Leading Professionals Worldwide 2024

WORLDWIDE FINANCIAL
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LEADING PROFESSIONALS
WORLDWIDE
2024

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Worldwide Financial Advisor Awards Magazine
Leading Professionals Worldwide 2024
Worldwide Financial Advisor Awards Magazine is recognised all
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taking votes from countries all over the world to recognise the
most prestigious professionals in their specialised areas of
practice.
The Worldwide Financial Advisor Awards Magazine recognises a
select number of leading professional firms around the world
working both nationally and internationally in their field of
expertise.
Worldwide Financial Advisor Awards Magazine 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.
Worldwide Financial Advisor Awards Magazine is currently being
read by Lawyers, Advisers, Consultants and corporate executives.
We aim to showcase every company individually and to its full
potential.

ABR Solicitors
Criminal Defense Law Firm of the Year – UK
Anne O’Connell Solicitors
Employee Benefits Law Firm of the Year – Ireland
Arthur Cox
Pensions & Benefits Law Firm of the Year – Ireland
Bonilla, Montano, Toriello & Barrios
Labour, Employment & Immigration Law Firm of the Year - Guatemala
Camden Associates
Mid-Market Investment Advisory Boutique Firm of the Year – UK
Davis, Graham & Stubbs LLP
Life Sciences Law Firm of the Year - USA
Dr Katherine Alexander Theodotou
Probate Law Lawyer of the Year
Fernando Messias Law Firm
Tourism Law Firm of the Year – Portugal
Freshfields
Competition Law Firm of the Year - Bahrain
Ganie & Partners
Dispute Resolution Law Firm of the Year – Indonesia
Goldman Antonetti & Cordova LLC
Labour, Employment & Benefits Law Firm of the Year – Puerto Rico
Hengeler Mueller
Commercial Litigation Law Firm of the Year - Germany

Howse Williams Bowers
Labour & Employment Law Firm of the Year – Hong Kong
Intercorp Group
International Tax Law Firm of the Year - Brazil
Law Office of Ramni Taneja
Constitutional Law Firm of the Year – India
Loyens Loeff
Corporate Tax Law Firm of the Year - Switzerland
Matsuo & Kosugi
Litigation Law Firm of the Year - Japan
McW Todman & Co
Civil Litigation Law Firm of the Year – British Virgin Islands
Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
E-Discovery Litigation Law Firm of the Year – Canada
Pinsent Masons
Construction Law Firm of the Year - China
Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd
Insurance & Reinsurance Law Firm of the Year - Switzerland
Studio Legale Sutti
Corporate Litigation Law Firm of the Year - Italy
Sturgeon Ventures
Start Up Compliance Consulting Firm of the Year – UK
Swiss Financiers Inc
Private Equity Financial Firm of the Year – Switzerland
Veirano Advogados
Litigation Law Firm of the Year - Brazil
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Mergers & Acquisitions Law Firm of the Year – USA
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
David. A. Katz
Mergers & Acquisitions Lawyer of the Year – USA
Withers LLP
Labour & Employment Law Firm of the Year - UK

Criminal Défense Law Firm of the Year – UK
ABR Solicitors is a nationally recognised criminal defence solicitors practice
specialising in fraud, crime, and regulatory defence. Our mental health and prison
law teams are highly regarded throughout the North of England. We have offices in
Leeds, Liverpool, and London.
Practice Areas:
Criminal Defence
Business Defence
POCA/Confiscation
Regulatory Solicitors
Professional Discipline
Military Law
Mental Health
Prison Law Advice and Representation
Firearms
Rob Rode
Private Prosecution
Rob is a nationally and internationally recognised specialist criminal defence
solicitor. He is an acknowledged specialist fraud (white collar) and regulatory
defence solicitor. He is described in one of the leading guides to the profession as
“like a terrier that never stops digging”. Rob is a supervisor on the Specialist Fraud
Panel set up by the Legal Aid Agency. He is a higher court advocate.
He is described in Chambers 2019 as “a very good lawyer” and a “fearsome
advocate” and recognised as a leading individual in crime fraud and financial crime
by the most recent Legal 500 and Chambers editions, both nationally and locally.
He represents individuals and companies in the UK and abroad facing
investigation/prosecution under the Bribery Act or multijurisdictional legislation
including FCPA. He has experience of dealing with prosecution authorities across
several jurisdictions.
Rob undertakes fraud defence, regulatory defence, white collar defence involving
international/cross-jurisdictional issues, defence of tax /VAT fraud, motoring, and
general criminal matters with (again, according to a leading independent guide) “a
certain panache”.
Rob undertakes private prosecutions on behalf of individuals and companies.

