Freshfields

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Multinational law firm

title: "Freshfields" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1743-establishments-in-england", "law-firms-based-in-london", "law-firms-established-in-2000", "foreign-law-firms-with-offices-in-the-united-states", "foreign-law-firms-with-offices-in-hong-kong", "foreign-law-firms-with-offices-in-japan", "foreign-law-firms-with-offices-in-the-netherlands", "british-companies-established-in-1743", "multinational-companies-headquartered-in-the-united-kingdom", "law-firms-established-in-1743", "multinational-law-firms"] description: "Multinational law firm" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshfields" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Multinational law firm ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox law firm"]

Field	Value
name	Freshfields LLP
logo	Freshfields logo 2024.svg
founder	Samuel Dodd and James William Freshfield
headquarters	100 Bishopsgate
London, United Kingdom
num_offices	28
key_people	{{plainlist
* Rick van Aerssen (Global Managing Partner)}}{{Cite web	title
practice_areas	{{plainlist
num_lawyers	{{plainlist
* Associates: 1,611{{cite web	url
num_employees	4,959
revenue	£1.472 billion (2018/19)
profit_per_equity_partner	£1.839 million (2018/19)
date_founded	2000 (by merger)
company_type	Limited liability partnership
homepage
::

| name = Freshfields LLP | logo = Freshfields logo 2024.svg | founder = Samuel Dodd and James William Freshfield | headquarters = 100 Bishopsgate London, United Kingdom | num_offices = 28 | key_people = {{plainlist|

Georgia Dawson (Senior Partner)
Alan Mason (Global Managing Partner)
Rafique Bachour (Global Managing Partner)
Rick van Aerssen (Global Managing Partner)}} | practice_areas = {{plainlist|
Banking and finance
Capital markets
Competition/Antitrust
Corporate/M&A
International arbitration
Litigation
Private equity
Projects and energy
Real estate
Tax}} | num_lawyers= {{plainlist|
Partners: 427
Associates: 1,611}} | num_employees = 4,959 | revenue = £1.472 billion (2018/19) | profit_per_equity_partner = £1.839 million (2018/19) | date_founded = 2000 (by merger) | company_type = Limited liability partnership | homepage =

Freshfields LLP (formerly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, or FBD) is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England, and a member of the "Magic Circle". The firm has 28 offices in 17 jurisdictions across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. It advises national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

History

Freshfields was created in 2000 when U.K.-based Freshfields merged with the two law firms, Germany-based Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund and Germany-and-Austria-based Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber.

Dubbed as the oldest firm within the Magic Circle, Freshfields' origins arguably go back to around 1716, when Thomas Woodford began to practise law. Woodford was succeeded in his practice in 1730 by William Wall, who was succeeded in turn in 1743 by Samuel Dodd. That same year, Dodd was appointed attorney to the Bank of England. In 1788, Winter and Kaye began advising Sir Richard Arkwright, inventor of the water frame. When James William Freshfield joined in 1800, Dodd had died and the Freshfield family became the dominant force in the law firm. Dodd's appointment is treated by Freshfields as the firm's foundation date.

The firm changed its name on numerous occasions as different partners joined or left. In 1800, James William Freshfield (1775–1864) was the first member of the Freshfield family to become a partner, and the firm became known as Winter, Kaye, Beckwith & Freshfield. Following further name changes, it became Freshfield & Son in 1825, and eventually Freshfields 1868–76, Freshfields & Williams 1876–98, Freshfields 1899–1918, Freshfields & Leese 1918–1921, Freshfields, Leese & Munns 1921–1945, and Freshfields 1946–2000. The last member of the Freshfield family to be a partner, another James William Freshfield, retired in 1927.

Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber traces its origins back to Hamburg in 1840. The firm merged with Freshfields in 2000.

Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund was founded in 1962 by Arved Deringer and Claus Tessin and was based in Cologne from 1970 to 2000.

In 2019, the firm became the first non-US law firm to raise the salaries of newly qualified junior lawyers in the United Kingdom to £100,000, then £125,000 in 2022 and £150,000 in 2024.

In September 2020, Freshfields announced Georgia Dawson as its new senior partner after time leading the firm's Asia operations. In October 2022, the firm announced the appointment of Jake Reynolds as its head of Client Sustainability and Environment to support energy transition, human rights, corporate governance, climate change and sustainable finance. In 2024, the firm announced that as part of their rebrand, the firm's legal name would be shortened to Freshfields, dropping "Bruckhaus Deringer".

