United Kingdom > London > Insurance > Insurance: corporate and regulatory
Index of tables
Insurance: corporate and regulatory
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Leading individuals
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- James Bateson Norton Rose LLP
- Duncan Barber Linklaters LLP
- Stephen Browning Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP
- Katherine Coates Clifford Chance
- Pollyanna Deane Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP
- Ivor Edwards Clyde & Co LLP
- Hilary Evenett Clifford Chance
- Ian Fagelson Reed Smith
- Tim Goggin Hogan Lovells International LLP
- Jeremy Hill Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
- Andrew Holderness Clyde & Co LLP
- Nicholas Hutton Holman Fenwick Willan LLP
- Glen James Slaughter and May
- Philip Jarvis Allen & Overy LLP
- Adam Levitt Herbert Smith LLP
- James Lewis Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP
- Geoffrey Maddock Herbert Smith LLP
- Martin Membery Sidley Austin LLP
- Mike Munro CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
- Tim Page Clifford Chance
- James Perry Ashurst LLP
- Ian Poynton Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
- Philip Richards Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
- Charles Rix Hogan Lovells International LLP
- Maria Ross Norton Rose LLP
- James Smethurst Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
- Verner Southey Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP
- David Sullivan Hogan Lovells International LLP
- Robert Stirling Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
- Clare Swirski Clifford Chance
- David Whear Norton Rose LLP
- John Young Hogan Lovells International LLP
Clifford Chance is particularly recommended for ‘very large transactions that involve a number of jurisdictions’. Tim Page led advice to Apollo and CVC on the public company takeover of Brit Insurance Holdings NV, and Clare Swirski advised on the proposed transfer of the business of Royal Liver to Royal London Mutual Insurance. Katherine Coates and Hilary Evenett are also recommended. Narind Singh was promoted to partner in early 2011.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s ‘highly efficient’ team advised Phoenix Group on its London IPO, and Discovery Holdings on its agreement to acquire Standard Life Healthcare. Other clients include Prudential, Generali, Zurich and Swiss Re. Raj Parker and Ian Poynton are ‘very experienced and give commercial advice’, and senior associate George Swan ‘works well under pressure’ and has ‘exceptional knowledge’.
Herbert Smith LLP’s team, headed by Geoffrey Maddock, advised Friends Provident Life and Pensions on its £165m acquisition of Bupa Health Assurance, and JPMorgan on selling the Save & Prosper insurance and pensions businesses to Chesnara. Other clients include Canada Life, Swiss Re and Zurich. Adam Levitt and new partner Hammad Akhtar are also recommended.
Hogan Lovells International LLP is a ‘market leader’ in corporate and regulatory insurance work, and has ‘excellent industry knowledge’. It acted for Alterra on transferring management of two Lloyd’s syndicates to Whittington, and advised on Paternoster’s £260m sale to Rothesay. Other clients include AEGON, Aioi, Berkshire Hathaway and Enstar. Practice head John Young, Tim Goggin, Charles Rix and David Sullivan are recommended. Peter Taylor retired from the partnership but remains a consultant.
Linklaters LLP’s insurance expertise spans many areas including annuity and longevity solutions, insurance SPVs and distribution agreements. The team is ‘very responsive, with fast turnaround times’, and ‘stands out for the consistency of its up-and-coming talent’. It advised Lloyds Banking Group on selling its majority stake in esure. Practice head Duncan Barber is ‘first class’, and ‘not only an excellent lawyer but able to hone advice to draw out the key commercial as well as legal points’. Victoria Sander and of counsel Madhu Jain are also recommended.
Norton Rose LLP demonstrates ‘strong business acumen and industry knowledge’, and its insurance expertise encompasses transactional, regulatory and other advisory matters. Highlights included advising AXA on the £2.75bn sale of the majority of its UK life business to Friends Provident Group. New client wins include Alterra, Catlin, RBS Insurance and Partner Re. Practice head James Bateson is recommended, and in 2010 the group recruited consultants Stuart Brown, formerly senior transaction counsel at Admin Re UK, and Robert Merkin.
Slaughter and May’s team has ‘strength in depth’, with ‘first-class and knowledgeable’ lawyers, and ‘excellent visibility’ from partners. Practice head Glen James is ‘robust, and commands respect’; Jan Putnis is ‘technically very good with broad knowledge’; and Jonathan Marks and Craig Cleaver are ‘exceptionally good lawyers’. The team advised Standard Life on the £138m sale of Standard Life Healthcare to a subsidiary of Discovery Holdings.
