Penningtons Manches Cooper celebrates multiple wins at the Multilaw Awards 2026
The event also marked the appointment of Joanne Vengadesan as Multilaw chair-elect.
Penningtons Manches Cooper is delighted to have been recognised at the Multilaw Awards 2026, earning a host of honours at the elite global law firm network’s annual awards ceremony.
The firm received the top accolade of the evening, Firm of the Year, and was also named Green Law Firm of the Year and Best Referral Firm of the Year, as well as being highly commended in the BD Initiative of the Year category.
The event, which took place in Prague and was attended by representatives from 65 countries, celebrates outstanding achievements by firms and individuals across the Multilaw network.
The Firm of the Year award honours the member firm that has demonstrated the strongest and broadest contribution to Multilaw, its members and the values of the network. The Green Law Firm of the Year award recognises Penningtons Manches Cooper’s comprehensive sustainability programme, which combines independently validated targets with substantial and measurable emissions reductions, while the Best Referral Firm of the Year award reflects the firm’s exceptional contribution to generating and sharing business across the network. The firm’s highly commended business development initiative was praised for bringing together members from 12 countries and generating new international opportunities.
Representing the firm in Prague were CEO Helen Drayton, partners Joanne Vengadesan, Richard Marshall and Simon Bickerdike, together with partner Charlotte Hill, who attended as chair of Multilaw’s Next-Gen Lawyers Group for the EMEA region.
The firm is also proud to congratulate partner and head of technology Joanne Vengadesan, who was appointed as Multilaw chair-elect. Joanne will assume this role for a two year term, starting in September 2027, following the current chair Paul Kirton from Australian member firm Macpherson Kelley. Joanne serves on the Multilaw board and is its current global chair of the inclusion and diversity group. She has previously served as a faculty member and chancellor of the Multilaw Academy (a programme for junior lawyers within the network on cross border transactions, litigation and collaboration), and as the co-chair of the Multilaw intellectual property and technology group. Joanne is also a former Multilaw Academy delegate and her appointment is a well-deserved recognition of her, and the firm’s, long-standing commitment to Multilaw.
Helen Drayton said:
“It means a great deal to be recognised in this way by our peers across the network. It’s a testament to the talent, dedication and teamwork demonstrated by colleagues across the firm, as well as the value of the firm’s longstanding involvement in the Multilaw network and the trusted relationships we have built with clients and fellow member firms around the world. I am also delighted with Joanne’s well-deserved appointment to the chair-elect role and look forward to her taking on the chair role next year.”
Joanne Vengadesan added:
“It’s a real honour to have been named chair-elect and I look forward to taking on the role of chair next year. Multilaw has played a huge role in my career and I am excited about the new challenges and opportunities to come. I could not be more proud of this network, which continues to go from strength to strength. The depth of the relationships and layers of connections between Multilaw member firms enable us to leverage the significant trust between us for the benefit of our respective clients. I am also very proud of the contribution my own firm has made; the breadth of our success at this year’s awards, spanning commercial collaboration, environmental leadership and active engagement across the network, is a great reflection of our continued commitment.”