Rob has acted as defence solicitor successfully in numerous cases defending
historic and present-day sexual offence allegations. He also has a particular
interest in defending allegations of serious violence and murder.
He is tactically astute and will ensure that when appropriate a pro-active defence
is pursued in all cases.
Rob trained at Irwin Mitchell and joined the firm in 1998 becoming a partner in
2002 and senior/managing partner in 2013. He was chairman of the Serious
Fraud Association and is a member of SAHCA,POCLA,CLSA the International
Criminal Bar, The American Bar Association, and a member of the criminal duty
solicitor defence scheme.
Contact Details:
81 Chancery
Lane London
WC2A 1DD
0333 009
8181
rob.rode@abrsolicitors.com

Private Equity Financial Firm of the Year –
Switzerland
Swiss Financiers, Inc., is a FinTech that incubates and orchestrates IPOs
from financing to listing. They are dealmakers between incubated
companies, industry leaders and executives worldwide, fast tracking
successful transactions with investment banks, institutional investors, and
debt lenders. Collectively, the team came to the same conclusion that
business and investment banks’ approaches were too complex and too
expensive to correctly serve the majority of companies in need of support.
Swiss Financiers is particularly designed to support entrepreneur-driven
companies.
Their unique market position as a dealmaker is at the crossroads of
advisory, debt and investment banking, without competing with them.
Practice Area’s:
Initial Public Offering – IPO
Financing IPO – Costs
SPACs
Swiss Financiers is managed by a group of entrepreneurs and experts that
have a proven track record in finance, innovation, start-up funding,
governance, management and leadership. Its team has a vast historic
experience in financial affairs and banking. Each of the founding partners
has a distinctive background from specialized yet complimentary sectors of
the industry. Swiss Financiers has expertise in areas such as: investments,
venture capital, private equity, debt, securities and investment banking.
Collectively, the team came to the same conclusion that business and
investment banks approach were too complex and too expensive to correctly
serve the majority of companies in need of support. The team is committed
to innovative IPO financing solutions supporting companies when they need
it and not when they are successful.
IPO Cost Financing is one of the key building blocks of Swiss Financiers
Taking a company public demands a certain amount of disposable cash that
is often considered a high barrier to entry.

At Swiss Financiers they have the experience to drive and manage the
financing requirements to go public on securities markets through
transaction financing.
Their team is committed to innovative Initial Public Offering (IPO) financing
solutions supporting companies when they need it and not when they are
already successful. Their team has decades of experience in IPOs (170+
IPOs) and one of our founding partners, Marc Deschenaux recently wrote an
article on IPO Financing Investments and was nominated in the Who’s Who
Legal.
Christian Frampton is a hands-on financier that work closely with
technologists, scientists & entrepreneurs. Historically he has helped earlystage
companies get to the next stage of their business development. He has
supported ventures by helping them achieve a strong operational backbone
whilst simultaneously organizing and structuring these businesses in-order
to ensure that they attract the right foundation capital & partners. He
helped establish business plans & organize fund raising and marketing
strategies. Allowing entrepreneurs to focus on their inventions and products.
PERSONAL OBJECTIVES for the firm:
• To be part of an entrepreneurial & forward-looking asset firm.
• To implement best of breed process & investor nurturing.
• To lead business development & growth strategies.
• To build a long-term sustainable portfolio of impact investments.
• To build on over twenty-five years of expertise in business
development, marketing & establishing networks & investment.
• Contribute to the financial success of our financial partners & clients.
• To dynamically manage teams & projects from inceptions to closings.
The firm’s Unique Business Proposal consists of decades of our team’s
experience in successfully accompanying companies through their Private
Equity needs – and then listing their businesses on the public security
markets. For its diverse client base, Swiss Financiers orchestrates the
processes of going public and improves cost efficiency at all times. Their firm
has developed an extensive international network, notably amongst
international financial institutions, licensed brokers, law firms, auditors,
and various additional stakeholders from around the globe. Developing
bridges across businesses, regions, people, cultures is one of the ingredients
of our “secret sauce”. These bridges are also one of the reasons we have
offices in the United States and in Switzerland and are planning to expand
in the next years in Asia.

