The Legal 500

Within Commercial contracts, tier 4

Stephenson Harwood’s commercial outsourcing practice ‘emphasises industry experience and pragmatic advice’, a strategy that has allowed it to strengthen its key client relationships with the likes of Capita and KPMG. Highlights included advising SAIC on the renegotiation of its IT outsourcing arrangements with BP, and advising MMA Insurance on litigation support outsourcing between it and Parabis. John Buyers leads the team, and is ‘one of the best in the business’.

Within Corporate tax, tier 5

Stephenson Harwood provides an ‘excellent service’, and is valued for its ‘knowledge and competence’. In addition to its record in shipping matters, the team has expertise in areas ranging from M&A, funds and real estate, to complex tax-enhanced financing arrangements. Clients include British Land, The London Development Agency, KPMG and Macdonald. Hugo Jenney is the name to note.

Within Financial services, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood saw an increase in instructions relating to ARROW visits and advice on capital adequacy. It also gained market share in the consumer credit area, and advised in criminal proceedings brought by the FSA. Charlotte Hill heads the non-contentious practice, and contentious head Tony Woodcock is ‘an exceptional talent’. The ‘technically strong’ Sean Jeffrey joined from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, along with the ‘impressive’ Sara George from Allen & Overy LLP.

Within Flotations: small and mid-cap, Stephenson Harwood is a second tier firm,

Renowned for its focus and expertise in Asia, Stephenson Harwood has a strong offering in the mid-market, regularly representing issuer clients. Peter Bradley recently advised Malaysian data centre company CFS Group on its IPO on AIM, and also acted for Indian company iEnergizer on its £36m IPO. Tony Edwards is currently advising Petrolatina on its proposed IPO.

Within M&A: lower mid-market, £50m-£250m, Stephenson Harwood is a second tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood’s M&A capabilities were given a boost in 2010 with the lateral hire of Andrew Edge and Duncan Stiles, both from Ashurst LLP. The team, headed by Sharon White, acted on a number of deals above the £500m mark, most notably advising Abbott Healthcare on its $3.7bn purchase of Indian healthcare company Piramal’s domestic formulations business.

Within Partnership Partnership

Within VAT and indirect tax, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood has a key specialism and leading position in the tonnage tax arena, where it has acted on leasing arrangements for numerous clients. Other areas of strength include SDLT, where it acted for Gentoo Group on the acquisition of property by homeowners under an entirely new home ownership structure. Well-respected practice head Hugo Jenney is an expert in asset tax.

Within Fraud: civil , Stephenson Harwood is a first tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood is experienced in large fraud disputes. Highlights included acting for the former owner and chairman of JSC BTA Bank; and representing the defendant in substantial fraud claims regarding credits given by the Dubai Islamic Bank to a consortium of businessmen. Louis Flannery is ‘a driven and dynamic litigator whom you would want fighting on your side’. Alan Bercow and joint practice head John Fordham are also well regarded.

Within Fraud: white-collar crime , Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood’s practice was boosted by the arrival of former FSA prosecutor Sara George from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. Recent work for practice head Tony Woodcock includes representing a retired former partner of Cazenove & Co in high-profile criminal proceedings brought by the FSA.

Within Banking litigation: investment and retail, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood acts on a diverse range of international matters. Recent work includes acting for Natixis in a dispute involving notice served on Goldman Sachs International terminating three credit default swaps with a notional value of approximately $500m. The team is praised for its thorough and proactive approach, and its ability to deal efficiently with very complex litigation. John Fordham and Richard Gwynne are highly recommended, alongside Edward Davis (‘a very bright, sharp and pragmatic lawyer’) and Sunil Gadhia (‘a tough and efficient negotiator’).

