Since 1991, Legal 500 has been providing readers with an annually updated, impartial, third-party opinion on the leading law firms and lawyers in countries across the region. The EMEA guide provides researched coverage of over 80 countries and over 2,700 ranked law firms. The latest version, the Legal 500 Europe, Middle East and Africa 2023 edition, was published last week.
The rankings each year are based on the complexity of relevant projects worked on in the last 12 months, independent research and feedback from clients. The Bench retained all of its four individual and firm rankings again in 2023 including:
'Leading Individual' (Joby Beretta) for TMT (one of only 6 in the UAE) for the 10th year in a row;
Band 2 firm ranking for TMT (alongside A&O, Bird & Bird, Clydes, Simmons and White & Case);
Band 3 firm ranking for Real Estate (alongside A&O, Charles Russell, Clifford Chance, CMS, Dentons, King & Spalding, Norton Rose and White & Case); and
Band 3 firm ranking for Intellectual Property (alongside BSA, Charles Russell, Eversheds and Simmons).
A massive thank you to all our clients and peers for your kind words again this year! Comments and testimonials from Legal 500 2023 include:
TMT
Legal 500 Comment:
A boutique law firm with a particular focus on the TMT sector, The Bench advises start-ups and major international companies, as well as providing TMT services to clients in non-TMT sectors such as hospitality, aviation and banking. Joby Beretta and Chris Appleby oversee the practice, which has a particularly broad focus covering e-commerce, outsourcing, telecom regulatory advice and tech licensing. Kelly Tymburski is particularly well known for her experience in regulatory reform.
Intellectual Property
Legal 500 Comment:
The Bench has a solid practice in IP and acts for clients ranging from start-ups to major international companies, primarily in the hospitality and TMT sectors. Joby Beretta heads the practice, handling a steady stream of issues from general IP advice and infringements to licensing and franchising.
Testimonials:
"Great team, they make everything easy to understand and the quality of their work is very high."
"Joby Beretta is always super supportive. He is down to earth and just a really nice person, which makes it easy to trust him."
Real Estate
Legal 500 Comment:
A boutique law firm with a focus on the hospitality sector, The Bench services a variety of real estate clients from hotel owners and developers to landlords and tenants. Joby Beretta has over two decades of experience regarding hotels and leisure, bringing ‘strong experience in international hotel management agreements’ to the team. Hameed Almihdar is skilled at handling real estate and construction disputes, while Elise Gillians supports the team from Switzerland.
Testimonials:
"The Bench’s approach always feels supportive and displays a great deal of understanding of what their client is trying to achieve, they have a ‘no fuss’ approach and just get the job done."
"When dealing with The Bench it feels like they remove as much of the stress and detail from their clients plate as they possibly can."
"Strong experience in international hotel management agreements."