Their Unique Business Proposal consists in several patent pending methods
and decades of experience of successfully listing businesses on the public
security markets.
Their disruptive platform is designed to offer double digit returns due to the
value created by the shift from early stage to public securities markets.
They modernize the processes to improve cost efficiency, notably on the
Nasdaq. It allows stock options holders to sell their shares on the public
market to interested institutional and retail buyers with improved ease.
SFI’s IPO Incubator structure is the foundation on which Swiss Financiers is
built.
Their Fin-Tech platform accompanies selected businesses by funding IPO
costs through Mezzanine Debt and/or Equity Capital. Furthermore, SFI
orchestrates the process of taking private security issuing companies to the
public securities markets.
SFI offers an all-in service covering the complex IPO process of quoting
businesses on securities market.
Taking a company public demands a certain amount of disposable cash that
often is considered a high barrier to entry.
By using Swiss Financiers proprietary Incremental Business Method, they
are able to manage a fundraising process effectively to finance the costs of
an IPO.
They have a proven track record of using our method to raise capital
effectively. Up until 1995 there was only the funding rounds method to sell
shares of a non-listed company. This method was exclusively used each time
a company needed to distribute securities. The price was fixed according to
the current state and valuation of the issuing company.
The Swiss Financiers Team has a proven history of taking companies public,
ensuring a transparent and accretive value proposal along the entire
process. Their unique platform streamlines and fast track an IPO process
through a time/cost-effective patent pending business method to
successfully raise capital on the public security markets.
Their major challenge has been filtering the sheer volume of companies that
approach us and selecting the right business to work with. There is a lot of
demand to take companies to the public markets and this demand is
accelerating.
They have been affected by the current economy and the events from around
the world currently but not necessarily in a negative way. Entrepreneurs are
increasingly interested in exploring the route of the public security markets
as this crisis has only accelerated the amount of unprecedented liquidity.
This liquidity is eager to find new companies and they position themselves

as one of the privileged routes of gaining access to the public markets. So,
the number of companies looking to engage with us has increased during
the Pandemic.
They have been accompanying the following companies over the last year.
MobiGroup
Intellectual Property Securitization (IPSE)
Eiffel International Corporation
Earth & Sky Corporation
Adreal Corporation
European Press Agency
The IPO Institute
Wild News Corporation
Swiss Financiers has an active deal flow of 6 companies ready to go public.
Our aim is to orchestrate approximately 4 IPOs per year. Swiss Financiers
aims also to organize and implement its own listing on the NASDAQ in a 24-
month period.
Contact Details:
Geneva Office
Swiss Financiers S.A.
Operations & Administration
Rue du Rhône 84
1204 Genève,
Switzerland
Email: info@SwissFinanciers.com

Dr Katherine Alexander Theodotou
Probate Law Lawyer of the Year
My name is Dr Katherine Alexander Theodotou. I am a Cypriot and a European
Advocate. I am also a member of CILEX.
I have a wide range of experience in commercial litigation and particularly property
litigation, which dominated our litigation services for the last 12 years. Also we are
experts in Wills Drafting and Probate. Pensioners over the age of 65 pay only
£20 for their will.
The firm is managed by myself, assisted by my practice manager, and the
employees. The practice manager and employees, are professionals, who have
knowledge of the ethics of the firm, and of the clients.
I was trading as a sole trader, as Alexandrou Law Offices, until 2014. The firm was
incorporated in 2014, under the name of K. Alexandrou Theodotou LLC, which is
located at 47 Ariadne Street, 2416 Engomi, Nicosia.
We have been involved in property litigation affecting European citizens and UK
citizens in Cyprus. We have won all the litigation, which we undertook. We also
have expertise in banking, company establishment, and commercial law.
All the clients are important to us. Everybody is equal in front of the law. We have
served over 1500 clients and we have won their cases. The last case consisted of 350
clients, and which lasted for 12 years. Our clients won around 55 million euros.
Winning this case was the greatest challenge for our firm. There were difficulties, as
part of the case was decided in UK, under the direction of the Cypriot firm.
We did not charge anything to the clients, as we were working on a deferred fee.
We were aware of the stress of the economy, particularly in UK. A lot of law firms in
UK, have lost their European clients and to make up for their losses they are
overcharging their clients.
The public cannot afford legal costs, as charged today. To instruct a barrister and a
solicitor on the same case, may cost around £1000 per hour.
In Cyprus, we have, “all in one system”, which is cheaper to the client, and also
the client can come into direct contact with counsel. This system includes only
advocates, who do both jobs. This avoids all the expensive protocols of the English
system. Further the Bar Council in Cyprus have their say as to how much money
an advocate is allowed to charge for the work on different cases. This does not
happen in UK.
K. Alexandrou Theodotou LLC lawyers, have a lengthy professional experience, and
we believe that priority should be given to the clients. We work very hard to win
the cases on a deferred fee. In UK, solicitors and barristers are both involved on the
same case, producing enormous costs to the client.
July 2023

