The Legal 500

Within EU and competition EU and competition

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Within M&A: smaller deals, up to £50m, Manches LLP is a first tier firm,

Manches LLP’s practice head Matthew Martin stands out for his ‘invaluable input and advice’. 2011 saw the team advise All Saints Retail Limited on its £107m restructuring and refinancing, while other clients include Brightside Group and Moss Bros.

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Within Venture capital, tier 6

Headed by Justin Starling, Manches LLP advises a range of investee companies on VC-funding transactions; names include Nexeon, Helvet and We7.

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Within Commercial litigation, tier 6

Manches LLP’s team is led by the ‘commercial and available’ Alex Fox and includes John Doherty, Siobhan Jones, Richard Marshall and Margaret Tofalides. The team recently acted in a multibillion-pound class action.

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Within Defamation and privacy, tier 4

Manches LLP is regularly instructed in relation to libel and reputation management issues. Clients include a number of celebrities and other high-net-worth individuals, and organisations including the British Medical Association and Eurotunnel.

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Within Corporate restructuring and insolvency,

Also recommended are: the ‘commercial’ Louise Verrill, who heads the ‘professional, effective and personable’ six-partner team at Brown Rudnick LLP, which specialises in representing funds as bondholders; Collyer Bristow LLP’s team head Steven Heffer, who is praised for his ‘commerciality, excellent judgement and knowledge’; Richard Baines at Druces LLP, for his ability to ‘effectively explain complicated technical matters’; Edwin Coe LLP’s ‘tactical and skilful’ team head Ali Zaidi; Farrer & Co’s practice head David Fletcher, who is ‘easy to deal with and technically sound, and provides practical solutions’; Greenberg Traurig Maher LLP’s practice head Emma Menzies; the ‘technical, commercial and practical’ Vernon Dennis, who heads a property-focused team at Howard Kennedy; Manches LLP’s team head Alex Fox, who is praised for his ‘assiduity, commerciality and creative thinking’; and the ‘very client-focused’ team at TLT LLP.

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Within Employment: employers and senior executives, tier 7

Manches LLP’s experience includes board changes at plc level and industrial action disputes. Sarah Johnson ‘quickly grasps business imperatives’, and is acting for the British Medical Association in a landmark sex discrimination claim. Tom Walker and the team stand out for their ‘business partnering’ and ‘ability to explain complex matters easily’.

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Within Product liability: defendant, tier 4

The ‘fantastic’ John Doherty at Manches LLP has considerable tobacco experience, and acts for British American Tobacco. The firm also provides regulatory, compliance and dispute advice to clients in the manufacturing sector, including Wolseley UK and Fiat Industrial.

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Within Family, Manches LLP is a first tier firm,

Manches LLP ‘remains a leading department for finance work’. The firm undertakes high-end work, and is valued for its ability to come up with imaginative, quasi-collaborative solutions. The undoubted figurehead of the group is big-money specialist Helen Ward, who is ‘tireless, incisive and scrupulous’; and department head Jane Craig is also highly regarded, for her collaboration and cohabitation expertise. Anna Worwood is a leading children lawyer. Jane Simpson retired in 2011.

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Within Overview,

On the family front, firms such as Charles Russell LLP, Hughes Fowler Carruthers Ltd, Manches LLP, Payne Hicks Beach, Stewarts Law LLP and Withers LLP compete for a small pool of ultra-high-net-worth work which tends to be litigation-oriented and is invariably multi-jurisdictional. At the same time, there is a trend for other forms of dispute resolution, whether it be arbitration, collaboration, or mediation, with Family Law in Partnership LLP a notable pioneer.

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Within Personal tax, trusts and probate, tier 5

At Manches LLP, Amanda Nelson has been promoted to the partnership. The firm provides advice on lifetime tax structures for high-net-worth individuals.

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Within Commercial property, Manches LLP is a second tier firm,

Manches LLP’s practice expanded with the arrival of Andrew Bond from Shepherd and Wedderburn and Rich Eldridge from Blake Lapthorn. Louis Manches’ team acted for Assura Properties on the eurobond financing of its primary care property portfolio. Other clients include Malthurst and Burford.

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Within Construction, tier 5

Consultant Richard Cooke now heads the team at Manches LLP, which saw the move of Joanne Kelly to Taylor Wessing LLP and Joseph Griffiths to Edwin Coe LLP.

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Within Property finance, tier 4

Manches LLP advised Munroe K Luxembourg on a £100m bank facility refinancing. Other clients include Lloyds Banking Group and Investec. Rajan Shori and Melvin Pedro are recommended.

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Within Property litigation, tier 5

Manches LLP advises landlords in the retail sector, and Richard Marshall and team head Siobhan Jones are receiving an increasing number of instructions from wealthy individuals. Sellar Property Group and Assura Healthcare are new clients.

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Within Brand management, Manches LLP is a third tier firm,

Manches LLP advises multinationals and SMEs on advertising and sponsorship. It handles brand protection and enforcement for new clients Spicerhaart and Ferrexpo. John Doherty leads on regulatory matters, and Alex Fox handles litigation.

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Within Franchising, Manches LLP is a third tier firm,

Lesley Hall at Manches LLP advised Malthurst on branding issues arising from the purchase of service stations from Esso under a substantial UK franchising arrangement. Liberty Retail, Moss Bros and Papa Johns are also clients.

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Within Intellectual property, tier 5

At Manches LLP, contentious specialist Margaret Tofalides is ‘very client oriented and forward thinking, and has outstanding commercial and analytical skills’. Lesley Hall handles non-contentious work. Clients include the British Medical Association, Basilea Pharmaceutica, and Ferrexpo.

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Within Media and entertainment, tier 5

Manches LLP’s Alex Fox advises the British Medical Association on its publications, and represents certain celebrities in the News of the World phone-hacking case.

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