Future expansion

Georgia Dawson, a Freshfields senior partner, indicated in 2024 that the firm is looking to expand its presence in the United States amid a surge in revenue. Dawson highlighted the state of Texas, as well as Boston, Massachusetts, as potential locations for expansion.

Controversies

In 2019, the firm faced questioning by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over its review into how UBS dealt with a rape complaint.

Since 2017, German prosecutors have twice raided Freshfields' Frankfurt offices to investigate the phantom-trading fraud, known as cum ex fraud, which the German government estimates cost its treasury more than 5 billion euros. Freshfields gave tax advice, which was used to justify its legality. In November 2019, the firm's former head of international tax, Ulf Johannemann, was arrested and charged with tax fraud. Then in June 2020, a second former partner was charged with aiding and abetting tax evasion in the scandal.

In 2020, the firm was also discovered to have had historic ties to the Atlantic slave trade. In particular, the firm's name founder, James William Freshfield, financially benefited from slavery by acting as a trustee and owner-in-fee for several slave-owners.

Notable Freshfields lawyers

References

"About us".
"Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP - True Picture". Chambers Student.
Moloney, Rachel. (5 July 2018). "Freshfields returns to form as PEP reaches record levels". [[The Lawyer]].
(2018-04-09). "The dawn of the superstar lawyer". Financial Times.
"'Magic Circle' Firms Tell London Lawyers to Stay Home Amid Virus".
(2022-08-09). "London's 'magic circle' law firms make renewed bid to crack US". Financial Times.
(2022-10-05). "Cognizant selected by Freshfields to drive global expansion".
"Paper trail loosens shackles on hidden past". Financial Times.
(2018-05-22). "Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer – What The Lawyer Says".
"Rare Foundations {{!}} Law".
Slinn 1984, p. 177.
Slinn, Judy (1993). ''Freshfields, 1743–1993'', London: Freshfields
(1989). "The Arkwrights: Spinners of Fortune". Manchester University Press.
"Freshfields: Wie Europas einflussreichste Kanzlei ins Zwielicht geriet".
"Our History: Old hands at hands at new ideas". Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
"Report of Simon Le Blanc on 1 collective petition (110 people, from Hereford,...".
(1846). "Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons". Ordered to be printed.
"The Selkirk Treaty and Map {{!}} Spotlight {{!}} HBCA {{!}} Archives of Manitoba".
Slinn 2007.
Slinn 1984, pp. 177–178.
Ames, Jonathan. "Freshfields partners magic-up £1.8m in pay". [[The Times]].
Spence, Alex. "All change at Freshfields as firm fights for new clients". [[The Times]].
"Arved Deringer". [[The Times]].
(6 February 2018). "Freshfields Germany partner trio leave with team of associates to found public law spin-off".
(May 7, 2019). "Freshfields becomes first magic circle firm to raise NQ pay to £100,000 | Lawyer 2B".
(2022-07-27). "Freshfields outstrips Magic Circle rivals with record partner payouts of more than £2m".
Hussain, Aishah. (2022-04-01). "Freshfields sets down marker for magic circle rivals as it boosts NQ lawyer pay to £125k - Legal Cheek".
Ring, Suzi. (3 May 2024). "Freshfields boosts pay for newly qualified lawyers to £150,000". Financial Times.
Ames, Jonathan. "Georgia Dawson lands top brief at Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer". [[The Times]].
"Freshfields Taps First Woman Leader, Still Rare in Big Law".
"Freshfields hires leading environmental consultant to head client sustainability offering".
Lever, Emily. (October 11, 2022). "Freshfields Names Leader For Enviro Sustainability Advice".
(2024-09-24). "Freshfields reveals refreshed brand".
Strom, Roy. (2024-10-28). "Freshfields Leader Plots New Cities as US Powers Firm's Growth".
"Freshfields Faces SRA Questions on UBS Rape Case Review".
(28 November 2019). "Former Freshfields lawyer arrested over German tax scam: sources". Reuters.
Storbeck, Olaf. (9 January 2020). "Former head of tax at Freshfields charged over illegal rebate scandal". [[Financial Times]].
"Freshfields 'Cum-Ex' Scandal Partner Arrested".
"Former Freshfields Tax Partner Charged in Cum-Ex Scandal".
"Law Firms' Past Links To Slavery and Imperialism Unearthed".

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