On the average, a case going to a High Court requires at least £1000 per hour
from the client and a case going to the county court requires £900 per hour,
excluding the court registration fee in both cases. It is therefore of great
importance that the UK makes reforms to its legal professional system.
Here, I must praise CILEX – Chartered Institute of Legal Executives – who have a
minimum bureaucracy and who are in constant consultation with their members.
The average membership fee is £240 per annum which is the cheapest in the
market. The CILEX profession provides superior paralegals, who are ready to
become fellows and advocates. CILEX provides the solution to the separation in
the legal profession, by promoting the role of advocates, who could do the work of a
solicitor and a barrister at the same time. It is important that we should
emphasise this.
CILEX is a progressive and versatile organization, consisting by 77% of women,
and who are ambitious to be qualified and offer the best service possible.
I advocate and support that more professional people and students should join
CILEX, as CILEX is for the benefit of the whole society.
I am very proud to be a member of CILEX.
Contact Details:
K. Alexandrou Theodotou LLC
47 Ariadne Street, 2416 Engomi, Nicosia,
Cyprus.
Tel. 00357 22 670 607
Fax. 00357 22 660 781
Dr Katherine Alexander Theodotou discussing issues affecting people in Cyprus
with Mr George Papandreou
(Leader of the PASOK Party and Prime Minister of Greece from 2009 to 2011).
July 2023

Corporate Litigation Law Firm of the Year – Italy
Studio Legale Sutti was founded in 1953 in Milan by Angelo Sutti, Knight of the
Italian Republic and one of the most renown Italian litigator of his generation.
Since 1992 its activity is structured around a Company-Commercial and Business
Public Law Dept, an IP & Competition Dept, a Labour & Industrial Relations Dept.
and a Tax Law and International Tax Planning Dept. In time, the Firm established
offices also in Rome, Genoa, Venice and Florence, and in the capitals of several
countries in the Balkans.
Studio Legale Sutti is one the largest independent firms headquartered in Italy. It is
nowadays an international, multidisciplinary, multiprofessional business fullservice
practice, active throughout Italy and the Balkans and with representation
offices in London, Tokyo and Berlin. Its human resources include lawyers admitted
in more than ten jurisdictions as well as CPAs, patent attorney and business
consultants, supported by cutting edge ITC and AI technology. Its mission is that of
inter alia, offering an effective, comfortable and multilingual one-stop shop to
corporate legal departments, and medium-to-large law foreign firms not operating
their own offices in the country, for everything which pertains to the Italian market,
law and jurisdictions.
The Firm is centrally managed from Milan, so the work can be allocated at best
throughout its existing human resources. Each office is however responsible for its
day-by-day operation and for local business development. The vertical, inter-office
Departments discussed above concentrate instead on knowledge management,
continuing education and professional recruitment.
Studio Legale Sutti believe that increasing opportunity may arise for investment in
Italy, and the growing complexity of compliance issues in our jurisdiction also offer
us a good opportunity to offer services in this area, besides their traditional
advocacy role.
Contact Details:
Studio Legale Sutti
Via Montenapoleone 8, 20121 Milan, Italy
Tel. +39 02 76204.1
Fax +39 02 76204805

Civil Litigation Law Firm of the Year – British
Virgin Islands
McW. Todman & Co is a law firm founded by the late Dr. McWelling Todman CBE,
QC in 1969. The firm is situated on the upper floors of the Todman building at 116
Main Street, in the centre of Road Town, Tortola, the capital of the British Virgin
Islands. The late Dr. Todman was the first native British Virgin Islands to operate a
law firm in these islands. Despite his untimely passing, the firm has retained its
roots in the community of the Virgin Islands while continuing to grow and strive in
the fast paced international legal environment that characterizes the Virgin Islands.
While the firm is ranked as one of the top litigation practices in the Virgin Islands,
it also offers discreet service to clients in corporate formation and management
through its wholly owned subsidiary McNamara Corporate Services Limited.
Contact Details:
McW Todman & Co.
McNamara Chambers
116 Main Street
P.O. Box 3342
Road Town, Tortola
Email: mail@mctodman.com
Phone: +1 284-494-2810
Practice Areas:
Company & Commercial law
Banking
Mergers and Acquisitions
Intellectual Property
Civil and Corporate Litigation
Real Estate
Wills, Estate Planning & Succession
Shipping
Family Law
Personal Injuries
Employment Law
Insolvency
Administrative Law
Debt Collection

