Freshfields LLP (formerly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, or FBD) is a British multinationallaw firm headquartered in London, England,[4] and a member of the so-called "Magic Circle".[5][6] The firm has 28 offices in 17 jurisdictions across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.[7] It advises national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.
Dubbed as the oldest firm within the Magic Circle,[10] Freshfields' origins arguably go back to around 1716, when Thomas Woodford began to practise law. Woodford was succeeded in his practice in 1730 by William Wall, who was succeeded in turn in 1743 by Samuel Dodd.[11] That same year, Dodd was appointed attorney to the Bank of England.[12] In 1788, Winter and Kaye began advising Sir Richard Arkwright, inventor of the water frame.[13] When James William Freshfield joined in 1800, Dodd had died and the Freshfields family became the dominant force in the law firm.[14] Dodd's appointment is treated by Freshfields as the firm's foundation date.[15]
The firm changed its name on numerous occasions as different partners joined or left. In 1800, James William Freshfield (1775–1864) was the first member of the Freshfield family to become a partner, and the firm became known as Winter, Kaye, Beckwith & Freshfield.[16] Following further name changes, it became Freshfield & Son in 1825,[17] and eventually Freshfields 1868–76, Freshfields & Williams 1876–98, Freshfields 1899–1918, Freshfields & Leese 1918–1921, Freshfields, Leese & Munns 1921–1945,[18] and Freshfields 1946–2000.[12][11] The last member of the Freshfield family to be a partner, another James William Freshfield, retired in 1927.[19][20]
Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber traces its origins back to Hamburg in 1840.[21] At the time of its 2000 merger with Freshfields,[22] the firm was one of the two largest law firms in Germany.[citation needed] Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund was founded in 1962 by Arved Deringer and Claus Tessin and was based in Cologne from 1970 to 2000.[23][24]
In 2019, the firm became the first non-US law firm to raise the salaries of newly qualified junior lawyers in the United Kingdom to £100,000,[25][26] then £125,000 in 2022[27] and £150,000 in 2024.[28]
In September 2020, Freshfields announced Georgia Dawson as its new senior partner after time leading the firm's Asia operations.[29][30] In October 2022, the firm announced the appointment of Jake Reynolds as its head of Client Sustainability and Environment to support energy transition, human rights, corporate governance, climate change and sustainable finance.[31][32]
Future expansion
Georgia Dawson, a Freshfields senior partner, indicated in 2024 that the firm is looking to expand its presence in the United States amid a surge in revenue. Dawson highlighted the state of Texas, as well as Boston, Massachusetts, as potential locations for expansion.[33]
Emblem
The first James William Freshfield (1775–1864) adopted the crest of John Freshfield of Norwich as his own, having seen it as a boy. It was later used as the firm's mark. The emblem represents archangel St Michael, depicted with a spear[citation needed]. Since the most recent rebranding in 2024, the emblem has been repositioned away from the commercial side of the business and is now primarily associated with internal sports teams and similar purposes.
Since 2017, German prosecutors have twice raided Freshfields' Frankfurt offices to investigate the phantom-trading fraud, known as cum ex fraud, which the German government estimates cost its treasury more than 5 billion euros.[35] Freshfields gave tax advice, which was used to justify its legality.[35] In November 2019, the firm's former head of international tax, Ulf Johannemann, was arrested and charged with tax fraud.[36][37] Then in June 2020, a second former partner was charged with aiding and abetting tax evasion in the scandal.[38]
In 2020, the firm was also discovered to have had historic ties to the Atlantic slave trade. In particular, the firm's name founder, James William Freshfield, financially benefited from slavery by acting as a trustee and owner-in-fee for several slave-owners.[39]
