Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

{{Infobox law firm

| name = {{nowrap|Freshfields LLP}}

| logo = Freshfields logo 2024.svg

| founder = Samuel Dodd and James William Freshfield

| headquarters = 100 Bishopsgate
London, United Kingdom

| num_offices = 28

| key_people = {{plainlist|

Georgia Dawson
(Senior Partner)
Alan Mason
(Global Managing Partner)
Rafique Bachour
(Global Managing Partner)
Rick van Aerssen
(Global Managing Partner)}}{{Cite web |title=About us|url= https://www.freshfields.com/en-gb/about-us/purpose-and-values/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website= www.freshfields.com |language=en}}

| practice_areas = {{plainlist|

Banking and finance
Capital markets
Competition/Antitrust
Corporate/M&A
International arbitration
Litigation
Private equity
Projects and energy
Real estate
Tax}}

| num_lawyers= {{plainlist|

Partners: 427
Associates: 1,611{{cite web|url=http://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/freshfields-bruckhaus-deringer/true-picture/147/1|title=Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP - True Picture|work=Chambers Student}}}}

| num_employees = 4,959

| revenue = {{gain}} £1.472 billion (2018/19){{cite web|url=https://www.thelawyer.com/freshfields-financials-2018/|title=Freshfields returns to form as PEP reaches record levels|first=Rachel|last=Moloney|date=5 July 2018|work=The Lawyer |access-date=6 March 2019}}

| profit_per_equity_partner = {{gain}} £1.839 million (2018/19)

| date_founded = 2000 (by merger)

| company_type = Limited liability partnership

| homepage = {{URL|https://www.freshfields.com/}}

}}

Freshfields LLP (formerly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, or FBD) is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England,{{Cite news |date=2018-04-09 |title=The dawn of the superstar lawyer |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/b9c96d04-376c-11e8-8eee-e06bde01c544 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211231229/https://www.ft.com/content/b9c96d04-376c-11e8-8eee-e06bde01c544 |archive-date=2022-12-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=2022-10-26 }} and a member of the so-called "Magic Circle".{{Cite web |title='Magic Circle' Firms Tell London Lawyers to Stay Home Amid Virus |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/magic-circle-firms-tell-london-lawyers-to-stay-home-amid-virus |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=news.bloomberglaw.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2022-08-09 |title=London's 'magic circle' law firms make renewed bid to crack US |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3b987678-bc32-4d78-a71b-1a1a3b592ace |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211231244/https://www.ft.com/content/3b987678-bc32-4d78-a71b-1a1a3b592ace |archive-date=2022-12-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=2022-10-26 }} The firm has 28 offices in 17 jurisdictions across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.{{Cite web |date=2022-10-05 |title=Cognizant selected by Freshfields to drive global expansion |url=https://www.consultancy.uk/news/32509/cognizant-selected-by-freshfields-to-drive-global-expansion |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www.consultancy.uk |language=en}} It advises national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

History

Freshfields 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.{{Cite news |title=Paper trail loosens shackles on hidden past |url=https://www.ft.com/content/92d13310-6284-11de-b1c9-00144feabdc0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026165826/https://www.ft.com/content/92d13310-6284-11de-b1c9-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=2022-10-26 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=2022-10-26 |newspaper=Financial Times }}{{Cite web |date=2018-05-22 |title=Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer – What The Lawyer Says |url=https://www.thelawyer.com/freshfields-bruckhaus-deringer/ |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=The Lawyer {{!}} Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs |language=en-GB}}