Law Office of Ramni Taneja
Constitutional Law Firm of the Year – India
Born on 4th December 1955 in New Delhi, Ramni Taneja is a citizen of
India, having been educated in Mumbai, India, and London, England. She
enrolled as an Advocate on 17th October 1980, on the Roll of the Bar
Council of Maharashtra, [Mumbai], India; subsequently transferred to the
Bar Council of Delhi, India, on 20th October 1997. On 3rd March 1997,
she was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and
Wales, [now known as the Senior Courts of England and Wales]. In 1999,
she was appointed as a Notary by the Government of India, New Delhi,
India.
Since 1997, Ramni Taneja practises in New Delhi, India, as an Advocate in the
Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi, apart from various other
tribunals and courts in Delhi and in India. From 1980 till 1982 she practised
as an Advocate with Little & Co., Advocates and Solicitors, Mumbai, India; she
headed the office of Little & Co., Advocates, in New Delhi, India, from 2002 till
2006. From 1983 till 1997, Ramni Taneja was licensed and practised as a Legal
Consultant with A.R. Hilal & Associates, Advocates and Legal Consultants, in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Her law firm, Law Office of Ramni Taneja, began
in New Delhi, India in August 2006.
Ramni Taneja completed her school education in the United Kingdom [UK]
at Grey Coat Hospital, Westminster, London, England, UK, as a
consequence of which she obtained the University of London, General
Certificate of Education, Ordinary Levels and Advanced Levels, between
1972-1974. She obtained her BA Honours [First Class Honours] Degree in
English Literature [Major] French Literature [Subsidiary] in 1977 from
Elphinstone College, University of Bombay, India. She obtained her LLB
Degree [First Class] in 1980 from Government Law College, University of
Bombay, India. She was awarded the Diplôme Supérieur d’Etudes
Françaises Modernes in 1975 by l’Alliance Française, Paris, France,
[Mention Tres Honorable: i.e. Distinction] and was ranked first in the
examination in 1975 in India and Asia.
Ramni Taneja is the author of Foreign Direct Investment and
Globalisation, published by Eastern Book Company, 2014. She has written
legal articles that have been published in international and Indian legal
journals on various legal issues
Ramni Taneja’s principal areas of legal practice covering litigation and
transactional legal work are: all areas of commercial law, civil law,
corporate law, constitutional law and criminal law.

Other areas of legal practice covering litigation and transactional law
inter alia are:
Arbitration [international and domestic], air law, banking law, consumer
protection law, due diligence, direct and indirect taxation and international
taxation, extradition law, laws relating to asylum, family law, foreign direct
investment, including foreign exchange law, insurance law, initial public
offerings, intellectual property law, infrastructure law, employment law,
laws governing the media, mergers and acquisitions, immigration and
nationality law, maritime law, succession law, private international law,
public international law and property law.
Contact Details:
Address:
A 34 DEFENCE COLONY
NEW DELHI 110024, INDIA
Telephones: +91 11 4155 2051; +91 4155 2052
Fax: +91 11 4155 2053
email id: ramni@ramnitaneja.com
http://www.ramnitaneja.com/

Fernando Messias Law Firm / Fernando Messias Advogados
Tourism Law Firm of the Year – Portugal
The Fernando Messias Law Firm was established in 1998 by attorney Fernando Messias.
The Algarve Office and the Lisbon Office works with several attorneys and two administrative
assistants. We work with various attorneys in the country.
“Know the company’s client as well as you know the company” has been our mission.
The growing demand over recent years from companies, essentially companies linked to the
tourism and hotel industries, has led to the creation of partnerships in several areas of
knowledge, from Law to Management of Tourism Companies, and including Architecture,
Design and Engineering of Real Estate Projects, and Corporate and Tourism Company Taxes.
These national and international partnerships allow us to respond in an expedient and
effective manner to our clients' greatest demands.
From 2005 to present we experienced a decisive period for establishing and strengthening
these partnerships. In the future, we want to grow in other areas that have already been
developed but require more attention, such as Knowledge Management and Corporate
Identity, essential areas for Tourism Law and Tourism Marketing. All this professional
dynamism is founded on the premise that constitutes our motto: “Preventing, foreseeing and
planning legal actions and behaviours have been the foundations for an up-to-date and highly
responsible attorney practice”.
The law firm’s areas of practice
Companies occupy a privileged position within the scope of action of this Law Office.
Given the professional and academic background and professional practice of Attorney
Fernando Messias – International Arbitration, Intellectual Property Law, European
Consumer Law and litigation associated with Property Rights and Temporary Housing,
Public Economy and Public, Administrative and Local Autarchy Law, Organizational and
Strategic Behaviour of Companies – this office naturally developed a specialty in Tourism
Law, more precisely in the area that is the object of scientific study of Tourism, Small and
Medium-sized Companies in the Tourism, Hotel and Tourism Development sectors. Thus,
the main areas of professional practice are the following:
- International Arbitration
- Administrative & Tax Law
- Tourism Law (International and Community Law for Tourism, Tourism Developments, and
the Hotel Sector).
- Civil, Commercial and Corporate Law
- Litigation – (Civil Law, Public Law, Commercial Law and Criminal Law)
- Real Estate and Property Law - (Estates in land, Immovable Property, Property Law,
Property Right, Real Estate).
Dr. Fernando Messias, LL.M, PhD
•
Lisbon, Portugal +351 934205633
•
fernandobrasmessias@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-fernando-messiasmciarb-63186615b

