The firm’s rapid international expansion was among factors cited by a panel of distinguished judges.

Over the past five years, Pinsent Masons has opened six greenfield international offices built around sector specialism, most recently in Sydney, Melbourne and Dusseldorf.

The firm has announced plans to open in Johannesburg shortly. It is also rumoured that the firm, which has an office in Belfast, is planning to expand into Dublin as a direct consequence of the Brexit vote.

The judging panel, which was chaired by CLLS chairman Alasdair Douglas, featured a number of senior lawyers including GCs from companies such as BAE Systems, Aviva, HSBC, Barclays, Virgin Media, ASOS, Telefónica and EE, as well as Dame Janet Gaymer, chair of the House of Commons management board.

Richard Foley, senior partner at Pinsent Masons, said: “Our vision is to be recognised as an international market leader in the global sectors in which we operate, and we welcome this award as a recognition that we are delivering on that vision.

“We remain committed to building a business around the needs of our clients in five global sectors and our clients are responding to that strategic focus. I would like to express my appreciation to our clients, our people and the judges for recognising the progress we have made and we look forward to continuing this success into 2017.”