Pinsent Masons wins at FT Innovative Lawyers Asia Awards

International law firm Pinsent Masons has collected two awards at the FT Innovative Lawyers Asia awards 2018.

The firm won the "Accessing new markets and capital" award for its work in connection with the geopolitically significant Colombo Ports project. Pinsent Masons was heavily involved throughout the project, which Forbes magazine described as “one of the biggest and most dynamic development projects happening in the world today”. The Pinsent Masons team was led by the firm's Singapore-based Head of Asia, Ian Laing.

It also won the 'Talent, strategy and changing behaviour' category for the development of 'The Marketplace', an online 'clearing house' of work that empowers lawyers around the world to take greater control of their workload and increase their exposure to a wider range of projects. The initiative was led by Sydney-based infrastructure expert Fraser McMillan.

The firm was also Highly Commended for its work creating a first-of-a-kind trilateral energy trade agreement for the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project, a project led by Hong Kong-based energy and infrastructure specialist John Yeap.

The firm was further commended for its work with the Clontarf Foundation in Australia. Through the firm's Head of Australia David Rennick, Pinsent Masons helped the not-for-profit organisation, which promotes opportunity for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, identify and develop a new revenue stream and so become less reliant on charitable giving.  

The firm was ranked sixth in the overall ranking of the most innovative international law firms active across the Asia Pacific region. The firm is similarly recognised among the ten most innovative law firms in Europe. 

Richard Foley, Senior Partner of Pinsent Masons, said:

"This is a fantastic achievement and further recognition of the progress we are making in being recognised as an international market leader in the global sectors in which we operate, differentiated by the bold pursuit of innovation. These awards and commendations reflect not just a high degree of legal knowledge and sector insight, but also a real commitment to delivering projects that bring wider societal as well as economic benefits. My thanks go to our clients who give us these opportunities, as well as the Pinsent Masons teams working on them." 

The FT Innovative Lawyers reports series is independently and rigorously researched and includes a significant component of client feedback by RSG Consulting.