McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP > London, England > Firm Profile

‘Elisa De Carolis is hands-on, a strong communicator, diligent, proactive, ability to handle complex transactions, able to achieve great results for their clients despite immense pressure and tight deadlines.‘

‘The team is very client focused.’

‘Excellent knowledge of the law, very responsive, and excellent drafting.’

‘Jack Thorne is very driven and client focused.’

‘Jack Thorne has an outstanding work ethic – an excellent all-round lawyer.’

‘Andrew Savage is a very savvy operator.’

‘The team’s work ethic is very strong and you can be sure you’ll be getting a good work product.’

‘Priya Taneja is a superstar! She throws herself headfirst into her work and is able to work through problems in a way that benefits the client.’

‘The MWE team is extremely responsive and thorough. Partners are heavily involved and provide practical solutions’

‘Ranajoy Basu is a standout partner. Ranajoy offers excellent advice, is always available and understands every detail. Ranajoy is particularly commercial – offering high quality legal advice with practical solutions too. This has proven invaluable in negotiating complicated structures with competing interests.’

‘Well respected, capable and responsive team that focuses on advising trustees and agents in a variety of debt capital markets, ranging from high yield debt, private placements, exercises of discretion and restructurings. This practice is compact but high impact. Ranajoy Basu and Priya Taneja work hand in hand to deliver thoughtful comments that help move forward to close deals. I would look to them as a collaborative agency counsel.’

‘Priya Taneja is a standout who provides value add and helps close matters successfully.’

‘They have the ability to grasp complex problems quickly and provide outstanding quality work.’

‘Romilly Holland is technically strong and a joy to deal with.’

‘Very good and professional team, ready to offer tailored services and adapt to client needs.’

‘McDermott Will & Emery has provided extraordinary support to us in a groundbreaking development finance initiative to help fund development projects in emerging markets. They have been invaluable – from structuring to signing, they have been supportive, technically flawless, and practical. Their global team has helped guide negotiations and hosted events for us in the Middle East, Switzerland, London, and New York.’

‘They have really gone over and beyond for us at every step of the way, and we have benefitted enormously from their expertise, practice, and contacts in development finance and emerging markets. They are always happy to help, incredibly responsive, and technically sophisticated. We often work in frontier markets which are challenging and require innovation, agile thinking, and creativity – the McDermott team has excellent at all of these points. More than any other firm we have worked with, they really seem to be one team: their advice is prompt, coordinated, and ready-to-use. The project would not be as advanced as it is but for their help.’

‘Ranajoy Basu has been incredible. His expertise in emerging markets and development finance is unique: he has long experience working with and in frontier markets. And he has a unique level of experience working for international organisations and UN agencies – development finance in emerging markets is a new and growing field for international organisations, and and we have benefited greatly from Ranajoy’s experience and expertise.’

‘Ranajoy Basu is very available, approachable, responsible, and friendly – it is a pleasure to have meetings and calls with him, and he is able to guide negotiations in a very efficient and pleasant way. He has also been very effective at marshalling the entire firmwide network of McDermott, from partners to business teams, to help us with meetings, events, and negotiations around the world. Simply put, he makes things happen.’

‘Priya Taneja has been tremendously helpful in negotiations and drafting sessions. She brings a lot of excellent technical knowledge and a practical approach to the work, and really helps move things forward. She guides associates and trainees very well, and is great at case management and keeping clients informed of the practical sides of engagement.’

‘Given their enormous presence of the firm in the North American market the London team are brilliantly placed to address some of the most complex issues arising for transatlantic families’.

‘Nick Holland – personable, clever and full of ideas; a pleasure to work with’.

‘The team provides a first class tax advisory and litigation service. They have great technical expertise in personal tax matters, including matters which have an international dimension. They are very good at dealing with trust and tax issues and personal matters such as residence and domicile’.

‘Simon Gibb is a well respected tax partner who has great technical expertise and gives sound advice. He has an in-depth knowledge of the taxation of offshore trusts and non-domiciled individuals’.

‘Simon gives clear, practical and measured advice and is good at dealing with HMRC. He is very efficient at dealing with matters and manages to turn around difficult questions promptly’.

Abigail Nott is very thorough at researching issues’.

‘Unparalleled expertise in UK/US tax and estate planning’.

‘Astrid Owen – cross border expertise with UK/Europe and US. Thinks outside the box and identifies issues early, from 20,000 feet’.

‘Simon Gibbs – technical expertise’.

‘Knowledgeable and efficient. Well spoken, speaks with authority on their areas of expertise, relationships are good’.

‘Andrew Savage – very sensible and focuses on the point.’

‘Andrew Savage, has done a great job of building up a team of very impressive associates. Clients couldn’t want a better team.’

‘The partners are knowledgeable, switched on, and good.

‘Michael Darowski is one of the most decent and pleasant lawyers in the market. He’s honest, straightforward, hardworking, smart, and committed.‘

‘Michael Darowski is one of the best energy lawyers on the market, with broad and deep industry knowledge attained over the past decade.‘

‘Michael Darowski’s technical and industry knowledge are second to none, and he’s one of the very few true experts who can converse easily with an oil and gas executive or engineer. Michael is incredibly modest; and, as such, his skills and expertise are likely a well-hidden secret.’

‘McDermott Will & Emery has an exceptionally strong team of very experienced individuals, who provide advice that is always client focused and informed by exceptional knowledge of arbitration. They also benefit from great global coverage.’

‘Edward Perkins and Romilly Holland are both future stars.‘

‘They do trustee work on high yield matters.’

‘Ranajoy Basu is one of the go-to guys for trustee work on high yield matters.’

‘High levels of responsiveness. Commerciality, good technical knowledge.’

‘Priya Taneja is a very hard worker and very efficient.’

