Financial Times Awards: Dechert Leads in Legal Innovation

This year, Dechert was again named among the “Most Innovative Law Firms in North America”, ranking among the top three firms. This firmwide recognition is calculated on the strength of firms’ legal innovations, alongside scored assessments of their digital maturity, commitment to pro bono, policies towards people and financial success.

Suzanne Turner, chair of pro bono, was named winner in the “Intrapreneurs” category for positioning pro bono at the heart of the Dechert experience, for innovating to ensure the program remains effective in solving an ever-growing “justice gap”, and for helping drive the development of a global pro bono infrastructure.

Brenda Sharton, global chair of Dechert’s Cyber, Privacy and AI Practice, was recognized among the FT’s Top 10 “Most Innovative Legal Practitioners in North America” for repeat innovations in matters involving privacy and cybersecurity law and for advising clients on data breach responses and related regulatory and litigation issues.

“Dechert has a long tradition of innovation in the practice and business of law,” said firm co-chair Mark Thierfelder. “We constantly enhance creative problem-solving and analytical thinking to deliver excellent client service. I am incredibly proud that our success has been recognized by the Financial Times in this way.”

Dave Forti, co-chair for the firm, added, “We strive to remain dynamic and agile, staying ahead of the most important challenges facing our clients by investing in our people to be innovative in finding new ways of doing things.”

A number of Dechert teams were also ranked and recognized in other categories in the FT awards, including:

STANDOUT (and #2 ranking) - in the “Innovation in AI Strategy” category, for Dechert’s “build first” approach to Generative AI. Led by chief information officer Michael Rinehart and driven by associate director of innovation Thor Alden, the firm’s Innovation Team devised a strategy to learn through doing that successfully harnessed new technologies to deliver increased value to clients and distinguish the firm from its peers.

COMMENDED - in the “Innovation in Dispute Resolution” category for achieving successive wins on behalf of Prisma Labs in groundbreaking AI privacy cases. Brenda Sharton, Benjamin Sadun and Theodore Yale obtained precedential wins in cases in California and Illinois, securing some of the first AI-related class action rulings anywhere in the United States.

Dechert lawyers were also featured extensively in the FT’s Innovative Lawyers report that accompanied the awards.

Lawyers and firms recognized by the FT were honored at an award ceremony held at Gotham Hall in New York City on December 9.

About Dechert 

Dechert is a global law firm that advises asset managers, financial institutions and corporations on issues critical to managing their business and their capital – from high-stakes litigation to complex transactions and regulatory matters. We answer questions that seem unsolvable, develop deal structures that are new to the market and protect clients' rights in extreme situations. Our nearly 1,000 lawyers across 19 offices globally focus on the financial services, private equity, private credit, real estate, life sciences and technology sectors.