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THE FIRM Simmons Simmons is a leading international law firm with fully integrated teams working through 23 offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm’s strategy is designed to ensure it provides clients with high-quality advice and delivers value through new ways of working. Simmons Simmons applies considerable expertise to all business sectors but focuses on: asset management and investment funds, energy and infrastructure, financial institutions, life sciences and technology, media and telecommunications (TMT). Simmons Simmons acts regularly on the most innovative cases, deals and transactions in its chosen areas of specialism and receives recognition for the quality of its work from clients and others within these industry sectors. For example, this year, Simmons Simmons won the Innovation Award at the Corporate Counsel Middle East Awards. In 2013 its asset management and investment funds team was named Financial News’ Asset Management Team of the Year, International Tax Review’s European Financial Services Tax Team of the Year, Asian Investor Best Law Firm, Global Investor/ISF Middle East Law Firm of the Year and Hedge Fund Journal’s Leading Law Firm. The firm receives regular recognition in Life Sciences and was named best legal team at the Telecoms World Middle East Awards 2013 and won the Energy and Natural Resources Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2012. The firm’s commitment to corporate responsibility is well recognised. Simmons Simmons was named best international firm for pro bono work at the Euromoney Women in Business Law Awards Europe 2013; was the highest ranked law firm in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2014 in the UK for the sixth year running; and features in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2014 for the second year running.

PRINCIPAL AREAS OF WORK Five sector teams are drawn from the core practice areas of: corporate, dispute resolution, EU, competition and regulatory, employment, pensions and employee benefits, financial markets, information, communications and technology, intellectual property, projects, real estate and tax. Recent major transactions handled by the firm include advising:

•The Kyrgyz Republic for the development of laws and regulations, supporting the introduction of Takaful (Islamic insurance) and Sukuk (Islamic securities)

•Veolia on the sale of its UK-regulated water businesses (for which the firm was highly commended in the FT Innovative Lawyers Report 2013)

•Henderson Global Investors in the Context of its Joint Venture with TIAA-CREF

•R-Pharm on the acquisition of a production plant from Pfizer

•Five renowned international banks challenging the Court-sanctioned refinancing agreement of one of the largest industrial groups in Spain

•Samsung Electronics on their ongoing dispute with Apple (a multi-jurisdictional patent, design right, copyright and unfair competition litigation case that is being litigated around the world over several years)

•SEDCO Capital on the launch of a unique, award winning Shariah-compliant funds platform

•Significant transactions for longstanding client Telefónica UK including the £1.5b Smart Metering Programme and a £1.5b outsourcing

•As the external legal advisor to The Hogg Tendering Advisory Committee for LIBOR

•Sealed Air Corporation on the sale of a Japanese subsidiary and associated cross-border advice, working with TMI Associates, its joint venture firm in Japan

Simmons Simmons also advises on the effects on its clients of the regulatory, enforcement and litigation requirements arising from current market conditions, and is known for its work on landmark financial litigation matters and appeals. Its market-leading Investigations Group has substantial experience in handling the wide range of legal, regulatory and strategic issues to which sensitive, cross-border investigations can give rise and the firm also has one of the largest full-service dispute resolution practices of any firm headquartered in the City of London, covering financial markets litigation, contentious regulatory, corporate crime, professional and product liability and international arbitration, as well as insurance, IP and employment disputes.

Firmwide, it has over 250 partners and a total staff of around 1,500 of whom more than half are based in its 21 offices outside the UK.

Other offices Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Beijing, Bristol, Brussels, Doha, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Funchal*, Hong Kong, Jeddah**, Lisbon*, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo.

*Sociedade Rebelo de Sousa in association with Simmons Simmons

**Simmons Simmons in alliance with Hammad Al-Mehdar

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