The Legal 500

Within Commercial contracts, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird has a team of 16 partners with expertise in BPO and ITO projects, and is valued for its ‘consistently high-quality, proportionate commercial judgement’. In 2010 it advised Ofsted on the re-tender of its ICT services outsourcing project with Logica and its ‘RAISEOnline’ project with RM, and BT plc on the £640m extension of the MoD’s Defence Fixed Telecommunications Service. Joint head of international outsourcing Mark Leach is ‘someone you always want on your side in a commercial contract negotiation’; and Christian Bartsch’s ‘client relationship skills add real material benefit, ensuring a consistency of approach across matters and jurisdictions’. Peter Elliot heads the public procurement team, and healthcare expert David Ayers is also recommended.

Within Corporate tax Corporate tax

Within EU and competition , tier 6

Bird & Bird has strength in a number of sectors, and has witnessed a particular increase in work from electronic communications, sports and aviation clients. Recent work includes advising The Football Association on matters relating to media rights licensing. Jeremy Robinson, who has expertise in economic regulation matters in the aviation, energy and water industries, is ‘a consummate professional; personable, patient and instills a sense of confidence and trust’. Richard Eccles leads the team.

Within Flotations: small and mid-cap, tier 4

‘Outstanding in all respects’, the team at Bird & Bird expanded in 2010 with the hire of ‘excellent negotiator’ Richard Eaton and Struan Penwarden from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Europe) LLP. The team advised blinkx on a share offering to raise £19.5m. Simon Allport is a ‘technical expert’.

Within M&A: lower mid-market, £50m-£250m, Bird & Bird is a third tier firm,

Bird & Bird’s cross-border strength in communications and media came to the fore in 2010. Simon Fielder led the advice to Fluid Music on its €160m acquisition of Mood Media, while Simon Allport headed a team that advised Viacom on the £63.5m takeover of AIM-listed The Indian Film Company.

Within Venture capital, Bird & Bird is a second tier firm,

Bird & Bird is ‘one of the leading firms in this domain in Europe’, providing a ‘responsive and very thorough’ service to an increasingly balanced array of investor and investee clients in the technology, life sciences and cleantech sectors. The team is headed by the ‘fastidious and commercially astute’ Angus Miln, and recently represented new client Union Square Ventures on the €10m Series B financing of SoundCloud. Struan Penwarden has strong ties with Kreos Capital, Europe’s largest venture debt lender; and Richard Eaton is experienced in advising both investors and investees.

Within Fraud: civil , tier 4

Bird & Bird acts for clients such as Habib Bank Limited and Bayerische Landesbank. Sophie Eyre and Ludovic de Walden are currently acting for the administrator of the estate of Christo Michailidis in a claim against Crédit Agricole.

Within Banking litigation: investment and retail, tier 5

Bird & Bird has a strong international practice, with particular expertise in the financial services and telecoms sectors. It acted for Finnish telecoms company Elisa Oyj in $60m High Court proceedings issued by UBS involving complex derivative products. Jeremy Sharman is ‘a clever, dedicated and thoroughly charming litigator’; and Sarah Walker has ‘bags of energy and drive, a real clients ’ lawyer’.

Within Commercial litigation, tier 5

Praised for its ‘strong sector knowledge’, Bird & Bird acted for a Swedish pension fund in relation to proceedings issued against its securities lending agent, the dispute concerning losses arising out of investments made in Sigma Finance. Jane Player is ‘fantastic for strategy’; Ludovic de Walden is ‘an excellent negotiator’; Sophie Eyre is ‘tactically astute’; and Jeremy Sharman has ‘an eye for detail’. Sarah Walker is also rated.

Within Defamation and privacy Defamation and privacy

Within International arbitration, tier 6

Bird & Bird’s ‘service is truly outstanding’. The group is known for its expertise in the aviation, communications, energy, IT, life sciences and sport sectors. Jonathan Taylor has an ‘outstanding legal mind’; Max Duthie ‘shows a level of dedication and commitment that is greatly appreciated’; and Sarah Walker and Jane Player are also highly rated.

Within Mediators Mediators

Within Asset finance and leasing, tier 5

Bird & Bird’s asset finance team has a strong reputation for aviation finance, and is led by Paul Briggs, former head of legal at BAE Systems. Simon Chamberlain also handles financing work as part of his broad aviation practice.

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

The ‘very efficient, responsive and practical’ Trystan Tether is recommended at Bird & Bird.