Allen & Overy LLP’s full-service team, headed by Philip Jarvis, receives instructions from RSA and Legal & General, and has advised leading investment banks on trading longevity risks with banks, insurers and investment schemes. It advised Catalina Re on acquiring Glacier Reinsurance. Other reinsurer clients include Swiss Re and Munich Re. Stephen Mathews and of counsel Andrew Barton are also recommended.
Ashurst LLP’s insurance team handles ‘high-end, complex matters’, and adopts a ‘commercial approach’. Jonathan Drake and David Page have ‘a very good understanding of the economic background, and what makes or breaks a transaction’. The team recently advised Equinox Global and Randall & Quilter on establishing a new Lloyd’s syndicate. It also advised Chesnara on the Solvency II implications of its acquisition of Save & Prosper Insurance.
Despite several departures from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP, clients recognise that Stephen Browning is a ‘strong leader’ who remains supported by ‘a high-quality team’. Browning is a ‘first-choice adviser’ with ‘extensive expertise’, particularly regarding the London and Lloyd’s market. Douglas Howie and Timothy Parsons are also recommended. The group recently advised FirstCity Partnership on selling its insurance brokerage business to Arthur J Gallagher.
CMS Cameron McKenna LLP was appointed to AEGON’s panel, and won pitches for instructions from MetLife, ACE and HSBC. Practice head Paul Edmondson, who advised MetLife on its $16.2bn acquisition of ALICO from AIG, is recommended. The team was strengthened by the hire of Mike Munro and James Parker from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP.
Clyde & Co LLP’s corporate insurance team, led by Andrew Holderness, advised EMB on its sale to Towers Watson, and Glacier Group on selling a subsidiary to Torus. The firm has a strong presence in the Lloyd’s market, with clients including Marketform, Whittington, W.R. Berkley, Arch, Canopius, and Randall & Quilter. Clients appreciate the ‘large amount of direct partner input’ from ‘industry experts’. Ivor Edwards is ‘practical and down to earth’, Geraldine Quirk is ‘an expert’, and Andrew Tromans and David Coupe are also recommended.
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP leverages its global corporate practice in its insurance work. The team advised on Hanover Insurance Group’s £313m public bid for Chaucer Holdings, and on Novae Insurance Company’s transfer of its business and reserves to Lloyd’s Syndicate 2007. Jeremy Hill and international counsel Christopher Henley are the key contacts.
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP provides ‘high-calibre’ service and industry knowledge that is ‘second to none’. Joseph Ferraro advised PZU on its $2.6bn IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The team also advised Long Bay Re on its proposed IPO on AIM. Prakash Paran is ‘very sound and very responsive’, and Nicholas Bugler is also recommended.
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP has ‘hands-on lawyers who provide value for money’, and is ‘really going places fast’. David Webster is ‘outstanding’, James Mee has ‘deep technical expertise and a great negotiating style’, Sanjay Pritam ‘provides excellent service’, and Jonathan Davies is ‘one of the recognised leaders for regulatory expertise in the London and Lloyd’s markets’. Senior associate James Phythian-Adams is ‘a rising star and one to watch’. The team advised Whittington Capital Management on assuming from Alterra the businesses of the managing agencies of two Lloyd’s syndicates.
Eversheds LLP is instructed on commercial issues and corporate transactions, and has particular expertise in regulatory issues. It advised a consumer credit business on insurance intermediation issues across the EEA. Jeremy Irving’s arrival from DLA Piper UK LLP strengthened the team. Michael Wainwright remains active in the market and is recommended.
Richard Spiller and Ashwani Kochhar joined Holman Fenwick Willan LLP from Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge UK LLP in 2011. The pair’s experience includes handling multimillion-dollar transactions for clients such as Aspen Re and Catlin. Practice heads Nicholas Hutton, Paul Wordley, and Kapil Dhir are also recommended. Clients of the practice include ING Bank, ACE and Chubb.
Ince & Co advises insurers, reinsurers and intermediaries on commercial, corporate and regulatory matters. Peter Rogan and David Grantham are recommended.
Mayer Brown International LLP’s London corporate insurance and regulatory group forms part of the firm’s global insurance practice, giving it access to substantial cross-border resources. Recent work includes advising on a multimillion-dollar brokerage business acquisition, and on several business disposals. Martin Mankabady is ‘very good, and knows his stuff’.
