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  1. Employee share schemes
  2. Leading individuals

Allen & Overy LLP’s two-partner team provides clients with ‘practical commercial solutions’, leveraging off the reputation and client base of the wider firm as well as handling ‘first-rate’ standalone work. The group advised Goldman Sachs International and others on Ocado’s IPO; Dana Petroleum on its hostile takeover by Korea National Oil Corporation; and Thames River Capital on its high-profile acquisition by F&C. Recommended partners include Paul McCarthy, who has ‘very good knowledge of share plans and employment practice’, and Sylvie Watts, who is ‘always accessible’ and is praised for her ‘excellent response times, and expert advice’.

Clifford Chance’s four-partner team is ‘very responsive’ and ‘always meets deadlines’; it gives ‘considered advice and understands the sensitivities of clients’. New clients include Babcock International Group and Booker Group, joining established names such as Man Group, International Power, and Standard Chartered. It advised Barclays on all aspects of its share and cash incentive plans, and Diageo on matters including the establishment of new all-employee UK share plans. It also advised Man Group on the $1.6bn acquisition of rival hedge fund GLG Partners. Daniel Hepburn (global share plans), Kevin Thompson (employment tax), Robin Tremaine (share plan hedging derivatives), and new partner Sonia Gilbert are recommended.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s two-partner offering demonstrates ‘excellent business acumen and commercial focus’, and has garnered a number of new clients, including BT, to add to its impressive portfolio of names such as Ladbrokes, Promethean World, and British Land. Key highlights included acting on Betfair’s London IPO; advising BP on the renewal of its directors’ share plan; and advising Wolseley on the global share schemes issues arising from its redomestication. Simon Evans and Jocelyn Mitchell are ‘exceptionally competent’.

Herbert Smith LLP’s team is praised for its ‘very good strength in depth’ and ‘fast and efficient’ response times. It advised Arriva on the incentives aspects of its recommended takeover offer from Deutsche Bahn; and Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus on their $3.4bn bid for Interactive Data Corporation. The team also advised Northern Foods on its initially recommended merger with Greencore Group. International clients, such as AXA and Cap Gemini, feature strongly in the firm’s client roster. Partners of note include Mark Ife, valued for his ‘excellent technical knowledge, and practical, commercial approach’; and Paul Ellerman, who has ‘excellent commercial awareness’.

Linklaters LLP’s ‘very impressive’ practice assists a host of blue-chip clients, including AMEC, Burberry, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, J Sainsbury, and Vodafone, and is well placed to supply global share plans services, benefiting from the firm’s international coverage and reputation. Key deals for the two-partner team included advising GDF Suez on its complex €20.2bn reverse takeover of International Power; Korea National Oil Corporation on its $1.9bn hostile takeover of Dana Petroleum; and National Grid in relation to its £3.3bn rights issue. Head of the practice Gillian Chapman is ‘respected in the market’. Highly influential former practice head Janet Cooper is set to retire in autumn 2011.

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s team acts for high-profile clients such as Trinity Mirror, Barclays, SABMiller and Lloyds Banking Group. It advised Amazon EU on the unwinding of employee share and cash incentives on the client’s acquisition of LOVEFiLM. Recommended partner Louise Whitewright has an ‘excellent network of industry contacts’, and ‘makes the complex very simple’. Former partner Jessica McMichael retired in 2010.

The ‘very responsive’ team at Slaughter and May has ‘excellent depth of knowledge’, coupled with ‘strong business understanding’. It advised British Airways on the effect of the proposed merger with Iberia on its existing share option schemes and the position of the employee benefit trust, and acted for Compagnie Financière Richemont on the incentives implications of its acquisition of Net-a-Porter. Other clients include Ocado, and Taylor Wimpey. Eddie Codrington is ‘ahead of all others in knowledge and pragmatic advice’, and Jonathan Fenn is also recommended.

The ‘first-class’ team at Ashurst LLP is praised for its technical strength and responsiveness, and has expertise in transactional matters. It acted for Apax on its $830m acquisition of a majority stake in Sophos, a UK private company, and for Chloride Group on its £1bn takeover. On the non-transactional side, it advised Intermediate Capital Group on the implementation of new share plans for management, which led to the adoption of an omnibus plan. Paul Randall and Barbara Allen are the names to note.