Within Commercial litigation, Stephenson Harwood is a second tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood’s team ‘masters all the details of a case whilst retaining a global view’. The team represented the former owner of BTA Bank in defending high-value High Court claims for alleged misappropriation and breaches of duties. John Fordham ‘offers outstanding service’; Sunil Gadhia’s ‘litigation strategy views are valued’; and Louis Flannery and Richard Gwynne are also recommended. Sean Jeffrey joined from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, along with Sara George from Allen & Overy LLP.

Within International arbitration, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood houses ‘deep levels of expertise’. The practice continued to advise Nigeria’s state-owned oil concern in a case involving the defence in England of an attempt to enforce a Nigerian arbitration award. Louis Flannery is ‘outstanding; he combines strong academic knowledge and understanding of the subject with an excellent, practical grasp of the issues’; and commodities specialist Peter Bennett is ‘very attentive’. Richard Gwynne is noted for cross-border arbitration, and Kamal Shah is experienced in acting for clients in Africa and India.

Within Mediators Mediators

Within Overview,

The market remains competitive and fluid. Halliwells’ collapse provided Clyde & Co LLP with the lateral hire of Marko Kraljevic, while Stephenson Harwood beefed up with Sean Jeffrey arriving from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Sara George from Allen & Overy LLP. Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP’s former litigation chief Julian Randall exited for Taylor Wessing LLP. Others have been busy consolidating; in 2011, seven partners from Dawsons LLP, plus their assistants, joined Penningtons Solicitors LLP, while Stewarts Law LLP acquired litigation practice Masseys LLP.

Within Professional discipline, tier 4

Stephenson Harwood’s ‘excellent’ team is led by Tony Woodcock.

Within Tax litigation, tier 4

Maryanna Sharrock and Sanjay Mehta are recommended at Stephenson Harwood.

Within Asset finance and leasing, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Deeply entrenched in the shipping industry, Stephenson Harwood provides ‘business-minded and pragmatic advice’ to banks including Bank of Scotland, Credit Suisse, DnB NOR Bank, and DVB Bank. The ‘very knowledgeable’ Jonathan Ward advised Korea Ex-Im Bank on the $1.2bn post-delivery financing of ten of the world’s largest container vessels. Paul Richardson has a strong reputation for aviation finance, and handles a raft of work for Macquarie Aircraft Leasing; and Graeme McLellan has an excellent track record in rail financing. Global practice head Mark Russell ‘understands when a business rather than a legal comment should be made’, and is a key figure in the 14-partner team, which also includes aviation finance partner Richard Parsons.

Within Bank lending: investment grade debt and syndicated loans , tier 5

The ‘hard-nosed’ David Lacey at Stephenson Harwood is recommended.

Within Commodities: derivatives Leading individuals

Within Commodities: physicals, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood is noted for complex litigation. Haris Zografakis leads ‘a true team, perfectly organised, providing excellent legal and commercial advice’. Paolo Ghirardani is ‘extremely resourceful, and can think outside the box’; and Peter Bennett ‘has a deep knowledge of the markets’. Recent highlights include a cargo loss claim for Vitol.

Within Corporate restructuring and insolvency, tier 4

The team at Stephenson Harwood is ‘extremely knowledgeable and professional’. Stuart Frith, who recently joined the firm, is ‘an expert in his field’, and David Lacey and Alan Bercow are also recommended.

Within Investment funds, Stephenson Harwood is a second tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood is ‘exceedingly good value for money’. The team acted for the sponsor and joint bookrunners on LSE-listed BlueCrest AllBlue Fund Limited’s placing and offer of C shares. The practice was also busy with restructuring and investment rollovers for major investment trusts. Practice head William Saunders is ‘very good and readily accessible’, and is an expert in offshore investment companies. Andrew Sutch and Elizabeth Field are also recommended.

Within Islamic finance Islamic finance

Within Trade finance, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood’s David Lacey advises many commercial banks and inventory financing houses, and handles invoice discounting deals worth up to €100m.

Within Employee share schemes,

The ‘highly effective’ Jeremy Glover recently joined Reed Smith from Stephenson Harwood.

