The Financial Times Recognizes Paul Hastings as Top Five Firm for Innovation in North America

December 11, 2018

New York – Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that the firm was recognized as a top five firm for innovation overall and a top five firm for innovation in the business of law by the Financial Times in its annual Innovative Lawyers North America Report.

The firm earned accolades from the Financial Times for innovation in nine categories:

Most Innovative Law Firms
Most Innovative Law Firms for Business of Law
Most Innovative Law Firms for Legal Expertise
Accessing New Markets and Capital – Standout: Advised cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on the passing of a North Carolina state House bill allowing cryptocurrency exchanges to operate because cryptocurrency is exempt from traditional money transmission laws.
Managing Complexity and Scale – Highly Commended: Guided engineering and construction firm CDM Smith through internal investigations and a global risk assessment after corruption relating to its global practices was exposed. The firm achieved leniency for our client by helping it self-disclose FCPA violations promptly.
Data, Knowledge and Intelligence – Highly Commended: Created the Market Scorecard, an interactive tool to aggregate financial deal data including pricing, structure, interest rates, fees and terms collected in the reporting process of a deal – enabling lawyers to spot market trends and better advise clients.
Managing and Developing Talent – Highly Commended: Designed a technology platform to bring attorney recruitment in-house, saving the firm millions in annual recruiting fees.
Strategy and Changing Behaviors – Commended: To bridge the gap between the legal practice and the IT department, the firm set up a 50-person technology committee to vet new products and design software solutions. The initiative involved nearly 1000 hours of associate and staff time since January 2018 and ensures IT buying decisions are made efficiently.
Rule of Law and Access to Justice – Commended: Brought suit against Laguna Beach, California on behalf of the city’s homeless population, alleging constitutional and civil rights violations. The suit was the first time the Americans with Disabilities Act was used successfully to address inadequate accommodations for homeless individuals, in particular those with mental illness.

These results come on the heels of Paul Hastings being named by the Financial Times as one of the Top 10 firms for innovation in Europe, receiving recognition for six initiatives in four categories.

The Financial Times’ report is one of the top legal rankings in North America and highly regarded around the world. Over the past decade, it has measured legal innovation in more than 50 international jurisdictions from over 400 law firms and over 400 company in-house legal departments.

At Paul Hastings, our purpose is clear — to help our clients and people navigate new paths to growth. With a strong presence throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S., Paul Hastings is recognized as one of the world’s most innovative global law firms.