The Legal 500

Within Financial services, tier 4

Speechly Bircham LLP works with the investment management industry and private wealth sector, and is active in wholesale, trading and markets matters. The practice also includes insurance and funds, and it is increasingly active on the contentious side. Jonathan Bayliss, Elizabeth Budd, Vincent Mercer and Nick Janmohamed are key contacts.

Within Flotations: small and mid-cap, Speechly Bircham LLP is a third tier firm,

The team at Speechly Bircham LLP provides ‘robust advice and has a pragmatic approach to problem solving’. Tom Shaw has ‘a no-nonsense attitude’ and is popular with NOMADs. Also recommended are Chris Putt, Andrew Collins and Andrew Clarke, who is ‘attentive to detail and commercially practical’. Shaw advised software company Reddwerks on its admission to AIM.

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

Speechly Bircham LLP continued to increase its share of £50m-plus deals, with 2011 seeing it advise on several deals above the £100m mark. Highlights included advising Ecclesiastical Life Limited on the £180m disposal of its life assurance business to Engage Mutual Assurance. David Hicks draws praise for his ‘sharp intellect, excellent attention to detail, and extremely professional attitude’.

Within Private equity: transactions, tier 7

At Speechly Bircham LLP, Malcolm MacDougall heads a rapidly growing team that advises management, sponsors and investee companies, and is particularly active in the lower and mid-market. Clients include Elysian Capital, Iceni Capital and Coller Capital.

Within Venture capital, tier 5

At Speechly Bircham LLP, Chris Putt heads a three-partner team that advises across a swathe of matters affecting growth companies, including working closely with the firm’s well-regarded tax team to provide structuring advice. Putt has strong ties with leading debt provider Kreos Capital.

Within Commercial litigation, tier 6

Speechly Bircham LLP is noted for technology, corporate, professional negligence, corporate corruption and regulatory disputes. Stephen Dobson ‘takes care of his clients’, and Rhys Novak and Alexander Carter-Silk are also recommended.

Within Corporate restructuring and insolvency, tier 5

Recently bolstered by the arrival of Keith Bordell and Rupert Connell from Travers Smith LLP and Barlow Lyde & Gilbert respectively, Speechly Bircham LLP’s four-partner team handles contentious and non-contentious work for clients such as KPMG, Deloitte and FRP Advisory.

Within Investment funds, Speechly Bircham LLP is a second tier firm,

Speechly Bircham LLP is ‘good value and very knowledgeable’, particularly for retail, listed and mid-market private equity funds. It acts for four of Fidelity’s five investment trusts, and handles authorised funds work for BNY Mellon. Other clients include CBRE and Cazenove Capital. Practice head Nick Janmohamed is ‘a truly excellent lawyer who happens to work at a smaller firm’, and Elizabeth Budd has ‘deep knowledge of the regulations and applies them in a flexible and business-oriented manner’. Vincent Mercer and assistant Sean Donovan-Smith are also recommended.

Within Securitisation, tier 5

Paul Kay’s team at Speechly Bircham LLP counts Blenheim Capital, Kreos Capital and Northern Trust Global Services as clients. Daniel Sullivan advised Cavendish Global Investment Solutions as investment manager on a €50m ABS deal under a €1bn secured note programme.

Within Employee share schemes, tier 5

James Carter at Speechly Bircham LLP, who is noted for his ‘technical expertise and understanding’.

Within Employment: employers and senior executives, Speechly Bircham LLP is a third tier firm,

Speechly Bircham LLP’s eight-partner team includes practice head Trevor Bettany, and the ‘knowledgeable and very likeable’ Richard Linskell, who ‘works hard for his clients and is passionate about getting good results’. Testament to a broad, high-quality practice, its vast client list includes Pfizer, Standard Bank and Yell Group.

Within Pensions, tier 4

At Speechly Bircham LLP, Penny Cogher is ‘an excellent lawyer’ and ‘very hardworking, professional and objective’; and Jane Wolstenholme is praised for her ‘up-to-date technical knowledge and very good grasp of all pensions-related issues’. The team provides ongoing advice to TKUK and TKAG, Atkins, Howard de Walden Estates, and Rothschild Trust Corporation.

Within Insurance: corporate and regulatory, tier 4

Speechly Bircham LLP has an extensive practice acting for general and life insurers. Alex Carter-Silk advised Munich Re on the design and creation of a global IP defence insurance policy. The team has also been advising on clients’ structures in preparation for Solvency II. Practice head Nick Janmohamed is recommended. Chartis is also a client.

Within Insurance: insolvency and restructuring, tier 4

Nick Janmohamed heads the team at Speechly Bircham LLP, which has been active for insurers and reinsurers on restructuring matters, and is experienced in business transfer schemes. Janmohamed is advising Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc on the terms of a solvent scheme of arrangement in New Zealand, which will be one the first schemes of arrangement implemented in New Zealand.

Within Professional negligence Professional negligence

Within Agriculture and estates, Speechly Bircham LLP is a second tier firm,

A recent highlight for the ‘thorough’ team at Speechly Bircham LLP was acting on the purchase of a multimillion-pound estate through a special purchase BVI company. Property guru Amanda O’Keeffe was promoted to the partnership in 2011.

Within Art and cultural property, Speechly Bircham LLP is a second tier firm,

The highly esteemed John Ward heads the cross-departmental team at Speechly Bircham LLP, which carries out work in respect of estate duty exempt and inheritance tax conditionally exempt art works. It also handles disputes over ownership of high-value chattels. One significant client is Howard de Walden, whom the firm is representing in respect of a collection of fencing manuals on loan to the Wallace Collection.

