FT Innovative Lawyers Europe 2025 Report
The 20th edition of the FT Innovative Lawyers Europe report has been published, following months of research and interviews, celebrated at the London’s Natural History Museum awards ceremony.
This year’s landmark report marks two decades of the FT Innovative Lawyers programme, tracing how the legal profession has evolved from questioning the very idea of “innovative lawyers” to embracing transformation across every facet of the industry.
The 2025 edition highlights how Europe’s law firms and in-house legal teams are responding to the pressures of digital transformation, sustainability regulation, and geopolitical change – redefining the role of lawyers in a rapidly shifting world.
The report features remarkable innovation across the region, including:
- Freshfields is recognised as Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe 2025 for its partnership with Google and its pioneering D3 due diligence platform, which uses AI to help clients assess risk in mergers and acquisitions.
- National Grid, named Most Innovative In-house Legal Team in Europe for the team’s widespread and fast adoption of AI.
- Ukrainian firms such as Imagine Lawyers, Arzinger, and Everlegal, whose work supports energy resilience and infrastructure amid ongoing conflict.
- Leading pro bono and responsible business initiatives from Abreu Advogados, Fragomen, and others advancing access to justice and sustainability.
- Groundbreaking developments in private finance, where firms like Paul, Weiss and McDermott Will & Emery are reshaping the relationship between private credit and investment banking.
As the legal profession enters a new era defined by AI and technology, this year’s report reflects on a powerful paradox: that the more digital the world becomes, the greater the value of human insight, creativity, and empathy.
You can read the full FT Innovative Lawyers Europe 2025 report here.