European Lawyer, Mediator, & Arbitrator
European Qualified Commercial Counsel specialising in the areas of international
competition and arbitration, spearheading complex business negotiations centred on the
purchase of real estate, M&As, and hotel purchases. Deliver authoritative, impartial
decisions, bringing resolution to disputes ranging in complexity. Champion for the
sustainability of market competition and passionate about regulating anti-competitive
conduct amongst organisations.
He is a Lisbon and London based independent arbitrator. European Qualified lawyer and
international arbitrator, being a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb,
London) and a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC, Lisbon).
His qualifications include - Licentiate in Laws (LLL), Postgraduate Diploma in Regional Economics
and Local Development (PgDip), Postgraduate Diploma in Law of the Territory, Urbanism and
Tourism (PgDip), Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Studies on Tourism (PgDip), Postgraduate
Diploma in International Arbitration (PGDip), Master of Laws in International Trade Law (LLM),
legal consultant, doctorate on Tourism (PhD) with the doctoral thesis entitled “Leadership and
well-being: the case of five-star hotels in the Algarve”.
Since 2009 he has been a facilitator in creative problem solving (Certified Basadur Facilitator
- Simplexity System, US, and Canada).
Fernando Messias is also the author of several publications on Law & Business.
Fernando Messias Advogados, Lisbon, Portugal
Head Lawyer, 1998 to Present
Compliment firm’s success with speciality in international arbitration and international
trade law, domestic law, international public law, and company / competition law.
Demonstrate expertise in four main areas of Portuguese domestic law, including litigation /
arbitration, civil law / administrative law, real estate law / administrative law, and taxation
/ business law. Optimise day-to-day operations of two locations, one in Lisbon, the other in
Faro, by co-ordinating workflow of both offices with a total of six employees, ensuring delivery
of competent, quality services. Spearhead business negotiations, mainly for M&As and real
estate, securing mutually beneficial agreements. Firm earned appearances in Legal 500
EMEA, a professional law magazine, based on success as lawyer and facilitator during various
business real estate / hotel purchases and M&As.
▪ International Arbitration Case (2019 to Present): Appointed sole arbitrator by Chairman of
hotel group (Brazil / Singapore) to arbitrate HR-related mismanagement case. Arbitration
seated in Singapore; lead ad hoc arbitration.
▪ International Arbitration Case (2017 to 2018): Appointed arbitrator by UAE real estate
property / hotel owners during breach of contract during hotel construction in Dubai;
German construction company retained Suisse lawyer and third arbitrator appointed as
Chairman of panel of arbitrators. Arbitration seat in London; ad hoc arbitration.
Additional experience as Legal Advisor for the Algarve Regional Directorate of Agriculture &
Fisheries; administered legal advice to senior management, whilst co-ordinating day-to-day
workflow.
Contact Details
Fernando Messias Law Firm
E-mail addresses: secretariado@fernandomessias.pt
fm@fernandomessias.pt

Employee Benefits Law Firm of the Year – Ireland
Anne O’Connell Solicitors, also known as AOC Solicitors, is a leading specialist Employment
Law firm. Established in 2017 by Founder and Principal Anne O’Connell, the Firm has
achieved great success in the last number of years and continues to grow and expand.
Drawing on a combined 25 years of employment law experience, AOC Solicitors provides a
strategic approach to employment law issues, focusing on advising clients on the best
solution to achieve their objectives while meeting their commercial needs and business
requirements. AOC Solicitors advises large multi-national companies, semi-state
companies, small and start-up businesses. It also advises individual employees facing
employment law disputes, particularly executives and directors.
Qualified as a solicitor and a New York Attorney in 2001, Anne O’Connell, Founder and
Principal, practiced employment law with the Chief State Solicitors Office and two top tier
Irish law firms. With over 19 years employment law experience Anne formed her own
specialist employment law firm in 2017 and thus AOC Solicitors was born.
Within its first year AOC was ranked by Legal 500 as Leading Firm in Employment Law in
Ireland and has received numerous awards.
The Firm provides dedicated and expert legal advice that is tailored to the unique
requirements of its clients. The scope of services of the Firm include, advising private and
public sector companies, international clients and individuals on all contentious and
noncontentious employment law issues. AOC Solicitors represents its clients before
employment law statutory bodies, regulatory boards, the Civil Courts and at Mediation.
The Firm offers a full suite of employment law services including advices and representation
in respect of all contentious employment matters and non-contentious employment related
issues including advices in respect of all day to day employment law queries such as
disciplinary procedures, grievance procedures, dignity at work complaints, protected
disclosures, working time queries, the drafting and reviewing of contracts of employment
and staff policies and procedures, the negotiation of and drafting and reviewing of severance
agreements and the handling of industrial relations issues.
AOC Solicitors also routinely advises its employer clients in respect of redundancy and
restructuring, transfer of undertakings and trade union recognition. It also carries out
employment law compliance audits and offers bespoke training and seminars for its
employer and consultant clients.
ANNE O’Connell – Founder and Principal
As stated above, Anne qualified as a solicitor and a New York Attorney in 2001 and
practiced employment law with the Chief State Solicitors Office, two top tier Irish law firms
and also established the Employment Law Department in a smaller firm. With over 19 years
of extensive employment law experience, Anne has acquired an in-depth experience from
every angle in employment law through the various firms in which she has practiced and
this has given her a high-calibre strategic and practical approach to employment law

