Innovation in the legal sector is not synonymous with artificial intelligence, or even with technology more broadly. But AI has visibly accelerated the pace of change, bringing a greater focus to innovation across the industry.
Advertisement
The FT Innovative Lawyers Awards for Europe were held last night at the Natural History Museum in London underneath a great blue whale skeleton named “Hope”. The lawyers, business professionals, leaders, general counsel and in-house legal teams present represented innovations shortlisted from more than 650 entries. Each entry was researched and assessed by the RSGI team, who conducted hundreds of interviews between April and July.
One of the most striking shifts in 2026 is the extent of change happening within in-house legal teams. General counsel are becoming agent builders, and in-house lawyers are rethinking what their roles mean as automation takes on more routine work, pushing them toward more strategic – and in some cases more technical – functions.
Advertisement
This year’s winners represent law firms innovating for their clients on complex disputes, deals and sustainability projects. They also showcase pro bono work and an initiative to tackle social biases within law firms. The individual awards recognise a new type of AI lawyer who has become his clients’ “AI legal partner”, and an intrapreneur who is driving AI adoption and change within the firm itself.
The overall law firm winner is based on the FT Law 50 index, which scores firms holistically on innovative case studies, digital innovations, approaches to people and social responsibility.
The winners were:
- Innovative Lawyers in Responsible Business — Travers Smith
- Innovative Lawyers in Sustainability — Pinsent Masons
- In-house: Innovation in New Products & Services — HSBC
- Innovative Lawyers in Infrastructure — Linklaters
- Innovative Lawyers in Unlocking Capital — Dechert
- In-house: Innovation in Sustainability & Impact — Lloyds Banking Group
- In-house: Innovation in Operational Transformation — Repsol
- Innovative Lawyers in Dealmaking — Slaughter and May
- Innovative Lawyers in Disputes — McDermott Will & Schulte
- In-house: Innovation in Self-Service Tools for the Business — The Adecco Group
- Innovation in Training & Change Management — Linklaters
- Innovation in Digital Tools: Law Firm Operations — Three Crowns
- In-house: Innovation in Digital Solutions — Prosus
- In-house: Innovation in Behavioural Change — ASML
- Innovation in Digital Tools: Legal Work — Ashurst Perkins Coie
- Innovation in Digital Tools: Products — KPMG Abogados
- Innovation in Knowledge & Data — Morais Leitão
- In-house: Innovation in New Skills — Remote
- Innovative Lawyers in AI, Digital Regulation & Technology — Addleshaw Goddard
- Innovation in Strategic Direction — Norton Rose Fulbright
- In-house: Innovation in Outside Counsel Management — Revolut
- Innovation in People Strategy — Browne Jacobson
- Innovative Business Models — Ambar
- Innovative Lawyers in Private Capital — Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Innovative Lawyers in Restructuring — Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- In-house: Innovation in Commercial & Strategic Advice — Nasdaq
- Innovative Practitioner — Oliver Howley, Proskauer
- Legal Intrapreneur — Břetislav Šimral, Dentons
- Most Innovative In-house Legal Team in Europe — Repsol
- Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe (outside UK) — KPMG Abogados
- Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe — Freshfields
You can read about all the shortlisted innovations, teams and individuals in the report: https://www.ft.com/reports/innovative-lawyers-europe