Partners Nichola Peters and Aster Crawshaw have both appeared in the 2017 Hot 100 list, published by The Lawyer magazine.

The list compiles the best 100 lawyers, who have been recognised for their innovation and expertise in legal services and who have made a significant impact in their area of specialism.

Head of the firm's corporate crime team and specialising in global financial and corporate crime issues, including compliance and investigations, Nichola has led the corporate crime team from strength to strength and developed an impressive array of clients and matters since taking over the reins of the team, nearly four years ago. Key areas of growth over the last couple of years, has been corruption and accounting irregularity investigations and increased focus on sanctions and export control issues. In particular she has been advising clients on conducting investigations into breaches of sanctions (incredibly relevant in the past 12 months against Russia) and all types of matters relating to Iran. Nichola is also regularly named as a leading individual in 'Who's Who Legal: Investigations' and was included in GIR's inaugural 40 under 40.

Nichola's listing in the Hot 100 states: "Nichola Peters is head of Addleshaw Goddard’s corporate crime team. She took over the practice three years ago. Since then, it has grown by 90 per cent, while profitability is up 40 per cent.

"One of her most significant achievements has been to embed the corporate crime offering across all the firm’s sector specialisms, building sector specialists within her own team.

"Much of Peters’ own work is shrouded in confidentiality, but in the past year the EU’s rollback of sanctions against Iran has changed much. Rather than telling clients they can’t do anything with Iran – the stance for the last decade – Peters is in a position to advise clients on the commercial opportunities in the country and how they can reduce risk.

"Peters is also working out incredibly complex issues that come about from the fact that the US still has sanctions in place against Iran.

"For 2017, Peters says her work will be equally interesting and equally under wraps. All she can say is that with the Serious Fraud Office agreeing the UK’s first Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Standard Bank at the end of 2015, there will be all sorts of other businesses that will be wanting legal advice."

Aster, a partner in the Professional Practices Group, specialises in advising professional firms on M&A, structures, partnership agreements and partner disputes. Much of his work is confidential, but high profile mergers he has worked on include those of accounting firms Moore Stephens LLP and Chantrey Vellacott LLP, and US law firm Haynes and Boone, LLP and UK law firm Curtis Davis Garrard LLP. He has a particular expertise in advising on international network structures (including the Swiss Verein).

Aster is the "go to" lawyer for Managing Partners of UK and international professional firms looking to complete mergers, expand or restructure internationally, revise their partnership agreements or deal with difficult partner matters.

Aster's listing in the Hot 100 states: "In a year of merger-mania, Addleshaw Goddard partner Aster Crawshaw was the go-to adviser for law firms. As well as working on Addleshaws’ own acquisition of HBJ Gateley’s Scottish offices, Crawshaw also picked up a pivotal role on the second-ever transatlantic merger by way of an alternative business structure (ABS) between US firm Haynes & Boone and UK-based Curtis Davis Garrard.

"With Cahill Gordon & Reindel the only other US firm to have been licensed as an ABS, Crawshaw led on an innovative structural arrangement in which Haynes & Boone took an interest in its UK suitor directly.

"The merger was one of the largest legal tie-ups to be announced post-referendum, with international expansion continuing to be one of the ­biggest challenges faced by Crawshaw’s legal, accountancy and advisory clients.

"As one of the UK’s only partners dedicated to professional services work, Crawshaw is leading the way in some of the year’s hottest topics for law firms, such as global network agreements and verein structures."

You can read The Lawyer's Hot 100 2017 report here

In 2016 corporate partners Nick Pearey and Andrew Rosling were listed in the Hot 100, with AG being the only firm with two partners in the corporate listing of the report. Prior to this Head of Real Estate Leona Ahmed was named, demonstrating AG's commitment to core service lines.