Within Employment, tier 6

Stephenson Harwood handles a full range of employment matters for commercial, financial, and public sector entities. It notably advised pharmaceutical company Eisai Europe on senior-level departures, and Heli-One Canada on a proposed partnership with the UK military services. Restrictive covenants expert Kate Brearley is ‘highly responsive, pragmatic and thorough’.

Within Health and safety, tier 5

The ‘hardworking and ideas-led’ team at Stephenson Harwood was recently successful in averting criminal proceedings against a client. Tony Woodcock is ‘a good, practical operator with a keen eye for client need’.

Within Pensions, tier 4

Recent new client wins for Stephenson Harwood include Norfolk Lines, Metallgesellschaft, Conrad Ritblatt, and The Church Mission Society. Mark Catchpole has ‘excellent commercial instincts and is a pleasure to work with’, and is ‘very reasonable and measured’; and Philip Goodchild is ‘responsive, available and approachable’. Sue Millar, who heads the firm’s financial litigation group, has considerable pensions dispute resolution experience.

Within Insurance and reinsurance litigation, tier 5

Marine insurance specialist Stephenson Harwood has a ‘very strong team that is extremely responsive and very commercial’. Its expertise includes disputes in hull, trade, commodity and energy insurance. It advised Torus on a $1bn coverage policy, and often represents RSA in coverage disputes. Simon Moore is ‘very focused, punches above his weight and is straight talking’, and practice head Alex Davis is ‘the go-to man on marine matters’.

Within Professional negligence, tier 5

Roland Foord heads the team at Stephenson Harwood, which provides ‘sound advice in a timely way’, and is ‘acutely aware of clients ’ needs’. It advised Christie’s International in a claim alleging that a painting sold by the auction house was a forgery.

Within Contentious trusts and probate, tier 4

Stephenson Harwood’s contentious trusts practice services its institutional banking client base, particularly offshore trust service providers. The firm has expertise in complex, multi-jurisdictional trust litigation.

Within Oil and gas, tier 6

Stephenson Harwood attracts praise for its ‘focus, imagination, innovation and determination’. It advised Motor Oil Hellas on its €245m acquisition of several of Shell’s downstream operations.

Within Private finance initiative (PFI) , tier 6

Stephenson Harwood is advising UK Power Networks Services on the concession contract for the implementation of an electricity distribution system for the London 2012 Olympic Park.

Within Education: institutions, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood is particularly strong in projects work, and in 2010 advised the University of Greenwich on a new £76m building. Colin Mackenzie-Grieve’s team is also experienced in issues relating to funding and rescue packages.

Within Healthcare, tier 4

Stephenson Harwood is particularly strong in projects work. In 2010 it advised on the $3.7bn sale of Mumbai pharmaceutical company Primal Healthcare to Abbott Healthcare. Life sciences expert Andrew Edge recently joined from Ashurst LLP.

Within Commercial property, tier 4

Hotels work is a mainstay of Stephenson Harwood’s practice, and the team recently advised Macdonald Hotels and Resorts on acquiring a four-star hotel in Manchester. Department head Marcel Haniff is ‘calm under pressure, and sensitive to clients’ needs’; Jonathon Wilkes is ‘very clear in all advice, cutting through legal complexities’; and Richard Light and Chris Seel are also recommended. The talented Stephen Sumpton joined from McGrigors LLP in June 2011.

Within Construction, tier 4

Stephenson Harwood acts for developer clients across the further education, energy and renewables sectors. Recent contentious highlights include advising the London Development Agency on the termination of a development agreement relating to Silvertown Quays. Highlights for the non-contentious team included acting for TSG on the construction of an equestrian platform for the 2012 Olympics. Steven Wait and Paul Thwaite are recommended.

Within Environment, tier 5

Stephenson Harwood advises public and private sector clients on transactions and regulatory/contentious matters, including contaminated land issues and energy-from-waste projects. Clients include Verus Energy, Agropharm, EDF Energy, University of Greenwich, and certain local authorities. Practice head Andrew Wiseman has ‘outstanding knowledge of environmental law and excellent business acumen’.