Dubbed as the oldest firm within the Magic Circle,{{Cite web |title=Rare Foundations {{!}} Law |url=https://www.rarerecruitment.co.uk/foundations/law/organisations.html |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www.rarerecruitment.co.uk}} 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.{{Cite book |last1=Fitton |first1=R. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWW7AAAAIAAJ&dq=Winter+&pg=PA199 |title=The Arkwrights: Spinners of Fortune |last2=Fitton |first2=Robert S. |date=1989 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-2646-1 |language=en}} When James William Freshfield joined in 1800, Dodd had died and the Freshfield family became the dominant force in the law firm.{{Cite web |title=Freshfields: Wie Europas einflussreichste Kanzlei ins Zwielicht geriet |url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/dienstleister/freshfields-wie-europas-einflussreichste-kanzlei-ins-zwielicht-geriet/25385734.html |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www.handelsblatt.com |language=de}} Dodd's appointment is treated by Freshfields as the firm's foundation date.{{cite web |title=Our History: Old hands at hands at new ideas |url=https://www.freshfields.com/en-gb/about-us/our-history/ |access-date=20 June 2019 |publisher=Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer}}

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.{{Cite book |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9462836 |title=Report of Simon Le Blanc on 1 collective petition (110 people, from Hereford,... |date= |language=English}} Following further name changes, it became Freshfield & Son in 1825,{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3RbAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22Freshfield+&pg=PA612 |title=Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons |date=1846 |publisher=Ordered to be printed |language=en}} and eventually Freshfields 1868–76, Freshfields & Williams 1876–98, Freshfields 1899–1918, Freshfields & Leese 1918–1921, Freshfields, Leese & Munns 1921–1945,{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=The Selkirk Treaty and Map {{!}} Spotlight {{!}} HBCA {{!}} Archives of Manitoba |url=https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/spotlight/selkirk_treaty.html |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www.gov.mb.ca |language=en}} and Freshfields 1946–2000. The last member of the Freshfield family to be a partner, another James William Freshfield, retired in 1927.Slinn 2007.Slinn 1984, pp. 177–178.

Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber traces its origins back to Hamburg in 1840.{{Cite news |last=Ames |first=Jonathan |title=Freshfields partners magic-up £1.8m in pay |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/freshfields-partners-magic-up-1-8m-in-pay-90ssjkbd7 |access-date=2022-10-26 |issn=0140-0460}} At the time of its 2000 merger with Freshfields,{{Cite news |last=Spence |first=Alex |title=All change at Freshfields as firm fights for new clients |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/all-change-at-freshfields-as-firm-fights-for-new-clients-chwfbnx0m7k |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210714050016/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/all-change-at-freshfields-as-firm-fights-for-new-clients-chwfbnx0m7k |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2021 |access-date=2022-10-26 |issn=0140-0460}} the firm was one of the two largest law firms in Germany.{{cn|date=October 2022}} Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund was founded in 1962 by Arved Deringer and Claus Tessin and was based in Cologne from 1970 to 2000.{{Cite news |title=Arved Deringer |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/germany/berlin/arved-deringer-c9vb75m5tt5 |access-date=2022-10-26 |issn=0140-0460}}{{Cite web |title=Freshfields Germany partner trio leave with team of associates to found public law spin-off |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/freshfields-germany-partner-trio-leave-143526602.html |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www.yahoo.com |date=6 February 2018 |language=en-US}}

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,{{Cite web |date=May 7, 2019 |title=Freshfields becomes first magic circle firm to raise NQ pay to £100,000 | Lawyer 2B |url=https://www.thelawyer.com/freshfields-becomes-the-first-magic-circle-firm-to-raise-nq-pay-to-100000/}}{{Cite web |date=2022-07-27 |title=Freshfields outstrips Magic Circle rivals with record partner payouts of more than £2m |url=https://www.cityam.com/freshfields-outstrips-magic-circle-rivals-with-record-partner-payouts-of-more-than-2m/ |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=CityAM |language=en-GB}} then £125,000 in 2022{{Cite web |last=Hussain |first=Aishah |date=2022-04-01 |title=Freshfields sets down marker for magic circle rivals as it boosts NQ lawyer pay to £125k - Legal Cheek |url=https://www.legalcheek.com/2022/04/freshfields-sets-down-marker-for-magic-circle-rivals-as-it-boosts-nq-lawyer-pay-to-125k/ |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=Legal Cheek - Legal news, insider insight and careers advice |language=en}} and £150,000 in 2024.{{Cite news |last=Ring |first=Suzi |title=Freshfields boosts pay for newly qualified lawyers to £150,000 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f4f19e1b-b4c9-405c-9ea2-d6b13f9b4efa |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 November 2024 |newspaper=Financial Times |date=3 May 2024 |language=en }}