‘Highly experienced team with particular expertise and experience in acting for Agents. The team acts for most of the leading independent agents and has an impressive track record, also acting in distressed cases / handling enforcement and restructurings on behalf of the Agent.’

‘I have worked intensively with Priya Taneja on a complex restructuring. She is truly excellent. Very well organised and solution driven, whilst protecting the interests of her clients.’

They are highly collaborative, serving as a trusted counsel for our key stakeholders alike.’

‘The team’s strengths and key capabilities are the breadth and depth of their knowledge and experience. We consider MWE to be our core partner and are proud to work with them as a firm.’

‘Hamid Yunis is truly stand-out.’

‘Excellent ability to understand licenses. Good US practice means understands the bigger picture for dealing with UK companies.’

‘Gary Howes is exceptional.’

‘I have worked with Simon Airey on a number of clients and find his wide ranging knowledge and experience of financial and regulatory crime including money laundering and tax fraud on a UK and global basis quite exceptional. In addition to his knowledge and experience, Simon skilfully builds excellent relationships with the client and intermediaries.’

‘Simon Airey is bursting with charm and energy. He is calm and clear eyed in the most difficult circumstances. He has achieved an enormous coup by recruiting James Dobias – who is one of the stars of the future.’

‘Simon Airey is a wonderfully imaginative and thoughtful lawyer. He achieves astonishing results and has generated enormous good will among his clients. James Dobias is a name to watch. His attention to detail is breathtaking. They work well with other teams and are highly practical and efficient.’

‘Simon Airey is an imaginative and sophisticated lawyer who will always find a solution to any problem. He is a delight to work with and can fit into any setting in any jurisdiction.’

‘James Dobias is a young associate but is destined for great things.’

‘A small, very focused team, which works closely with the client. Huge experience and they understand our industry very well, which allows them to give advice tailored and more relevant and useful to us. The MWE team works well with people within our business and is sympathetic to the fact colleagues have a busy day job.’

‘The experience and knowledge of the team members is impressive. They’ve gone through a lot and so can bring an extensive breadth of expertise when advising clients. They are all good to work with and you get a sense that they genuinely care about the client rather than are driven by billable hours. The lead partner’s knowledge of our sector also gives MWE an important head start over other firms we use.’

‘The practice, led by Simon Airey, is unique due to the pragmatic and “can do” attitude in handling sensitive investigations and allegations of corporate crime. As well as keeping in mind business objectives, Simon’s team does this in a way that keeps the company safe from a regulatory perspective, mindful of the position of other key stakeholders.’

‘Kevin Cummings is a proactive advisor which gives us comfort that we, as a client, aren’t falling behind the curve relative to peers. Kevin invests in the relationship, which means he is able to hone in on the real issues that are truly relevant.’

‘A friendly and dynamic team which is always professional and collegiate with opposite counsel, with an unwavering focus on completing the transaction.’

‘Kevin Cummings is an exceptional lawyer. He is outstanding in his ability to understand client needs and flags points for client consideration, and provides a robust sounding board. He is friendly, focussed and very pragmatic. He has excellent market knowledge and always happy to share information and discuss what is happening in the market.’

‘First class subject knowledge, commitment to the client and industry insight make the McDermott team a standout in the corporate tax world.’

‘Kevin Cummings is an absolute standout. Completely first-rate knowledge, experience and commitment to finding solutions for clients.’

‘A firm which demonstrates a seamless collaboration between their UK and US teams. They understand that we need joined-up cross-border advice for cross-border issues. Having the client relationship in London keeps it simple rather than providing administrative irritations.’

‘The team is adept at providing insightful yet very practical advice.’

‘The team has excellent capacity to understand both mid-market and upper market documents and advise clients accordingly.’

‘It is a very technically strong and commercial team.’

‘A lean and efficient team that manages to punch well above its weight.’

 ‘Aymen Mahmoud is our trusted adviser on all matters related to our loan facility. Hands-on, knowledgeable, deep industry insights and very responsive.’

‘Aymen Mahmoud has exceptional knowledge of the acquisition finance space. On transactions he is hands on, resourceful and very commercial.’

‘Mark Fine is a hugely intelligent and commercially savvy lawyer. He is technically excellent and understands the bigger picture.’

‘The team is nimble and very approachable.’

‘This is a pragmatic, commercially-minded and technically-superb team, which puts client service at the centre of its focus. One of its key qualities is an absolute dedication to providing solutions to clients and working around the clock to achieve that.’

‘Their knowledge and ability to deal with complex restructurings in line with the risk appetite of their clients is top notch.’

‘Versatile, multi-skilled team able to take on large, complex, multi-jurisdictional projects with ambition and creativity.’

‘Mark Fennessy has a superb grasp of the big picture and of creating strategy to achieve his clients’ goals.’

‘Mark Fennessy is an exceptional leader, whose key talent lies in successfully conducting complex and often contentious matters co-ordinating client teams and other stakeholders involved.’

‘Sunay Radia is second to none in availability, problem solving and safe guarding your position in a transaction.’

‘Aymen Mahmoud is highly responsive and very knowledgeable.’

‘Paul McGrath has a depth of knowledge whilst being very pragmatic and always ensures clients are aware of any risks and how to minimise these. He is also personable and down to earth and explains issues in a clear manner.’

‘Katie Clark is excellent. She is completely responsive, incredibly bright and really user-friendly.’

‘Hands-on, knowledgeable, deep industry insights and very responsive.’

‘They have an ability to think proactively on difficult situations to protect their clients.’

‘The very responsive Aymen Mahmoud is hands-on, knowledgeable and has deep industry insights.’

‘Aymen Mahmoud is highly commercial and understands client needs.’

‘Mark Fine is very intelligent and commercially savvy.’