Within Islamic finance Islamic finance

Within Employee share schemes, tier 5

Colin Kendon at Bird & Bird shows ‘consummate skill’ in bespoke ‘end-to-end’ plans.

Within Employment, tier 5

The ‘versatile’ team at Bird & Bird, headed by Ian Hunter, was instructed by new clients in the technology, public services and air travel sectors on operational and strategic HR issues; and handled litigation relating to boardroom bust-ups and fallout from administration proceedings. Clients rate highly the team’s ‘strategic approach’ and ‘professionalism’, singling out the ‘incredibly understanding and knowledgeable’ Elizabeth Lang and ‘safe pair of hands’ Warren Wayne.

Within Immigration, tier 4

‘Very professional and trustworthy’ associate Jonathan Goldsworthy at Bird & Bird leads on matters from sponsorship licences under the Tier 2 and Tier 4 schemes to the changes to the PBS. Clients include major brands in the telecoms and IT industries, Hollywood celebrities, and sports personalities and governing bodies.

Within Insurance and reinsurance litigation, tier 5

Bird & Bird’s team acts for insurers and policyholders, and has particular expertise in line with the firm’s strengths in aviation, aerospace, defence, energy and utilities. Peter Knight advised in a multimillion-dollar arbitration involving claims under a policy placed with South American insurers and reinsured in London. It also acted for RWE npower and its captive regarding an estimated £22m claim for indemnity from reinsurers.

Within Professional negligence, tier 5

Bird & Bird’s four-partner group advises clients such as PayPal, Elisa Oyj, Thames Water Utilities, and Forsta AP-Fonden. Jane Player and Ludovic de Walden head the team.

Within Oil and gas, tier 7

Bird & Bird is recommended for its construction work, particularly on the pipeline side.

Within Private finance initiative (PFI) , tier 6

Bird & Bird’s focus is almost exclusively defence and outsourcing matters. The firm advised BAE Systems on the refurbishment and outsourcing of military air traffic control in the UK.

Within Education: schools, tier 4

Bird & Bird provides intellectual property and information technology advice to clients such as the Department for Education and Ofsted. Peter Elliott leads.

Within Healthcare, tier 4

Dominic Cook’s team at Bird & Bird advises a number of London NHS Foundation trusts, and in 2010 acted on behalf of GSTS Pathology and Guy’s St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust in their joint venture with Serco. The team also advised King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on hospital management and administration outsourcing matters.

Within Commercial property, tier 6

Bird & Bird undertakes a broad range of real estate transactions for major domestic and international businesses, banks, funds, developers and public sector organisations, and is on the panels of BT, Philips Electronics and Yahoo! Inc. Jonathan Baker, Linda Fletcher and Andrew Stobbart are recommended.

Within Construction, tier 4

Bird & Bird recently advised an NHS trust in construction defects claims under a PFI contract. Renewables sector and non-contentious work increased. Colin Hall left for Winckworth Sherwood in May 2011.

Within Property finance, Bird & Bird is a third tier firm,

Bird & Bird advises on domestic and cross-border financings, as well as on all aspects of real estate insolvency, and has niche expertise in shari’ah financing. Jonathan Baker and Russell Dellar are recommended.

Within Brand management, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird’s ‘excellent’ Felicity Reeve heads a market-leading practice which advises the Whitbread Group on its Costa Coffee, Premier Inn and Beefeater brands. Peter Brownlow advised T-Mobile and Orange on their Everything Everywhere joint venture. On the contentious side, Brownlow successfully obtained an emergency injunction for Associated Newspapers following a spoof edition of Metro. A thriving sports sponsorship practice is supported by the firm’s international footprint. Justin Walkey advised on HSBC’s global sponsorship portfolio of golf and rugby events, while Reeve acted for FIBA (the International Basketball Federation). Phil Sherrell, who joined from Eversheds LLP, specialises in reputation management, sponsorship and advertising.

Within Intellectual property, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Market leader Bird & Bird is recommended for its ‘solid strength in depth and excellent response times’, and the ‘undoubtedly high quality of its advice’. Morag Macdonald, who won a major patent dispute for Norwegian oil service company EMGS in the Court of Appeal, and Katharine Stephens, who represented Associated Newspapers in a trade mark infringement case, co-head the team. Soft IP partner Peter Brownlow’s clients include The Football Association and Nordic Spirit. Jane Mutimear represented easyGroup IP Licensing, owner of the trade marks and branding for the ‘easy’ group of companies, and is acting for Nokia in patent actions in the UK, Germany and Italy. The ‘excellent’ Sally Shorthose handles transactional IP mandates for Global Dawn and Ceravision. The team was strengthened by the arrival of Phil Sherrell from Eversheds LLP, who is representing the UK Media Monitoring Association. Patent litigators Mark Hilton and Patrick Kelleher are also recommended.

