Simmons & Simmons

Lawyers 1,218
Turnover £521 million
Offices 22

Simmons & Simmons, which was founded in 1896 by 21-year-old twins Percy and Edward, has offices in 22 countries, including Brussels, Hong Kong and Qatar. This year the firm has been increasingly expanding its work into novel areas.

The firm defended BT in one of the first opt-out collective proceedings to be brought in the UK. It concerned 2.31 million customers and aggregated damages of £589 million. The firm said the litigation was instrumental in testing and implementing the class action process.

It also stepped into the glare of public scrutiny to advise on the sale of Chelsea FC after the departure of the sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. The transaction, from which it was reported Abramovich was not permitted to benefit, proved highly complex. Simmons announced that it would make donations from its fees to charities that deliver humanitarian aid to Ukraine.