and Environment to support energy transition, human rights, corporate governance, climate change and sustainable finance. Emblem The first James William Freshfield (1775–1864) adopted the crest of John Freshfield of Norwich as his own, having seen it as a boy. It was later used as the firm's mark. The emblem represents St Michael, depicted as an angel with a spear. Controversies In 2019, the firm faced questioning by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over its review into how UBS dealt with a rape complaint. Since 2017, German prosecutors have twice raided Freshfields’ Frankfurt offices to investigate the phantom-trading fraud, known as cum ex fraud, which the German government estimates cost its treasury more than 5 billion euros. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer gave tax advice, which was used to justify its legality. In November 2019, the firm's former head of international tax, Ulf Johannemann, was arrested and charged with tax fraud. Then in June 2020, a second former partner was charged with aiding and abetting tax evasion in the scandal. In 2020, the firm was also discovered to have had historic ties to the Atlantic slave trade. In particular, the firm's name founder, James William Freshfield, financially benefited from slavery by acting as a trustee and owner-in-fee for several slave-owners. Notable Freshfields attorneys Bim Afolami Arved Deringer Dame Sarah Falk Douglas Freshfield Henry Ray Freshfield John Lamont Chris Mort Mark Okerstrom John Parkinson Benito Romano Sir Anthony Salz Timothy A. Wilkins Sir Nicholas Young Alma Zadić See also List of largest law firms by profits per partner References Further reading External links Law firms of the United Kingdom 1743 establishments in England Law firms based in London Law firms established in 2000 Foreign law firms with offices in the United States Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong Foreign law firms with offices in Japan Foreign law firms with offices in the Netherlands British companies established in 1743 Multinational companies headquartered in the United Kingdom Law firms established in 1743