‘Holding its own in a very competitive market’, Pinsent Masons LLP provides ‘an excellent personal level of service with strong partner support’ across general, life and pensions insurance matters. Alexis Roberts and Bruno Geiringer are recommended, as is new partner Iain Sawers, ‘a real rising star, and definitely one to watch’.
Shearman & Sterling LLP’s multidisciplinary insurance group handles a range of insurance and reinsurance work, including M&A, tax, securities and regulatory matters. It acted on Towergate Finance’s £250m bond offering. Practice head Barney Reynolds is the key contact.
Beachcroft remained on Bupa, Groupama and MMA Insurance panels in 2010, and won new appointments with Aviva, Ageas and National Friendly. The team recently advised on a global distribution agreement, a core area of expertise. James MacNish-Porter ‘provides the highest level of support and advice’, and Mathew Rutter and Lord Hunt are also recommended.
Demutualisations and the management of regulatory risks are particular strengths of Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP’s non-contentious practice, which was strengthened by the arrival of Jacob Ghanty from Pinsent Masons LLP. Clients include CNA, Bupa, Chartis and Aviva. Practice head Pollyanna Deane is ‘outstanding in her field’, and has a ‘great wealth of experience’. Nathan Willmott is also recommended.
Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge UK LLP’s team has changed substantially. Arrivals included new practice head Damian Connolly (who ‘always provides excellent advice and service’), who joined from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; and Shawn Atkinson and Niall McAlister. Richard Spiller and Ashwani Kochhar left for Holman Fenwick Willan LLP.
Lawrence Graham LLP has a ‘good niche insurance practice’; it has ‘excellent industry knowledge’, and provides ‘practical advice, with particular consideration to costs’. Clients include ACE, AXA, Generali and AJ Gallagher. Michael Lacey and Richard Everett are recommended.
Sidley Austin LLP provides a ‘superb level of service, responsiveness, business acumen and industry knowledge’. Martin Membery, ‘one of the finest insurance and regulatory lawyers’, and Matthew Griffith, who has ‘very strong industry knowledge’, joined from Pinsent Masons LLP in April 2010. Clients include Aon, Aviva, CAN and Prudential.
Speechly Bircham LLP’s ‘thoroughly professional, supportive and proactive’ team handles a broad range of work in the life and general business insurance sectors. It assisted Munich Re in the design and creation of a global IP defence insurance policy, and also advised Ecclesiastical Life on the £258m disposal of its life assurance business. Nick Janmohamed and Elizabeth Budd are ‘particularly impressive’.
At Steptoe & Johnson, practice head Angus Rodger provides ‘excellent, personal service’, and gives ‘deeply practical legal advice’. Damian Cleary, an expert in regulatory investigations, joined from Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in April 2010. Clients include AXA, CIGNA, Generali, Hannover Re and Munich Re.
Taylor Wessing LLP’s non-contentious insurance work forms part of its wider financial services practice, which was recently bolstered by three recruits from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP. The insurance group advised esure on its £185m management buyout from HBOS/Lloyds Banking Group. It also advised Colemont Global on merging with American Wholesale Insurance. Peter Kempe and Jonathan Rogers are recommended.
Addleshaw Goddard LLP’s core strengths in non-contentious insurance work include regulatory advice, broker-related corporate matters, and distribution deals. The team, headed by David Heffron, advised Engage Mutual on its £270m acquisition of 25,000 policies from Ecclesiastical Life, and is advising Aviva on a distribution transaction.
Carter Perry Bailey LLP fields a small but ‘well-seasoned’ team whose clients include Asset Underwriting, Community Reinsurance and NPA. The ‘calm and reassuring’ Stephen Carter and ‘extremely professional’ Bill Perry are recommended. Hugh Bohling, formerly a partner at Waltons & Morse and Eversheds LLP, joined as a consultant, and Anthony Rose is also a consultant.
DLA Piper UK LLP’s global scope generates a steady flow of instructions through the London office. It recently advised Towergate on its consolidation with Cullum Capital Ventures, Countrywide Insurance, and Powerplace Insurance; and advised GMAC (now Ally Financial) on selling its international insurance services to Maiden Holdings. Mel Sims is recommended.
Practice head Kirstene Baillie at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP is ‘expert and authoritative’, and often advises on investment issues.