Law firm of the year
Stephenson Harwood was named 'Law firm of the year' at the 2009 British Legal Awards.
Legal Week magazine, organisers of the award, described the firm as "a thoroughly deserving winner".
The citation commends the firm's all-round performance: "Stephenson Harwood has been a strong performer in research from Legal Week Intelligence both for staff engagement and feedback from clients. There has also been an impressive run of client wins over the last 18 months and the firm has given the impression of being comfortable in its own skin with a clear sense of the market it is focusing on."
It also refers to the firm's successful integration of new partners in recent years: "Though lateral hiring is notoriously tricky to pull off successfully, the firm has shown judgement, updating its partnership with a list of astute performers. Such has been the re-engineering of the business that the firm estimates 50% of its partnership has joined over the last five years. Many firms would struggle to handle that level of change but, by all accounts, the firm has acquitted itself admirably."