Ashurst named Most Innovative Firm of the Year at the British Legal Technology Awards 2020

The firm received the award in recognition of its role in advising Santander in relation to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), which enabled banks to make financial support available to eligible businesses with a government-backed guarantee for loan repayments in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ashurst supported Santander with the delivery and implementation of an end-to-end CBILS solution, an unprecedented project in response to a rapidly created scheme at a time when everyone (including Ashurst, Santander and its customers) were working remotely.

Commenting, Lee Doyle, lead partner and co-chair of the bank industry at Ashurst, said:

"This was another extraordinary project, delivered in unprecedented challenging conditions – all eyes were on the banking industry to support businesses through the Covid-19 pandemic, and we are proud to have done what we could to assist Santander by developing this innovative approach that ensured they could deliver for their customers. It is an acknowledgement of the exceptional ability of our fully-integrated, cross-border and cross-functional teams that worked on this project to support Santander."

Tara Waters, head of Ashurst Advance Digital, added:

"We are thrilled to have been recognised as Most Innovative Firm of the Year, especially in light of these difficult times. Providing a fast, efficient and effective solution for this important project necessarily required a technology-led approach, pairing our innovative Ashurst Advance platform with our legal expertise. To receive this award two years in a row is testament to the continued commitment of the firm to transform the way we approach client service delivery and remain at the forefront of innovation in the legal industry."