Morrison Foerster > London, England > Firm Profile

‘Proactive and thorough. Particular strength in distilling complex issues and providing clear, understandable translation of legal arguments into commercial reality.’

‘Mercedes Samavi cuts straight to the nub of the legal issue. Her advice is always well-considered, practical and focused on our objectives.’

‘Alistair Maughan personifies professionalism, commercial awareness and legal rigour. Extremely responsive and goes above and beyond.’

‘Very knowledgeable team, who provide clear, pragmatic advice.’

‘Mercedes Samavi brings everything you look for in an external adviser. She consistently provides high quality advice, is clear on timings and has a calm, collaborative negotiating style.’

‘Alastair Maughan has given clear, pragmatic advice and makes himself available as needed.’

‘Jacob Mendoza – an expert in his field. Very knowledgeable. Also fosters an excellent working relationship with clients.’

‘We have successfully worked with the firm on repeat US private placements over many years and value the team’s insights, technical expertise and overall delivery.’

‘Scott Ashton (Partner) and Amelia Cheng (Associate) worked closely with us throughout our most recent private placement and we valued their insights, technical expertise and overall commitment.’

‘Partner access is good. The way in which the firm collaborates with counsel that acts for us in relation to our banking documents is particularly notable.’

‘I have found our dealings with the firm to be very efficiently handled by Scott Ashton and the team.’

‘Private placement experts; very knowledgeable on the market and credible firm.’

‘Longstanding market experience from Scott Ashton, Brian Bates and Jake Mendoza.’

‘I’ve worked with the same team for several years so appreciate the consistency and the strong relationship we have developed. The partner is very knowledgeable in our sector and the entire team is very responsive. It is a pleasure working with MoFo.’

‘What makes the practice unique is that it is my go-to place for advice on complex issues related to crypto in general, trading issues, multi-jurisdictional regulatory analysis, structuring of liquidity solutions. They are creative, commercial and solutions-driven. The starting point is in-depth advice on complex issues, and any related question or challenge can be solved across the available skills in the team.’

‘Expertise, expertise, expertise!’

‘Amazing team to work with – friendly and very helpful.’

‘A very strong team of experts in any complex transaction in the strategic equity space. They have in-depth knowledge of a large variety of derivatives and margin loan structures and their advice combines top quality legal analysis and drafting with market knowledge and commercial understanding.’

‘Polly Ehrman is an exceptional lawyer who will go all the way to advise and assist their clients in achieving sound and technically excellent results. Transactions are managed timely and efficiently. They are always available to assist and support their clients and very pleasant to work with.’

‘Polly Ehrman is always showing a high level of work ethics and standards, is available at short notice, has a great commercial understanding, and is able to move quickly in providing clear, concise and to the point advice.’

‘Extremely client focused and very user friendly. They understand our business and have great experience and access to specialists – both in other jurisdictions and in very technical areas such as sanctions and US securities.’

‘The team has a global and thorough view of data protection, privacy and cybersecurity issues with excellent partners in different offices. The level is high and homogeneous among the different partners we have been working with.’

‘We have mainly worked with Annabel Gillham, she is excellent, very pragmatic, efficient, and completely client-oriented.’

‘Hayley Ichilcik is a very able lawyer whose commercial practice covers a wide range of areas, and she’s adept at each of them; she’s clever, tough, charming, and a delight to work with. Clients love her, as does her legal team: she provides encouragement, reassurance and adept handling of the most difficult case. First-rate.’

‘Chloe Kearns is absolutely superb! She’s extremely clever; she’s an excellent lawyer, with a particularly deep knowledge of the financial services regulatory sphere; she’s immensely hard-working; she produces outstanding documents; and is utterly delightful to work with. She would be my first choice for a commercial associate on a tough case.’

‘Gareth Rees – with immense regulatory experience, he’s simply statesman-like; and quietly gains the respect of all around him. He has a calm, confident and reassuring manner that only comes through years of experience in fighting at the coal-face. You want him on your team; and you certainly don’t want him on the other side. He’s terrific.’

‘Top lawyers with a pragmatic and agile mindset.’

‘Gareth Rees KC and Hayley Ichilcik provide wise expertise to an impressive book of clients. In particular, Hayley is exceptionally bright, hardworking, encyclopedic recall and tactical nous to go CE great value to her corporate client base. Her previous experience at the SFO provides an added edge.’

‘Highly skilled and experienced in relation to investigations, with experience in corporate responses and how to handle individuals within the corporate response.’

‘Hayley Ichilcik – worked with her across a number of cases. Astute, excellent on the law, dedicated to getting the best result for her client.’

‘Hayley Ichilcik – She’s a very able lawyer whose commercial practice covers a wide range of areas, and she’s adept at each of them; she’s clever, tough, charming and a delight to work with. Clients love her, as does her legal team: she provides encouragement, reassurance and adept handling of the most difficult case. First-rate.’

Gareth Rees (partner) – With immense regulatory experience, he’s simply statesman-like; and quietly gains the respect of all around him. He has a calm, confident and reassuring manner that only comes through years of experience in fighting at the coal-face. You want him on your team; and you certainly don’t want him on the other side. He’s terrific.’

‘A very effective and heavy weight team that can respond at pace to any challenge. Strong on diversity in its team building.’

‘Saqib Alam, highly experienced in large corporate investigations and an effective team leader. Paul Friedman, Head of Europe.’

