Hong Kong: 16 June 2014: The Financial Times today announces the winners of the inaugural FT Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers programme, in partnership with RSG Consulting, a specialist legal research and strategy agency, and sponsored by Integreon, a leading global provider of outsourced legal, document, research and business support. The event builds on the success of the long-running Innovative Lawyers awards in the U.S. and Europe which annually recognise the most entrepreneurial lawyers, law firms, and legal departments.

The top honours were awarded to William Liu (Linklaters), named Most Innovative Lawyer; King & Wood Mallesons, named Most Innovative Asia-Pacific Law Firm; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, named Most Innovative International Law Firm; and Tencent, named Most Innovative In-House Legal Team. The ceremony was hosted in Hong Kong.

The FT Innovative Lawyers Programme is based on a rigorous research process that includes expert analysis, market surveys and hundreds of interviews with legal professionals. The awards cover legal professionals and departments across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.

“Our congratulations to all of the 2014 winners and nominees from this year’s FT Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Awards,” said Robert Gogel, CEO of Integreon. “Innovation has long-been a focus of Integreon as we seek to delight our law firm and corporate clients by transforming how legal services are delivered. Our partnership with the FT and RSG aligns well with our focus on innovation by encouraging innovative practices among our colleagues, partners and others across the global legal community.”

“We’re delighted to introduce the FT’s well established Innovative Lawyers report to one of the most dynamic legal environments in the world,” said David Pilling, Asia managing editor of the FT. “As the region’s business practices change to adapt to a shifting landscape, the role of lawyers and legal frameworks must equally evolve. This report celebrates the best of these strategies.”

The complete list of 2014 award winners includes:

The themes and winners from this year’s programme are also summarized in the FT Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers 2014 report. The FT’s U.S. and European reports and awards are scheduled for late 2014.

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The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 665,000 (Deloitte assured, Q1, 2014). Mobile is an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving 60 per cent of subscriber consumption, 45 per cent of total traffic and 20 per cent of new digital subscriptions. FT education products now serve 37 of the world’s top 50 business schools.

RSG was founded in 2001 to give strategy and innovation consulting advice to the international legal profession. It’s evidence-based approach includes creating unique thought-leadership projects for clients and independent studies into the future of law and emerging legal markets. The company specializes in rating and ranking lawyers, and its assessment methodologies have wide application particularly in helping law firms differentiate themselves. RSG also runs the Innovative GC Club, an independent forum for in-house lawyers to exchange ideas. It has partnered with the FT on the Innovative Lawyers programme since its inception in 2005.

Integreon is a trusted, global provider of award-winning legal, document, research and business support solutions to leading law firms, corporate legal departments, financial institutions and professional services firms. Around the globe, Integreon’s 2,200 Associates support more than 250 clients in areas such as market and competitive intelligence, discovery, legal process outsourcing (LPO), operating model transformation and back office redesign. Integreon also excels in business support services such as IT, document processing, finance and HR. With our unrivaled outsourcing experience and industry-leading onshore and offshore capabilities, clients increasingly rely on Integreon to provide value-added solutions and meet their needs in a demanding business environment. Integreon has won more than 40 industry awards over the past five years and supports its global client base from 12 delivery centres across the US, UK, India, Philippines, South Africa and China.

For more information about Integreon’s extensive range of services, please visit www.Integreon.com and follow Integreon on Twitter: @Integreon.

Ariella Steinreich
Burson-Marsteller
T : 212-614-4262
E: Ariella.Steinreich@bm.com

Gemma Terry
Financial Times
T: +852 2905 5519
E: gemma.terry@ft.com