Within Planning, tier 4

Stephenson Harwood’s practice head Barry Jeeps has ‘an ability to understand complex issues and articulate them in a clear, structured and persuasive way’. He is advising the University of Greenwich on campus proposals, and The Peel Group on a housing scheme near Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport.

Within Property finance, Stephenson Harwood is a second tier firm,

SNR Denton advised RBS on restructuring residential homebuilder Morris Group’s term and revolving facilities, and acted on financing Hilton hotel acquisitions in Manchester Airport, Stratford-upon-Avon and Wokingham. Lorraine Davis and Andrew Hill are popular with clients. Jayesh Patel joined Stephenson Harwood.

Within Property litigation, tier 4

Stephenson Harwood receives a steady stream of high-quality instructions from wealthy individuals, and saw an uptick in professional negligence and dilapidations claims, particularly from major banks. The ‘outstanding’ Sean Fitzgerald is ‘the billionaire’s friend; they come from every part of the globe to avail themselves of his services’.

Within Social housing: finance, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood is advising Gentoo Housing Group on the ‘Gentoo Genie’ purchase scheme, and advised Lloyds TSB on a £120m loan utilising a SPV treasury vehicle. Practice head Natalie Elphicke and rising star Kate Higgins are recommended.

Within Intellectual property, tier 5

Lucy Harrold’s team at Stephenson Harwood is ‘responsive and easy to deal with’. Eifion Morris advised Mumbai-based Piramal Healthcare on the $3.72bn sale of its domestic formulations division, and represented Datacard Corporation in High Court patent and trade mark infringement actions.

Within IT and telecoms, tier 5

At Stephenson Harwood, outsourcing specialist and group head John Buyers has ‘excellent technical skills and deep industry knowledge’, and is representing voxclever against Verizon. The group is advising Gap on data protection issues.

Within Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, tier 4

Stephenson Harwood’s strong transactional team acted for BTG on its £177m acquisition of Biocompatibles, and Mumbai-listed Piramal Healthcare on the $3.72bn sale of its domestic formulations division to Abbot Healthcare. Leading figure Andrew Edge joined from Ashurst LLP.

Within Aviation, Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood defended Air Asia against claims of loss of sale arising from the late redelivery of a Boeing 737-300, the first such claim of its kind made through the English courts; and advised Blue Wing Airlines on gaining its removal from the European blacklist of airlines – it is the seventh blacklisted airline the group has represented. The firm is known for its wide-ranging practice, acting for clients such as American Airlines, Virgin, Vietnam Airlines, and Aviation Capital. Paul Phillips ‘gives well over 100% to his clients, knows the aviation business (both at the technical and legal level), and is a very tough fighter’; he ‘provides clear strategic vision with tenacity and great stamina in following through with detail’. Associates Russell Binch and Kate Cordery are ‘exceptionally good lawyers’.

Within Rail, Stephenson Harwood is a second tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood’s Martin Fleetwood and rail adviser Mary Bonar have ‘extensive knowledge of the light rail market’, and Graeme McLellan is recommended for his ‘expertise, knowledge and service levels’. The group was appointed to act for a consortium on its bid to provide the rolling stock and depot facilities for Crossrail. The recruitment of Nick Avery from Ashurst LLP added greater depth on the finance side.

Within Shipping , Stephenson Harwood is a third tier firm,

Stephenson Harwood’s ‘attraction is not only the international network but also the multi-disciplinary capabilities combined with good coordination’. Paolo Ghirardani is ‘pragmatic, responsive and commercial’; Stuart Beadnall and Sean Gibbons are ‘very bright, positive and diligent’; Duncan McDonald’s ‘ability to balance the legal and commercial aspects is first class’; and Ingolf Kaiser has a ‘thorough and thoughtful approach, and good tactical awareness’. The group advised in relation to an order of ten of the world’s largest container ships, with options for 20 more.