‘Handles an impressive and growing portfolio of international arbitration disputes. Eager to grow and impress, and it shows in the quality and prompt turnaround of work.’

‘Chiraag Shah – on-the-ground experience both in Kenya (and other African jurisdictions) and the UK make him an ideal choice for disputes straddling both jurisdictions. Very well networked.’

‘Chiraag Shah leads an outstanding team, providing a first-rate service to his clients.’

‘Chiraag Shah is extremely experienced and, as a result, unflappable. He has seen it all before – an extremely safe pair of hands for high-value, high-stakes disputes.’

‘Chiraag Shah is extremely hardworking, hands on, and willing to get his hands dirty, which is unusual for a partner at a blue-chip firm. That is what makes him stand out.’

‘The MoFo litigation team takes initiatives and works independently, calling the client at the right moment to have its opinion about a strategy or the next steps.’

‘The team is extremely well organised and very detail oriented. Its main quality though is to be innovative and think about smart strategies and arguments during complex disputes.’

‘Associate Robin Bachmann delivers great client service, is highly motivated, and shows an outstanding sense of organisation during complicated litigation.’

‘The team is technically very strong.’

‘The very hardworking Christopher Kandel is technically astute.’

‘John Burge is a delight to work with. He is incredibly responsive and highly personable. He demystifies complex topics and is pragmatic.’

‘John Burge is exceptional in every way.’

‘The team provides commercial and pragmatic advice.’

‘The team offers hands on engagement, incisive advice, and is commercial. We worked with Gary Brown.’

‘They understand our business on a global scale and work hard to ensure staffing is appropriate. They are always available and very commercial.’

‘Gary Brown is extremely hard working and commercial.’

‘We have worked with MoFo on some of our most challenging cross border matters. MoFo, in particular Gary Brown, Andrew Boyd and Simon Arlington, grasp and have a near all-encompassing recall of even minor details, the team sees the big picture and knows how to use those details to the best effect in pursuing our goals. MoFo fully understand our business and are committed to realising the best result for our organisation – that’s why we trust their advice.’

‘Commercial approach and pragmatic advice.’

‘A relatively small team in London, but one of high quality and with the capability to deliver on high-value and complex litigation.’

‘The MoFo team is stocked with highly intelligent lawyers, who are also thoroughly decent human beings, which is a blessing when the workload is high and the tension mounts. Standouts include Richard Jerman and Laura Steen – super intelligent and refreshingly practical/commercial. Jonathan Wheeler is a litigator at the top of his game, focused, available, and respected by clients and counsel alike.’

‘Strong, focused team with good client management skills.’

‘Gemma Anderson is a stand-out partner.’

‘MoFo can build a bespoke and effective team to meet the challenges of any dispute, whatever its scale.’

‘Ben Summerfield shows strong leadership, attention to detail and a willingness to immerse himself in the detail of his matters.’

‘Ben Summerfield combines being extremely, unusually knowledgeable about the law with great judgment.’

‘Ben Summerfield is a top-quality operator embodying the qualities of legal expertise and commercial awareness.’

‘Extremely responsive, commercial, pragmatic and thoughtful advice.’

‘Oliver Spratt is exceptional: he quickly became a trusted adviser.’

‘They are very strong in projects for tech companies and on other matters with a cross border employment aspect.’

‘Annabel Gilham is the key name and contact.’

‘Ruth Arkley is incredibly knowledgeable and provides excellent, high-quality advice in an easy-to-understand, commercial manner. She is friendly and approachable, and no request is too much trouble.’

‘The team are very knowledgable and are able to provide genuinely useful advice in a responsive manner.’

‘Steven James is efficient, effective and is an excellent, timely communicator.’

‘The team, especially Steven James and Hattie Chessher, provide clear, concise and practical advice.’

‘Evan Minsberg has great depth and knowledge about the payment and fintech space. He is able to help the client navigate legal uncertainty.’

‘The team at Morrison Foerster works like an extension of the client’s team. They think critically about legal, regulatory, and business challenges and priorities, and work quickly and creatively to solve problems. They exhibit strength across multiple areas: technology, regulation, and business. It is clear the team truly cares about the success of the business and people, and they are willing to put in the time and effort to help it succeed.’

‘Jeff Silberman deserves specific praise. He thinks critically about the business, vision, challenges, and plans, and he works collaboratively to push forward. This level of care is extraordinary and hard to find. Combined with his level of knowledge in the industry, he has been an invaluable asset and team member.’

‘This firm is unique in their handling of start-up clients. Not only do the partners, such as Maria Earley, demonstrate a strong understanding of the limitations of a start-up company.’

‘Maria Earley is far and away one of the best lawyers. Her advice is grounded in the realities and practicalities of managing a start-up business. She helps understand the risks and offers solutions that are reasonable and that do not entail massive capital or time investments that the client may not have or may not want to incur.’

‘They are very practical and professional. They quickly understand products and can advise at a 10,000-foot basis, and then narrow it down.’

‘Jeremy Mandell and his team have a deep knowledge of payments system regulation and are critical in helping clients with complex regulatory questions.’

‘Partners are fully dedicated to serving their clients.’

‘Vladimir Maly did outstanding work on all projects we executed last year. He understands very quickly what the legal implications are, he is able to volunteer structuring improvements, and he makes himself easily reachable. Vladimir is also extremely precise in all matters of derivatives law.’