The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Simmons & Simmons LLP is a third tier firm,

Though with a smaller team than many of its traditional rivals, Simmons & Simmons continues to work on some notable acquisition, leveraged, structured trade and pre-IPO finance deals on behalf of clients such as Standard Chartered. Richard McKeown is commended by clients for ‘general banking’ and ‘acquisition finance’.

Within Capital markets (debt), Simmons & Simmons LLP is a second tier firm,

Simmons & Simmons’ Sau-Wing Mak and Kevin Tong are leaders in RMB bonds, including advising on the landmark McDonald’s RMB bond. The two have a strong record in convertibles and MTN programmes. Paul Browne is strong on retail structured products.

Within Construction, tier 5

Brian Downie is the key contact at Simmons & Simmons, where the team handles a large number of energy sector instructions and has seen a significant increase in international work. James Kwan left for Baker & McKenzie in 2011.

Within Corporate (including M&A), tier 4

After losing its market leading status, Simmons & Simmons has now attained a period of relative stability over the last three years. As a result, its reputation has grown, particularly amongst PRC clients. Much of its work centres on energy and resources, financial markets, life sciences and TMT. The firm recently acted for China’s Sinochem on its acquisition of 50% interest of the anti-infectives business of Koninklijke. Tom Deegan heads the China corporate group.

Within Dispute resolution, tier 4

Simmons & Simmons suffered the departure of the prominent Gareth Hughes to Ashurst Hong Kong in association with Jackson Woo & Associates in 2011. The focus of the practice remains on financial institutions and insurance cases. Contentious and non-contentious financial markets specialist Paul Li is regularly engaged in insider dealing cases.

Within Employment, Simmons & Simmons LLP is a first tier firm,

Simmons & Simmons assists a mixed client base, which includes financial institutions, airlines, hotels and other law firms, with contentious and non-contentious employment matters. The team, led by Fiona Loughrey, continues to handle a heavy workload relating to the Minimum Wage Ordinance, where it has been advising on implementation and the correct interpretation of the provisions. High-profile clients include Barclays Wealth, MTR Corporation and Gucci Group.

Within Insurance, Simmons & Simmons LLP is a third tier firm,

Simmons & Simmons has seen an an increase in professional liability claims, and has substantial expertise in this area. Robert Lewington has over 25 years’ experience in the field, and is currently advising Beazley in a claims case.

Within Intellectual property, Simmons & Simmons LLP is a second tier firm,

Simmons & Simmons is well known for trade mark filing and IP litigation, and although the firm continues to develop its focus on the life science sector, it also acts for clients such as Burberry, Cathay Pacific Airways and Lacoste. John Slater is highly regarded and is representing Noble Group in a worldwide registration trade mark program, covering 30 jurisdictions.

Within Investment funds, Simmons & Simmons LLP is a first tier firm,

Best known for advising on the formation of ETFs and hedge funds, Simmons & Simmons has a ‘really good practice’, led by the ‘very well known’ Rolfe Hayden. In line with the trend of commodities as an increasingly popular asset class, Hayden acted in the establishment, SFC authorisation and stock exchange listing of the first domestic physical ETF, Value Gold ETF. The team also advised Da Cheng International Asset Management and HSBC Investment Funds (Hong Kong) on three and four ETFs respectively. Elsewhere, it advises several PRC fund managers on RMB-denominated funds. Paul Li is recommended, and other clients include Citigroup First Investment Management and Brevan Howard.

Within Projects and energy, Simmons & Simmons LLP is a third tier firm,

Brian Downie leads the broad projects practice at Simmons & Simmons, which encompasses a range of work, including LNG, oil, power and petrochemical projects. Tom Deegan leads on the energy and infrastructure side. The team is advising Celanese on $700m feedstock agreements for its existing and planned chemical plants in China. It continues to advise a petroleum company on a joint venture project also in China. In May 2011, Eric Lin joined from Allen & Overy LLP in London, and brings experience in infrastructure, mining and power. Lin acts for several Chinese clients in outbound transactions.

Within Regulatory, Simmons & Simmons LLP is a third tier firm,

The ‘smart and capable’ Paul Li at Simmons & Simmons is a ‘safe pair of hands’ and heads up the firm’s China practice from Hong Kong. Li has experience in advising on investigations, including those related to insider dealing, and counts asset managers and Hong Kong-listed companies among his clients.

Within Restructuring and insolvency, tier 4

At Simmons & Simmons, the team is active in corporate restructuring and insolvency work, with Richard McKeown leading in restructuring cases. Robert Lewington is the key contact for insolvency litigation work.

Within Structured finance and securitisation, Simmons & Simmons LLP is a second tier firm,

Simmons & Simmons has a solid reputation for advising on retail structured products, and is also strong in derivatives work. The group’s two teams advise on the selling of structured products to institutions and retail investors respectively, and also assist in asset repackagings, securitisation and restructurings. Paul Browne is recommended. Clients include JPMorgan, CLSA, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.

Within TMT, Simmons & Simmons LLP is a second tier firm,

Damien Bailey leads the TMT practice at Simmons & Simmons, which acts for clients such as Cathay Pacific Airways, Yahoo! and Warner Bros. The group is also advising Hitachi Data Systems on the roll-out of a new cloud storage solution, which will be the first time it has offered such a system to its customers. The firm has seen an increase in cross-border and international TMT transactions, advising international clients on Greater China opportunities, and local companies on increasing worldwide capabilities.