issues. The large firms where Anne previously worked regularly refer clients to Anne when
they are conflicted and colleagues turn to Anne when they have queries regarding their own
clients’ issues.
Anne loves assisting clients in employment law and is very passionate about what she does.
She becomes as vested in finding a solution to the issues as the client is.
Anne was honoured to have received the Lawyer Monthly Women in Law 2019 Award for
Employment Law in Ireland. The Firm was also awarded Client Choice Award for
Employment Law in Ireland 2019 for a second year running; the ACQ5 Global Award for
Employment & Benefits Lawyer 2019 also for the second year running and ‘Leading
Specialist Employment and Labour Lawyer of the Year 2019, Ireland’ awarded by
Acquisition International. The Firm won the Employment Law Firm/Lawyer of the Year
2019 at the Irish Law Awards.
Anne is also a member of the Law Society Employment Law Committee and lectures and
tutors on employment law in the Law Society of Ireland. In 2020, Anne has been invited to
be a speaker and contributor at the annual Employment Law Conference of the
International Bar Association. Anne is also in the process of writing A Practical Guide to
Protected Disclosures for the Irish Institute of Charted Accountants.
Laura Reid – Associate Solicitor
In 2019, the Firm expanded by hiring Laura Reid as an Associate Solicitor. Laura has over
six years of specialist Employment Law experience. Laura has advised and represented
corporate employer clients of all sizes from small start-up employers to large global
corporations. Laura’s experience includes advising these employers in relation to the
numerous day to day employment issues arising in the work place including the handling of
grievance and disciplinary processes, workplace investigations and mediations, advising on
protected disclosures, advices in respect of bullying and harassment complaints, drafting
and reviewing contracts of employment and company handbooks, advising and representing
employers in respect of the negotiation and conclusion of exit agreements and advising and
representing employers in respect of the defence of all kinds of employee claims. Laura also
has valuable experience assisting employers in respect of the employment law aspects of
due diligence upon the sale/transfer of businesses.
Laura has carried out a considerable amount of public sector work having advised a
number of different employers within the public sector in respect of day to day employment
law issues arising and the defence of employee claims. She has particular experience in
advising public sector employers within the education sector.
Laura is a Recommended Lawyer by Legal 500. Laura is also a member of the Employment
Law Association of Ireland Committee and has lectured for the Law Society of Ireland’s
Diploma on Employment Law.
Both Anne and Laura have great experience working as employment law solicitors in large
and small firms. It is this experience that provides the foundation of our strategic approach
to addressing our client’s issues.
Contact Details:
Email: anne@aocsolicitors.ie
Tel: +353 (1) 6698550
Website: www.aocsolicitors.ie

International Tax Law Firm of the Year –
Brazil
Intercorp Group is an international consulting firm that serves high-net-worth
entrepreneurs and their families. They pride themselves on finding
professional solutions to often very personal issues, from migration and
succession planning, through to finding the right property and a good school.
Intercorp Group Statistics:
• Over 300 Successful family relocations
• Over 80 private investment funds
• Over 200 private family trusts
Intercorp Group was established under the supervision of Leonardo Braune
with the objective of becoming one of the few truly international tax consulting
boutiques. Braune is a respected and highly experienced consultant in the
areas of international tax, real estate planning, wealth preservation, fiduciary
advice, implementation and management of international structures and
projects. With a vast experience in tax, an extremely diversified client base and
a very strong global network of top specialists in many different businessrelated
areas, Braune has led a large number of successful projects in several
industries including oil and gas, telecommunications, real estate,
international services, investment funds and asset management.
Their initial step is to assign one of their qualified coordinators, who will act
throughout the entire advisory and consulting process. Their coordinators have
access to an international network of professionals and specialists in many
areas and are