Within IT and telecoms, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird has ‘excellent industry knowledge, born out of years of experience’. Recent mandates include advising Everything Everywhere on network sharing arrangements between T-Mobile and Hutchison 3G. Headline clients include BT, Lenovo and Yahoo!. The ‘excellent’ Roger Bickerstaff heads the IT practice; Graeme Maguire leads the communications group, and ‘combines in-depth legal knowledge with industry experience’; and Ruth Boardman is ‘a leader in data protection’. Richard Eaton and Struan Penwarden joined from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Europe) LLP.

Within Media and entertainment, Bird & Bird is a second tier firm,

Bird & Bird leverages its IP expertise and international scope to provide an ‘excellent’ mid-market transactional service. The broadcasting team acts for content owners such as the Football Association and the Lawn Tennis Association, as well as distributors. The ‘extremely efficient’ Jonathan Taylor has a notable practice in sports-related content work. Justin Walkey and Ian Williamson, an ‘outstanding associate’, advised Yahoo! on user-generated content issues. The international computer games team advised Codemasters on game development during 2010, and also represents Yoostar Entertainment. Felicity Reeves is an ‘excellent relationship partner who provides concise, commercial advice’. Howard Rubin’s interactive entertainment expertise is ‘first class’, and international media group head Matt Dennis is also recommended.

Within Overview,

Key IP hires included Phil Sherrell moving from Eversheds LLP to market leader Bird & Bird; and Howrey LLP’s Mark Hodgson joining Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP. Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP’s team was boosted by the arrival of Clive Thorne from Arnold & Porter (UK) LLP; CMS Cameron McKenna LLP hired Fasken Martineau LLP’s Jeremy Morton; and Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge UK LLP recruited Ben Goodger, former head of Rouse Legal’s global IP commercialisation group.

Within Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

The ‘exceptional, trusted’ team at Bird & Bird is particularly strong in patent litigation. Mark Hilton represented Actavis against Novartis in the High Court and the Court of Appeal; and practice head Trevor Cook is representing Regeneron. Morag Macdonald wins praise for her ‘responsiveness, business acumen and people skills’. On the transactional front, Simon Fielder and Sally Shorthose, who has ‘formidable knowledge of IP law’, are advising Mumbai-based Elder Pharmaceuticals on its £12.2m acquisition of Neutrahealth; and Angus Miln, who specialises in private equity and VC transactions, advised Tate & Lyle Ventures and Scottish Enterprise on their follow-on financing of Biofilm. Struan Penwarden is ‘solutions driven’. Gerry Kamstra advises on EPO opposition proceedings, and Richard Eccles handles competition matters.

Within Sport, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

A ‘leader in his field’, Justin Walkey heads Bird & Bird’s ‘excellent’ practice, which advises national and international governing bodies, key rights holders and blue-chip clients across various sports. The ‘exceptional’ Jonathan Taylor recently led advice to the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding ‘spot-fixing’ charges brought against several cricketers in 2010. The Football Association is a longstanding client for which the practice provides a range of services including sponsorship and media rights advice. Taylor and the ‘extremely hardworking’ Max Duthie, an expert in doping cases, advise Six Nations Rugby. Other clients include HSBC and the Premier League. Felicity Reeve is ‘fantastic’, particularly for sponsorship and commercial contracts.

Within Aviation, Bird & Bird is a second tier firm,

Clients appreciate the ‘highly responsive, commercial approach’ adopted by Bird & Bird. The group continued to build on its impressive client base, adding names such as Jet2.com and Abu Dhabi Airport Authority to a list that already included names such as Etihad and easyJet. Its recent appointment to the panel of Virgin Atlantic Airways has already resulted in a number of instructions. The ‘very knowledgeable and effective’ Robin Springthorpe regularly ‘comes up with the perfect strategy and answer’, and has been acting for National Reserve Corporation in a $50m dispute with PK AirFinance GECAS over alleged breach of duties. The group also has an impressive non-contentious practice. Simon Chamberlain’s experience in working at an airline is considered a ‘significant advantage’ that ‘makes it easier for him to understand complex situations and generate practical advice’. Finance specialist Paul Briggs is ‘personable, energetic, focused and clear about the main issues’, while consultant Richard Venables has a wealth of regulatory expertise.