Latham & Watkins topped the Juve Awards 2026, taking the Firm of the Year title and two additional honors in a ceremony held in Frankfurt.
Juve Awards ceremony details
The annual event took place at the historic Old Opera, a landmark concert hall that has hosted cultural and professional gatherings for decades. It drew roughly 1,000 invited lawyers and corporate executives, creating a packed atmosphere of anticipation.
Organizers distributed a total of 18 awards across a wide spectrum of practice areas, reflecting the breadth of legal work recognized by the publication.
Three of the honors were awarded to corporate legal departments, a pattern that mirrors the publication’s focus on active market performance during the prior twelve months.
Juve’s editorial team builds nominations on extensive research, including thousands of conversations with clients, partners, junior lawyers and judges, according to the publisher’s description.
Latham & Watkins named Firm of the Year
The jury highlighted Latham’s revenue per lawyer, about €1.6 million in the last fiscal year, as a metric that places the firm beyond typical expectations for its size.
In addition to the top honor, the firm secured awards for Dispute Resolution and Regulation, highlighting its breadth across contentious and compliance work.
Other notable winners
Austrian Firm of the Year went to Cerha Hempel, a leading practice based in Vienna that was recognized for its consistent client service.
Freshfields earned accolades in Bank & Finance and Compliance, showing its depth in financial regulation.
Kirkland & Ellis was recognized for Insolvency and Restructuring, while Geradin Partners took the Cartel Law award for its work in competition matters.
CMS Hasche Sigle received the M&A Firm of the Year prize, and Clifford Chance impressed the panel in Patent Law, reflecting strong intellectual-property capabilities.
Ashurst Perkins Coie won in Private Equity and Venture Capital, and Redeker Sellner Dahs was honored for Technology & Media, highlighting expertise in emerging sectors.
Esche Schümann Commichau earned the Mid-size Firm award, while the Founder’s Award, aimed at firms under three years old that have broken through, was presented to Cattwyk.
In-house teams and charity
Bayer’s legal department was named In-house Team of the Year for its strategic handling of the extensive Roundup litigation, culminating in an extensive settlement with plaintiff counsel.
Henkel secured the In-house M&A award, and Sandoz took the Inhouse-Team des Jahres für Patentrecht award.
Other nominated in-house groups included Nokia, Dormakaba and Bayer Intellectual Property.
Amiaz Habtu moderated the evening.
Charitable giving remained a fixture, with €203,878 raised for HateAid (€98,000) and EinDollarBrille (€105,878).
