Financial Times Recognizes Paul Hastings as Third Top Innovative Law Firm of 2012

November 29, 2012

New York, NY

- Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that the firm was ranked third overall in a list of the top 25 most innovative law firms in the Financial Times US Innovative Lawyers 2012 report. This annual report distinguishes innovative lawyers and firms, which according to the publication, are bringing fresh thinking and practices to solving business problems in America." The firm was recognized for numerous innovations across the corporate, business of law, litigation, intellectual property and finance sections. Among the awards, San Francisco partner Thomas Brown was selected and profiled as a Top Innovative Lawyer for his work in payment systems regulation. Paul Hastings was also the top ranked law firm in litigation, and the Galderma victory received the highest score for the IP section of the report, where the firm placed in the Standout category. Furthermore, the firms achievements in the Samsung/Seagate merger, Fibra Uno REIT in Latin America, the secondment revamp, associate competencies program, the GlaxoSmithKline case, and Homestore.com securities class action were all listed as Highly commended in the report.

Innovation is an imperative that is woven into our cultural DNA, managing partner Greg Nitzkowski said. We are pleased to receive this recognition from the Financial Times, not only for our own record of innovation, but also because it showcases that law firm innovationboth in serving a clients interests and in operating ones own businessis the key driver of success in our intensely competitive industry, he added.

The Financial Times commended Paul Hastings and wrote the following about the firms achievements in the below areas:

Top Innovative Lawyer: Thomas Brown

Mobile payment regulation: Influencing the development of regulation in the burgeoning payments industry.

"In the mobile payments revolution, there are few lawyers with as much experience and credibility as Tom Brown."

Corporate/Commercial

Samsung representation in $1.375 billion sale of hard disk drive operations to Seagate Technologies

"The law firm Paul Hastings knew that its client Samsung would face an uphill battle if it were viewed as the follower. So New York partners, including Scott Hataway, looked for ways to regain first-mover advantage. The team identified a precedent in European law that would allow the Samsung deal to be reviewed by the European Commission before the Western Digital deal, even though Samsungs was announced later."

Business of Law

Secondment Revamp: Reinvented and Accelerated Innovative Global Secondment Program to Meet Needs of Key Clients During the Recession

"Secondments can be a valuable way to win client loyalty, particularly in these straitened times, and for junior lawyers to better understand business the classic lament of general counsel everywhere. But Paul Hastings understood that it is not just at the junior level where improvements can be made, and won plaudits for overhauling its secondment programme to include more senior lawyers, including counsel and partners; its first seconded partner went to UBS."

Litigation
Homestore.com Securities Class Action: Precedent-setting verdict and judgment in ultra-rare class action trial establishes boundaries of individual liability and provides model for calculation of damages under US securities laws

Protected its client in the Homestore.com federal securities class action case that established new standards for how juries should assess individual liability.

GSK Supreme Court Win: Ground-breaking employment decision with huge legal and cost implications for a wide range of industries with outside sales representatives.

Successfully defended client GlaxoSmithKline in an action over overtime pay in the pharmaceuticals sector, redefining a key aspect of administrative law.

Finance

Credit Suisse and Santander: Paul Hastings represented Credit Suisse and Santander as underwriters and structuring agents on the first successful offering of a REIT anywhere in Latin America

Mexico played host to the regions first successful launch of a real estate investment trust. Paul Hastings worked on behalf of Credit Suisse and Santander, the Europe-based banks, to structure the Reit, Fibra Uno. The offering was worth $700m and was several times subscribed. While Reits are common in the US, Paul Hastings had to negotiate numerous regulatory and practical hurdles to introduce the investment trust in Mexico.

Intellectual Property
Galderma IP Victory Against Mylan: Important case that strengthens the arsenal of patentees against ever-increasing attempts by generic pharmaceutical companies to have Hatch-Waxman cases decided on procedural, rather than substantive, grounds

A cross-border case that tops the list of most innovative legal strategies is that of European dermatology company Galderma. It was forced to come up with a novel approach in the US courts to block US generic drugmaker Mylan

The case was brought about a patent that was awarded on Oracea only after Mylan received its FDA approval. To carry the day, Paul Hastings had to build a new legal argument with no direct precedent.

Click here to read the full report.

Paul Hastings LLP is a leading global law firm with offices in Asia, Europe, and the United States. We provide innovative legal solutions to financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Please visit www.paulhastings.com for more information.