfield of Norwich as his own, having seen it as a boy. It was later used as the firm's mark. The emblem represents St Michael, depicted as an angel with a spear.

Controversies

In 2019, the firm faced questioning by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over its review into how UBS dealt with a rape complaint.

Since 2017, German prosecutors have twice raided Freshfields’ Frankfurt offices to investigate the phantom-trading fraud, known as cum ex fraud, which the German government estimates cost its treasury more than 5 billion euros. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer gave tax advice, which was used to justify its legality. In November 2019, the firm's former head of international tax, Ulf Johannemann, was arrested and charged with tax fraud. Then in June 2020, a second former partner was charged with aiding and abetting tax evasion in the scandal.

In 2020, the firm was also discovered to have had historic ties to the Atlantic slave trade. In particular, the firm's name founder, James William Freshfield, financially benefited from slavery by acting as a trustee and owner-in-fee for several slave-owners.

Notable Freshfields attorneys

* Bim Afolami
* Arved Deringer
* Dame Sarah Falk
* Douglas Freshfield
* Henry Ray Freshfield
* John Lamont
* Chris Mort
* Mark Okerstrom
* John Parkinson
* Benito Romano
* Sir Anthony Salz
* Timothy A. Wilkins
* Sir Nicholas Young
* Alma Zadić

See also

* List of largest law firms by profits per partner

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{Magic Circle

Law firms of the United Kingdom
1743 establishments in England
Law firms based in London
Law firms established in 2000
Foreign law firms with offices in the United States
Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong
Foreign law firms with offices in Japan
Foreign law firms with offices in the Netherlands
British companies established in 1743
Multinational companies headquartered in the United Kingdom
Law firms established in 1743