CMS Cameron McKenna LLP provides ‘professional, well-communicated’ advice, and demonstrates ‘good knowledge’ across the area. It acted for Hartest Holdings on the share schemes aspects of a cash offer from Elektron, and for TT Electronics on establishing a new, Revenue-approved save-as-you-earn scheme. Nicholas Stretch shows ‘dedication’ and ‘understanding of the client’s needs’.

Norton Rose LLP provides ‘good-quality’ advice at ‘competitive rates’, with a strong transactional offering and expertise in emerging markets and Islamic finance compliance. It advised F&C Asset Management on the incentives aspects of its acquisition of Thames River Capital, and Jupiter Fund Management on the share plan aspects of its IPO, including implementing new deferred bonus, long-term incentive and tax-approved sharesave plans. David Cohen is noted for his ‘extremely competent and practical’ advice, and Monique Fry is also recommended.

Travers Smith LLP is valued for its ‘strong technical depth’ and its ‘clear’ advice, delivered in a ‘concise’ manner. It acts for a number of high-profile clients, among them Virgin Media, Saga, and new name Pinebridge Investments, across a variety of transactional and advisory matters. It advised new private bank Metro Bank on its management incentives scheme, and Bridgepoint on its complex £995m sale of Pets at Home to KKR. Mahesh Varia is recommended.

The ‘excellent’ team at Addleshaw Goddard LLP is ‘attuned’ to the ‘legislation, governance and best-practice’ developments in the sector. It acted for Capita Group on the incentives issues arising in several acquisitions, and advised Assura on share scheme matters. Michael Carter is ‘approachable’ and ‘considers the whole picture’.

Baker & McKenzie LLP advises a host of international blue-chip clients, including Deutsche Bank, BAE Systems, and Bank of America. Significant matters included advising Coca-Cola Enterprises on the UK share plan implications of its split from the Coca-Cola Company, and Ensco on the incentives implications of its redomestication in the UK. Jeremy Edwards is the name to note.

Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP’s two-partner practice acted on a number of key mandates, including advising Access Intelligence on the share schemes implications of its acquisition of compliance software specialist Cobent, and Sovereign Reversions on the incentives issues arising from its acquisition by Grainger. Mark Gearing is recommended on corporate employee share plans, and Graeme Nuttall on employee ownership matters.

Noted for its ‘pragmatic, cost-effective’ advice, Pinsent Masons advised longstanding client Pace on its complex and strategic acquisition of Latens Systems, and Misys on the share scheme implications of its disposal of interest in a US subsidiary company, while other clients include Allianz Insurance, Portmeirion Group, and Henderson Group. Judith Greaves is ‘very good’, and ‘finds a solution, not a problem’.

David Dennison at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP is ‘technically sound and helpful’.

Colin Kendon at Bird & Bird shows ‘consummate skill’ in bespoke ‘end-to-end’ plans.

Mathew Gorringe at Eversheds LLP is ‘excellent and extremely thorough’.

John Papadakis at Jones Day is noted for his ‘expert knowledge’ and ‘informative responses’.

Sara Cohen at Lewis Silkin LLP is ‘imaginative and pragmatic’.

Rob Collard at Macfarlanes LLP is ‘highly responsive and pragmatic’.

Mayer Brown International LLP’s Andrew Stanger is noted for his international expertise.

Michael Deeks at Olswang provides advice that is ‘always on time and appropriate’.

The ‘very knowledgeable and competent’ David Pett at Pett, Franklin & Co. LLP is a ‘genuine expert in the field’.

Sam Whitaker is recommended at Shearman & Sterling LLP.

Monica Ma at Simmons & Simmons is ‘professional, responsive and a pleasure to work with’.

James Carter at Speechly Bircham LLP is recommended.

The ‘highly effective’ Jeremy Glover recently joined Reed Smith from Stephenson Harwood.

Ann Casey at Taylor Wessing LLP is recommended.

Nicholas Greenacre is recommended at White & Case LLP.

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