In September 2020, Freshfields announced Georgia Dawson as its new senior partner after time leading the firm's Asia operations.{{Cite news |last=Ames |first=Jonathan |title=Georgia Dawson lands top brief at Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/article/georgia-dawson-lands-top-brief-at-magic-circle-firm-freshfields-bruckhaus-deringer-ckvz9vn9s |access-date=2022-10-26 |issn=0140-0460}}{{Cite web |title=Freshfields Taps First Woman Leader, Still Rare in Big Law |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/freshfields-taps-first-woman-leader-still-rare-in-big-law |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=news.bloomberglaw.com |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |title=Freshfields hires leading environmental consultant to head client sustainability offering |url=https://www.globallegalpost.com/news/freshfields-hires-leading-environmental-consultant-to-head-client-sustainability-offering-967391631 |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www.globallegalpost.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=October 11, 2022 |first=Emily |last=Lever |title=Freshfields Names Leader For Enviro Sustainability Advice |url=https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1538603/freshfields-names-leader-for-enviro-sustainability-advice |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}} In 2024, the firm announced that as part of their rebrand, the firm's legal name would be shortened to Freshfields, dropping "Bruckhaus Deringer".{{Cite web|url=https://www.freshfields.com/en-gb/news/2024/09/freshfields-reveals-refreshed-brand/|date=2024-09-24|title=Freshfields reveals refreshed brand|access-date=2024-12-22|website= www.freshfields.com|language=en}}

= Future expansion =

Georgia Dawson, a Freshfields senior partner, indicated in 2024 that the firm is looking to expand its presence in the United States amid a surge in revenue. Dawson highlighted the state of Texas, as well as Boston, Massachusetts, as potential locations for expansion.{{Cite web |last=Strom |first=Roy |date=2024-10-28 |title=Freshfields Leader Plots New Cities as US Powers Firm's Growth |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/freshfields-leader-plots-new-cities-as-us-powers-firms-growth |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=Bloomberg Law}}

=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 archangel St Michael, depicted with a spear{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}. Since the most recent rebranding in 2024, the emblem has been repositioned away from the commercial side of the business and is now primarily associated with internal sports teams and similar purposes.

= Controversies =

In 2019, the firm faced questioning by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over its review into how UBS dealt with a rape complaint.{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/international-edition/2019/04/08/freshfields-faces-sra-questions-on-ubs-rape-case-review/|title=Freshfields Faces SRA Questions on UBS Rape Case Review|website=Law.com International}}

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.{{Cite news |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-tax-probe-freshfields-idUKKBN1Y21AF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128174612/https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-tax-probe-freshfields-idUKKBN1Y21AF |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 28, 2019 |title=Former Freshfields lawyer arrested over German tax scam: sources |date=28 November 2019|work=Reuters |access-date=25 January 2020 |language=en}} Freshfields 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.{{Cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d280f414-32da-11ea-9703-eea0cae3f0de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812180040/https://www.ft.com/content/d280f414-32da-11ea-9703-eea0cae3f0de |archive-date=2021-08-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Former head of tax at Freshfields charged over illegal rebate scandal |first=Olaf |last=Storbeck |date=9 January 2020 |newspaper=Financial Times |access-date=2021-08-12 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/international-edition/2019/11/28/freshfields-cum-ex-scandal-partner-arrested/|title=Freshfields 'Cum-Ex' Scandal Partner Arrested|website=Law.com International}} Then in June 2020, a second former partner was charged with aiding and abetting tax evasion in the scandal.{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/international-edition/2020/06/25/former-freshfields-tax-partner-charged-in-cum-ex-scandal/|title=Former Freshfields Tax Partner Charged in Cum-Ex Scandal|website=Law.com International}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/international-edition/2020/06/19/law-firms-past-links-to-slavery-and-imperialism-unearthed/|title=Law Firms' Past Links To Slavery and Imperialism Unearthed|website=Law.com International}}