A&O Shearman was named the world's most innovative law firm at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Global Summit held in London on June 24, 2025. David Wakeling, partner and head of our AI advisory practice, was named as one of the top 20 legal innovators of the past two decades.
Francesca Bennetts, Hervé Ékué, David Wakeling and Reena SenGupta at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Global Summit
The top 20 law firms list comprised those that have appeared most often in the top 10 places of the overall rankings in the FT Innovative Law regional reports. These reports were published in Europe from 2006 to 2024, in the U.S. and North America from 2010 to 2024, and in Asia Pacific from 2014 to 2025. In total, the reports have ranked nearly 300 different firms. The selection of the top 20 law firms over 20 years was determined by the number of times a firm has appeared in the top 10.
The individuals were chosen on the basis of their work appearing in Innovative Lawyer and related reports, and/or having "stood out for originality and impact over their careers."
At the most recent annual awards, the firm was named by the
Financial Times as "Most innovative law firm in Europe."
ContractMatrix won the award for "Innovation in generative AI
tools." The firm was also commended for its "Innovation
in generative AI strategy."
Watch the video below to learn more about ContractMatrix and visit
our artificial intelligence practice page to find
out more about our capabilities.