Ashurst wins Best Client Service Innovation at the Lawyer Awards 2021

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:
"Being recognised as a leader in client service innovation is a great accolade. This was an 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. This demonstrates the benefits of collaboration across the firm, ongoing investments in innovation and our team's absolute focus on delivering technical excellence with the highest level of client service."

Tara Waters, head of Ashurst Advance Digital, added:
"We are delighted that Ashurst has received this market recognition, it is a testament to the whole team's hard work. 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. Innovation and digital transformation are key areas of strategic importance for Ashurst and this award reflects our continued commitment to developing new solutions that reshape clients' experience and add value to their businesses."

The firm was also highly commended for:

• Corporate Team of the Year – partner Karen Davies led the team advising long standing client AVEVA on its US$5 billion acquisition of OSIsoft including a circa US$2.8 billion rights issue. This transformative deal for AVEVA is the largest ever undertaken by a UK technology company
• Restructuring Team of the Year – Ashurst partners Drew Sainsbury and Lynn Dunne led the team acting for the Financial Conduct Authority on its successful Court opposition to the scheme of arrangement proposed by Amigo Loans. This landmark judgment set a number of precedents for schemes of arrangement.
• Pro Bono Initiative of the Year - in recognition of the pro bono team's Citizenship & Displacement programme.