Within Charities and not-for-profit, tier 4

At the ‘high-calibre’ Speechly Bircham LLP, Trevor Bettany is ‘pragmatic and understanding’, and Penny Cogher ‘explains complex matters in layman’s terms’. The team is well known for its work with music, education, and health charities. In 2011, the firm advised charity trustees on EU Solvency II Directive matters, and also oversaw a complex merger programme for a disability charity.

Within Contentious trusts and probate, Speechly Bircham LLP is a second tier firm,

The ‘outstanding’ team at Speechly Bircham LLP is ‘excellent for complex high-value work’, and features department head Graeme Kleiner, John Ward, Helena Luckhurst and Andrea Zavos. The firm acted for a branch of a high-profile business family in respect of multi-jurisdictional governance disputes.

Within Family, tier 5

Speechly Bircham LLP’s team saw some departures in 2011, and is now led by the ‘talented’ James Freeman, with Christopher Butler now at Boodle Hatfield LLP. The team is ‘strong on highly technical issues’, and is backed by strong capabilities in trusts and corporate matters.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate, Speechly Bircham LLP is a second tier firm,

Speechly Bircham LLP’s ‘positive approach and in-depth knowledge makes for a happy client’. The firm advises Middle Eastern royalty and ultra-high-net-worth individuals in all aspects of trust structuring and relocation, and succession planning. Mark Summers is ‘an excellent tax professional’; Sanjvee Shah is a ‘forward thinker’; and Charles Gothard is ‘excellent’. The esteemed John Ward heads the team.

Within PFI and PPP, tier 6

The arrival of Meriel Bennett from Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP in May 2011 was a boost to Speechly Bircham LLP’s social infrastructure practice. Team head Matthew Newing acted on blue-light and housing mandates.

Within Healthcare, tier 5

Projects head Matthew Newing also leads Speechly Bircham LLP’s healthcare practice, which advises on LIFT projects and private sector matters. Meriel Bennett joined from Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP, while Andrew Walsh left the firm.

Within Commercial property, Speechly Bircham LLP is a third tier firm,

Speechly Bircham LLP has ‘very good strength in depth’, and is ‘excellent on all counts’. The practice spans an unusual mix of regeneration, urban estates and high-profile private client and funds work. Work highlights included advising Bellway on a joint venture agreement and scheme to deliver 10,800 new homes at Barking Riverside. Mark Smith’s team includes Lee Medlock (‘bright, very responsive and user friendly’), Robin Grove (‘very thorough’), and Ashley Kopitko (‘excellent’).

Within Construction, Speechly Bircham LLP is a third tier firm,

Speechly Bircham LLP is ‘a safe pair of hands’ for social housing PFI developments and regeneration projects. Appreciated for its ‘pragmatic’ and ‘unstuffy advice’, the group recently acted in an ICC arbitration concerning a drilling concession agreement in Africa. The ‘wise’ and ‘urbane’ Tim Raper and team head Steven Carey ‘complement each other well’, and Jonathan Rosshandler has ‘an acute understanding of case economics’. The contractor-focused Meriel Bennett and Kevin Forsyth joined from Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP and RPC respectively.

Within Planning, tier 5

Clare Prior heads the planning and environmental team at Speechly Bircham LLP, and has particular experience in town centre redevelopment and highway law. The group worked with Barnardo’s on the completion of a planning agreement to build 144 new dwellings at the group’s headquarters.

Within Property finance, tier 5

RBS is a key client of Speechly Bircham LLP, which advised RBS and Lloyds TSB Bank on the funding of The Junction LP.

Within Property litigation, tier 4

Speechly Bircham LLP’s ‘prompt’ team represents occupiers and landowners in complex disputes, often at the higher courts. The ‘thorough’ Jeremy Hudson represented Howard de Walden Estates in a collective enfranchisement claim at the Supreme Court. Graham Ling has ‘a reassuring manner that instils great confidence in his clients’, and the ‘ambitious’ James Souter is also recommended.

Within Data protection, tier 4

Speechly Bircham LLP’s Robert Bond is a well-known figure on data protection matters, particularly for the technology and digital media sectors. The practice manages international compliance projects for clients such as Merck, 3M, Pentair, and Watson Pharmaceuticals, and also advises The i in online Limited in relation to children’s online privacy regulations.

Within Intellectual property, tier 5

Speechly Bircham LLP’s Alexander Carter-Silk defended World Programming Limited in a copyright infringement case brought by SAS, obtaining a broadly favourable ECJ ruling.

Within IT and telecoms, tier 5

Speechly Bircham LLP’s Alexander Carter-Silk continued to represent WPL in its copyright infringement dispute with SAS. Nathalie Moreno advises telecoms and IT operators on transactional and regulatory matters. Vinod Bange joined Taylor Wessing LLP.

Within Media and entertainment, Speechly Bircham LLP is a third tier firm,

Speechly Bircham LLP’s Nicholas Tall and Michelle Lewiston advise Eaglemoss Publishing on content licensing from major US film studios. Tall and Robert Bond advised Touch Press on collaborative arrangements and iPad apps, notably for The Waste Land. Coolabi is a longstanding client. Consultant David Wills handles theatre-related matters, and acts for Trevor Nunn. Team head Alexander Carter-Silk’s clients include Elle Macpherson.