News

HFW recognised as a leading firm in the Legal 500 EMEA 2026

Global, sector-focused law firm HFW has once again been recognised as a leading firm in the newly released 2026 edition of The Legal 500 EMEA, a guide to the region’s best lawyers and law firms.

We are pleased to share The Legal 500 EMEA 2026 rankings, which highlight our Europe and Middle East teams among the best in the market. We received 23 practice rankings this year, 8 of which are Top Tier. A total of 38 lawyers are mentioned by name in The Legal 500 EMEA commentary for their standout contributions, including 3 Hall of Fame, 24 Leading partners, 5 Next Generation Partners, and 6 Leading Associates.

We were ranked a Top Tier Firm in eight practice areas:

Belgium – Aviation
France – Aviation
France – Insurance
France – Shipping
Greece – Shipping litigation
Monaco – Commercial, corporate and M&A – Legal advisers
Switzerland – Transport
United Arab Emirates – Shipping

We were also ranked in the following 15 practice areas:

France – Aviation finance – Tier 3
France – Dispute resolution: International arbitration – Tier 4
France – Shipping finance – Tier 3
Greece – Shipping finance – Tier 2
Kuwait – Commercial, corporate and M&A – Tier 3
Kuwait – Dispute resolution – Tier 2
Saudi Arabia – Commercial, corporate and M&A – Tier 4
Saudi Arabia – Dispute resolution – Tier 5
Switzerland – Banking and finance: Geneva – Tier 2
United Arab Emirates – Banking and finance: Corporate finance (including Islamic lending) – Tier 4
United Arab Emirates – Construction (including disputes) – Tier 4
United Arab Emirates – Commercial, Corporate & M&A– Tier 5
United Arab Emirates – Dispute resolution: arbitration and international litigation – Tier 2
United Arab Emirates – Insurance – Tier 2
United Arab Emirates – Oil, gas and natural resources – Tier 3

Individuals recognised by The Legal 500 EMEA 2026

Hall of Fame

Robin Parry (Greece – Shipping finance)
Dimitri Vassos (Greece – Shipping litigation)
Ian Cranston (Monaco – Commercial, corporate and M&A – Legal advisers)

Leading Partners

Pierre Frühling (Belgium – Aviation) / Pierre Frühling (France – Aviation)
Jean-Baptiste Charles (France – Aviation)
Guillaume Brajeux (France – Insurance) / Guillaume Brajeux (France – Shipping)
Pauline Arroyo (France – Insurance)
Stanislas Lequette (France – Shipping)
Stéphanie Schweitzer (France – Shipping)
Jean-Marc Zampa (France – Shipping finance)
Ronan Le Du (Greece – Shipping finance)
Dimitris Exarchou (Greece – Shipping litigation)
Rula Dajani (Kuwait – Commercial, corporate and M&A)
Andrew Charlier (Monaco – Commercial, corporate and M&A – Legal advisers)
Olivier Bazin (Switzerland – Banking and finance: Geneva)
Michael Buisset (Switzerland – Transport)
Sarah Hunt (Switzerland – Transport)
Sam Wakerley (United Arab Emirates – Insurance)
John Barlow (United Arab Emirates – Insurance)
Slava Kiryushin (United Arab Emirates – Oil, gas and natural resources)
Tien Tai (United Arab Emirates – Shipping)
Ian Chung (United Arab Emirates – Shipping)
Richard Strub (United Arab Emirates – Shipping)
Robert Lawrence (United Arab Emirates – Shipping)
Yaman Al Hawamdeh (United Arab Emirates – Shipping)

Next Generation Partners

Alix d’Arjuzon (Belgium – Aviation)
Iris Vögeding (France – Insurance)
Vincent Bénézech (France – Shipping)
Slava Kiryushin (United Arab Emirates – Construction (including disputes))
Nick Braganza (United Arab Emirates – Dispute resolution: arbitration and international litigation)

Leadings Associates