The 2025 FT Innovative Lawyers Awards once again recognize outstanding legal professionals driving transformative change across law and various industries through ingenuity and innovation. This prestigious event honors those who excel legally while shaping the profession’s future by introducing novel solutions and advancing practices beyond traditional limits. Among the honorees, Bijal Ajinkya of Khaitan & Co. stands out for her pioneering work in private client legal services in India. She has revolutionized succession planning for corporate dynasties—a field traditionally marked by complex, sensitive issues around inheritance, family legacy, and fiscal duties like death taxes. Navigating cultural sensitivities and legal intricacies, Bijal’s innovative approaches have clarified and structured this area, achieving broad impact across Asia. Her work enables high-net-worth families and corporations to manage succession strategies more effectively and securely, setting a new regional benchmark by harmonizing legal rigor with practical business and familial needs. Succession planning’s importance lies in preventing disputes and ensuring smooth asset and leadership transitions, critical for lasting corporate stability and growth. Other trailblazing lawyers celebrated include Stella Cramer of Clifford Chance, key in shaping AI policies for major Asian funds and regulators. As AI reshapes industries, her role in forming regulatory frameworks balances opportunities and risks, fostering responsible AI adoption and influencing financial sector investments and oversight across Asia. Ben Hammond from Ashurst is recognized for pioneering blockchain-based digital bond issuance in Hong Kong.

His work harnesses blockchain’s promise of enhanced security, transparency, and efficiency, creating new capital market pathways and streamlining bond issuance. This exemplifies how legal expertise intersects with fintech innovation to transform financial instruments and markets. Cheng Lim of King & Wood Mallesons is highlighted for his expertise in cybersecurity law, particularly managing significant data breach recoveries in Australia. Amid rising cyberattacks and data privacy challenges, his guidance on legal complexities in data protection, incident response, and regulation is vital for clients navigating risk and compliance in a dynamic digital landscape. Together, these innovators illustrate the rapidly evolving nexus of law, technology, finance, and privacy. They not only adapt to change but actively shape the future by creating solutions that address contemporary legal and corporate challenges. The 2025 FT Innovative Lawyers Awards emphasize the necessity of embracing innovation within the legal field. As industries grow more complex and tech-integrated, such advancements ensure law remains relevant, effective, and supportive of evolving business models and societal standards. These lawyers exemplify how legal knowledge can drive progress, empower clients, and effect transformative regional and industrial change. This year’s awards serve as a reminder that the legal profession is dynamic, continually evolving through the vision and creativity of exceptional individuals who challenge norms and deliver impactful solutions. Their contributions reaffirm lawyers’ critical role as innovators and guardians of justice amid an increasingly complex global environment.