Hassans tops the tables across the board in Legal 500 and gains Tier 1 recognition for the firm’s FinTech team

Legal 500, one of the leading international legal directories which provides rankings of law firms based purely on client feedback, published their Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) results yesterday.

The results show that Hassans is ranked in the top tier for each of the 10 sections covered by the directory and is the only firm ranked in the top tier in Corporate, Commercial and M&A, Investment Funds, Private Client, and Tax.

Amongst the remaining top tier listings (Banking and Finance, Dispute Resolution, Gambling Law, Real Estate and Construction, Shipping), Legal 500 has reacted swiftly to recognise Gibraltar’s rapidly growing reputation as a key crypto harbour, with Hassans being ranked in the top tier for Technology, Media and Telecoms, the section covering FinTech. The commentary stated: 

“At Hassans, Vikram Nagrani jointly heads the team alongside Anthony Provasoli; the latter provides ‘pragmatic and high-quality’ advice and has ‘profound industry and regulatory knowledge’. The team has a core focus on DLT businesses and ICOs. It is currently acting for global exchanges looking to establish a presence in Gibraltar as well as for multinational corporates and start-ups in the space…” 

The firm has gained 24 lawyer recommendations this year. The following lawyers have been newly listed this year for their specialist areas of work; Moses Anahory (Private Client) “ ‘outstanding, caring and diligent’ team”, Michael Castiel (Tax) ‘responsive and straight to the point’, Ian Felice (Corporate, Commercial and M&A) ‘straightforward’, Nicholas Howard (Real Estate) “innovative and reliable”, Grahame Jackson (Tax) “commercially sensible solutions”, Anne Rose (Dispute Resolution) “strong up-and-comer”, Francis Warne (Banking and Finance) “high level of commercial awareness”, Michele Walsh (Dispute Resolution) “ ‘direct’ employment advice”.

Valuable client feedback continues to feed the directory with resounding praise across the board for the Hassans’ bespoke teams. The directory states that the Banking and Finance team has ‘unrivalled breadth and depth’ and ‘exceptional response times’, Corporate, Commercial and M&A as ‘ensuring issues are dealt with by lawyers with expertise in their field’; Private Client is noted for its ‘particular dedication to its clients’; Real Estate and Construction providing ‘an exemplary level of professionalism and diligence’ and the Tax team lauded as being “responsive and straight to the point”.

Javier Chincotta, Managing Partner at Hassans, commented:

“FinTech matters have certainly dominated both Gibraltar and Hassans during the last year in particular and we are delighted to have been recognised at the forefront of this sector. I congratulate all the Hassans’ lawyers that have received Leading Lawyer and/or Recommended rankings this year. It’s particularly encouraging to see Aaron Payas, Anthony Provasoli, Anne Rose and Gemma Vasquez being specifically recognized as “Next Generation Lawyers” in Investment Funds, TMT, Shipping and Real Estate respectively.

Legal 500 continues to provide excellent in-depth research and we remain extremely grateful to the many clients that take the time to provide invaluable feedback which allows us to benchmark our performance and ensure that client service is permanently at the top of our agenda.”

An extract from Legal 500 commenting on the Gibraltar market generally stated:

“Shipping and financial services, including online gaming and insurance, continue to drive Gibraltar’s economy and firms attract a steady stream of work in these areas. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) and initial coin offering (ICO)-related work is growing as firms develop their fintech practices and the Gibraltar Stock Exchange and the regulator are supportive – the new DLT regulatory regime came into effect in January 2018. Firms work closely with the government in the gambling and cryptocurrency spaces and are involved in discussions and consultations on legislation changes.

Private client practices remain strong with Category 2 and High Executive Possessing Specialist Skills (HEPSS) routes offering attractive low-tax options to wealthy individuals.

 Hassans’ size and range of experience gives the firm an advantage in several areas. Isolas LLP, TSN Barristers & Solicitors and Triay & Triay are other key names in the market. Ramparts has particular experience in the gaming sector.”

 The full rankings for Gibraltar can be seen here: http://www.legal500.com/c/gibraltar