CMS Cameron McKenna LLP performed very strongly at the Financial Times (FT) Innovative Lawyers Awards, held last night (16 October).
The award for Innovation in Management was received for CMS Cameron McKenna’s “effective and potentially transformative management strategy”. The strategy entailed various aspects such as a “bottom up” review of business objectives and a significantly greater emphasis on the role of Practice Group Managers. The FT Innovative Lawyer Report described the strategy: “Taken together, the firm’s integrated, well considered strategy has various innovative elements and has delivered results.” In terms of outputs, the biggest evidence of its success is the increase in profits per partner by 75% over the four-year period.
CMS Cameron McKenna also received five commendations in the FT Innovative Lawyers Report including a Standout rating in three categories.
A Standout rating in Management was also received for CMS Cameron McKenna’s Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) dramatic growth over recent years. The firm’s CEE practice consists of eight offices, with over 400 lawyers, and is firmly established as a leading practice across the region.
Rated as Standout in the Fraud category for the Fighting Fraud Together scheme, CMS Cameron McKenna promoted collective action and public-private sector cooperation in £20 million worth of property fraud. Simon Chandler, Partner at CMS Cameron McKenna, initiated and drove a collective response to mortgage fraud to help his client and others recoup millions in losses.
Also rated as a Standout in the Commercial category was the ground-breaking transaction of the All Island Single Electricity Market. The FT commented that, “Merging the Irish Republic and Northern Irish electricity networks has set a blueprint for single markets within the European Union”. The energy team worked to very challenging timetables with difficult issues needing to be resolved at every stage of the transaction.
The firm was highly commended for its use of Knowledge Management to help clients access the right know-how and added value services in a timely and relevant manner.
Also the firm was commended for its innovative client magazine, Solve. Solve is published three times a year and distributed to over 3,000 clients worldwide.
Duncan Weston, Managing Partner at CMS Cameron McKenna, commented: “I am delighted that the breadth of our firm’s capabilities has been highlighted through these prestigious awards. My warm congratulations go to all those who contributed to these important and successful initiatives.”
The top award for Innovation in Management was received at the 3rd Annual FT Innovative Lawyers Awards at the Royal Courts of Justice, London.
In 2007, CMS Cameron McKenna was commended in the Marketing and PR category of the Innovative Lawyers Client Service Report for their “bold report” entitled Why don’t law firms listen?, which highlighted the problems often found with law firms’ client service.
In 2006, CMS Cameron McKenna also performed well in the rankings, including:
- Recognition as a Standout firm in the Use of Information Technology category for the firm’s Law-Now website and information service
- Highly commended in the Human Resources category for the publication of the firm’s People report
- Commendation in the Client Service category for the firm’s extensive client feedback programme
- Commendation in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) category for the firm’s “holistic approach to CSR and various community and charitable initiatives"
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