International law firm Pinsent Masons has been named Law Firm of the Year at the Legal Week British Legal Awards 2016.

The firm’s clear strategic focus on sectors, rapid international expansion and market-leading innovation was commended by a panel of distinguished judges. Pinsent Masons employs 500 lawyers and support staff in Scotland, based at offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, and last week acted in Scotland’s largest corporate deal of the year, the £1.4bn sale of travel company Skyscanner to China’s Ctrip.

Over the past five years Pinsent Masons has opened six international offices built around sector specialism, most recently in Sydney, Melbourne and Dusseldorf. The firm has announced plans to open in Johannesburg shortly. At the same time the firm has also delivered a range of innovative solutions to the market including through its online compliance business Cerico and contract legal service Vario. Earlier this year the firm launched a range of solutions to help support clients preparing for Brexit.

The judging panel, which was chaired by CLLS chairman Alasdair Douglas, featured a number of senior lawyers including general counsels from companies such as BAE Systems, Aviva, HSBC, Barclays, Virgin Media, ASOS, Telefonica and EE, as well as Dame Janet Gaymer, chair of the House of Commons management board. Pinsent Masons saw off competition from firms including Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Latham & Watkins.

Richard Foley, Senior Partner at Pinsent Masons, said: “Our vision is to be recognised as an international market leader in the global sectors in which we operate, and we welcome this award as a recognition that we are delivering on that vision.

“We remain committed to building a business around the needs of our clients in five global sectors and our clients are responding to that strategic focus. I would like to express my appreciation to our clients, our people and the judges for recognising the progress we have made and we look forward to continuing this success into 2017.”

Earlier this year Pinsent Masons was named Law Firm of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2016 and ranked among the five most innovative law firms in Europe by the Financial Times.