responsible for "playing the role of the client", being therefore extremely
capable of clarifying questions and giving suggestions and practical solutions
to their issues. Commitment, creativity, technicality, quality and reliability are
their core strengths. At Intercorp Group, their clients can have direct or
indirect access to a unique global network of specialists and professionals who
will work in a simple, clear and objective manner. Their goal is to make our
clients feel confident and comfortable that we are handling their matters
properly and efficiently.
They offer a highly bespoke and individual service, investing time and energy
to fully understand our clients’ requirements and evaluate their complex,
multidisciplinary and international needs. By placing their specific
circumstances with our understanding of the global and financial legal
environment, we recommend the most efficient approach to fulfil their wishes.
Through their work with many successful and prosperous families, our
consultants have developed a deep understanding of the tax systems
throughout many jurisdictions across the globe. This expertise is consulted
during each of our engagements, from personal estate planning to corporate
restructuring of a family business. Intercorp Group provides counsel to clients
who are looking to explore the benefits an international perspective may
bestow upon their matters.
As part of their promise to clients, advice and execution manifest as one
service. Intercorp Group is involved throughout the entirety of the process:
from determining the scope of the project and explaining its consequences to
carefully mapping out its implementation.
They are advisors that see themselves in alliance with the client both
unyieldingly liable and responsible for the advice we provide.
Intercorp employs experienced consultants across a range of sectors, who
work with clients on a long-term basis to solve complex issues on their
behalf. While they are wholly independent, our business model utilises its
access to a global network of specialist partners, carefully built through
years of reputation and personal experience. The network includes several
hundred strategic partners, all quality assured, checked and vetted. This
model is extremely rare and provides us with unrivalled access to experts in
any given field.

For over 20 years, Leonardo Braune has acted as a tax consultant in the
areas of international tax, real estate planning, wealth preservation,
fiduciary advice, implementation and management of international
structures and project management. He began his career as a trainee at
Arthur Andersen where he quickly became Senior Manager of the tax
consulting area, acting significantly in many segments there and working
very closely with several international offices on significant global projects.
With a vast experience in tax, an extremely diversified client base and a
very strong global network of top specialists in many different business
related areas, Leonardo Braune has been a part of a large number of
successful projects in several industries such as oil and gas,
telecommunications, real estate, international services, investment funds
and asset management.
Practice Areas:
Global Relocation of UHMW
Families Post IPO Strategic
Planning International
Investment Structuring
Protection of Family Business
Abroad Asset Protection
Corporate
Restructuring Real
Estate Investment
Clients rarely engage Intercorp Group for single-issue solutions or off-the-shelf
products. More often, they come to Intercorp Group with a much broader,
general demand—the bigger picture. They work most effectively in long-term
partnerships where clients grant us a high level of autonomy to make
decisions on their behalf.
This is unique in the consultancy marketplace and requires a high level of
respect between both parties, particularly because actions, much less results,
are not always immediate. To yield the best end-results, our consultants know
that truly strategic decisions are made at the right time rather than at the
earliest opportunity. Their longest standing clients understand this and trust
in our promise to assume responsibility for their best interests, as if they were
their own.
Intercorp will remain at the forefront of developments in the international tax
regulatory world. Based on their evolving knowledge of the landscape, they
will

continue to provide efficient advice based not on what the law says today, but
on what they believe the law is going to say tomorrow, how governments will
behave and how trends will develop over time.
Contact Details:
Address:
50 Sloane
Ave
London
SW3
3BD
Tel: +44 203 954
0547
leonardo@intercorp.c
om
www.intercorp.com

Mid- Market Investment Advisory Boutique Firm of
the Year – UK
Camden Associates is a boutique investment banking firm. We specialise in
international financing. The market has changed a great deal in the last few years
and a number of transactions just do not get done because market segmentation
does not permit it. We offer various services from pure advisory to financing to
private and public company alike. The firm started in 2003 under the name
Camden Partners. In 2006 after a change of shareholders we became Camden
Associates. Initially focusing on Eastern Europe and on large groups (Bouygues,
Rosatom, Gazprom, Lukoil, Rushydro), we changed our focus to smaller, more
innovative deals and broadened our scope on a sectors basis. Technology and
biotech are worldwide sectors. So is mining.
Our unique selling point is basically our experience of far away countries and
their business practices. After a traditional banking career spanning from M& A
at BNP in France to First Boston in Nex York then London, some of us worked in
a hedge fund at Duet creating real Estate private Equity funds in Russia and
India. We helped oligarchs monetize their wealth and created the first sub
saharan fund. We are essentially project driven and believe that behind the
specifics of a sector there is a unique management with unique abilities and
specific problems.
We strive to help them solve the particular problem they have at one point in
time.
We want to understand the story, understand what the clients wants to do and
see if we can help. We never feel pressure in doing a deal in which we do not
believe. Then we try and see how the market will react to the story and act
accordingly.
The overall mission is to get deals done, and then we take all the necessary
steps to make the deal a success.
We are not claiming we are better than our competitors. We are simply more
adapted to some of our clients and do not believe two deals are the same. We
are not discouraged by non-standard deals.
The last ten years have seen a wildly changing environment and we are just
trying to ride the new trends.
For Camden, the result is mostly positive as we have demonstrated a capability
to ride these trends.
Contact Details:
Jean-Claude
Gonneau Camden
Associates 27 Hill
Street
WIJ 5LP
jcg@camdenassociates.co.uk

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