The Legal 500

This City law firm provides comprehensive business law services to UK and overseas clients. It has a network of associations with law firms in all major international jurisdictions and has an office operated on a joint-venture basis in Shanghai. Its growth has been entirely organic, which underpins its reputation for an entrepreneurial outlook, both in the development of its own business and also in its approach to handling the affairs of clients.

The firm: Clients include a number of FTSE 250 companies, as well as companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and AIM. It represents a number of high-profile entrepreneurs and many of London’s brokers, corporate financiers, nominated advisers and investment banks.

Within the firm’s client base are businesses operating in such diverse fields as investment banking; newspaper, book and magazine publishing; marketing and media services; television and broadcasting; insurance; technology, music; construction; real estate; financial services and energy (both old and new). The firm’s business is frequently of an international flavour, and its lawyers are often engaged in cases and transactions involving Europe, the US and the Far East. The firm has been nominated in the Law Society Excellence Awards, Personal Injury Awards and for the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers.

Types of work undertaken: Corporate: corporate consists of acquisitions and disposals, IPOs, takeovers (reverse, hostile and recommended), restructurings, joint ventures, partnerships, prhrate equity and the issue of debt. Highlights of 2010-11 include acquiring Channel 5 for Northern & Shell, handling the sale of a number of assets for Kaupthing Capital Partners, and being retained by Rothschild. The team has been enhanced by the hiring of Cathy Ley, formerly head of legal at the London Development Agency, who brings a wealth of PFI and infrastructure expertise. The firm has developed renewable energy credentials and has handled some 15 transactions covering wind, biomass, solar, waste-to-energy and water. Private equity and both public and private M&A are a particular strength and the teams taking advantage of the recent economic environment to combine transactional expertise with restructuring of debt and equity and has worked with some the worlds largest financial institutions. In addition, the team gives advice on all aspects of EU competition law and is supported by a tax and financial services team.

Financial services and regulatory: this department deals with FSA authorisations, market abuse and other similar complex areas of financial services law arising out of the UK’s regulatory environment. The team handles the challenge’s to our regulators decisions negative to client’s interests and deals with the takeover code, the AIM rules and the UKLA listing rules. Beyond financial services this team represents clients interests with regulators such as OFCOM, the OFT and the Gambling Commission.

Insolvency: this team deals with both personal and corporate insolvency. It has had a number of contentious insolvency cases reported and regularly works with the corporate department on pre-packaged administrations, corporate restructuring and debt renegotiation. It has given advice to clients in connection with and arising out of some of the highest profile bank and corporate failures during the recession.

Real estate: the team handles the sale, purchase and redevelopment of commercial and residential property, site assembly transactions and negotiations with local authorities. Preparation of infrastructure agreements are all integral to this department’s expertise. The team also handles secured lending for banks and provides support to the corporate department. The team represents well known property developers and investors, both in the UK and overseas, including a number of commercial property funds.

Employment: the dedicated employment team handles redundancy, wrongful and unfair dismissal, for both employers and employees, employee benefits and the dranlng of enforcement of restrictive agreements. It has been involved in a number of significant high court cases, notably TullettPrebon v BGC which made new law on the length and enforceability on restrictive covenants.

Dispute resolution: this department covers a range of commercial disputes and has a particular interest in shareholder litigation, breaches of fiduciary duty and trust cases, copyright and other intellectual property disputes. Media-related litigation including reputation management is undertaken and the firm has developed relationships with a number of private equity firms who have resorted to litigation to protect their interests in investec companies and in their relationships with defaulting investors.

Breakdown of work %
Corporate  35
Litigation 45
Real estate  15
Employment 5

Number of UK partners 18
Number of other UK fee-earners 47