The Legal 500

One of the largest US firms, this practice is known internationally for a range of services. Its London office focuses on UK national and cross-border business and finance matters, alongside international litigation and arbitration.

The firm: Founded in 1853, Winston & Strawn LLP has offices across the US and Europe, acting for businesses of all types and sizes, financial institutions and government entities around the world. It understands that clients are looking for value beyond legal expertise and takes time to understand their businesses and the level of involvement they are looking for.

The London office was established in 2003 with US partner Tom Benz and UK partner Zoe Ashcroft and their team of UK-qualified corporate lawyers, and has expanded over the years. The office now also includes a dispute resolution team.

The firm sponsors various educational programmes and creates and encourages pro bono opportunities for its lawyers.

Types of work undertaken: The London office specialises in cross-border business and finance transactions, private equity and venture capital investments, and international commercial dispute resolution. The London transactional practice handles cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, private equity investments and venture capital financing. Winston’s London lawyers have significant experience in securities and banking, syndicated loans, US and UK public and private offerings for foreign issuers and dual New York/London listings of securities, acting for lenders, borrowers, underwriters and issuers.

The dispute resolution practice has significant experience in commercial dispute resolution, with particular focus on protection of intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical, biotech and technology sectors.

Representative clients: Abbott Laboratories; American Airlines; AON Corporation; Bank of America; Bank One, NA; Barr Laboratories, Inc; BRIXX Technologies Limited; CapitalSource Finance LLC; CIBC World Markets; CIT Group; Caterpillar Inc; Citigroup; Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV; Deutsche Bank AG; Duff & Phelps; Exelon Corporation; FAGE Dairy Industries SA; Financial Times; Fleet National Bank; Fortune Brands, Inc; Gateway, Inc; Gazprom; GE Capitol; Goldman Sachs; Green Resources SA; JP Morgan Chase & Co; Harley Davidson; Lear Corporation; Intralot SA; LaSalle Bank; Luxottica Group SpA; McDonald’s Corporation; Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc; Microsoft Corporation; Midas International Corporation; Morgan Stanley; Morningstar Inc; Motorola, Inc; Music Metric Limited; Pacific Gas & Electric Company; Pfizer Corporation; Philip Morris USA; Prudential Mortgage Capital Company; RIM Finance LLC; SFX Entertainment, Inc; Shebah Oil Exploration and Production Company Limited; SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Limited; Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation; Soitec SA; Tate & Lyle; Telefonica Internacional SA; ZAO ToAz; Underwriters Laboratories, Inc; United Business Medial plc; Verbena Investment Holdings Limited; Veritas Capital; Verizon Communications Inc; Waste Management, Inc; WestLB, AG; Wyeth Pharmaceuticals; and Zebbra Energy Limited.

Other offices: Beijing, Charlotte, Chicago, Geneva, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Newark, Paris, San Francisco, Washington DC

Number of resident fee-earners 15

The firm

Founded in 1853, Winston & Strawn LLP has offices across the US, Europe and Asia, acting for businesses of all types and sizes, financial institutions and government entities around the world. It understands that clients are looking for value beyond legal expertise and takes time to understand their businesses and the level of involvement they are looking for. The London office was established in 2003 with US partner Tom Benz and UK partner Zoe Ashcroft and their team of UK-qualified corporate lawyers.

Areas of practice

The London office specialises in cross-border business and finance transactions, intellectual property and international commercial dispute resolution. The London transactional practice is headed by Zoe Ashcroft and handles cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, private equity investments and venture capital financing across a range of industry sectors, including oil and gas, renewable energy, financial services, manufacturing and consumer products. Winston’s London lawyers have significant experience in securities and banking, syndicated loans, US and UK public and private offerings for foreign issuers and dual New York/London listings of securities, acting for lenders, borrowers, underwriters and issuers.

Richard Price and Dr Gareth Morgan joined the London office in 2011 and have grown a team of associates and consultants advising on intellectual property/dispute resolution matters. They bring with them extensive experience and a formidable track record of success in protecting against and litigating all forms of intellectual property dispute, often to the highest courts in both England and Europe. Mr Price has litigated many landmark cases and recently patents in the Patents Court and Court of Appeal relating to coronary devices (stents), GM crops and also breathable, waterproof membranes in shoe soles. In addition, he advises clients in trade mark matters, and has an active OHIM trade mark dispute practice. Dr Morgan has also acted in many landmark IP (patents, copyright and SPCs) cases in the English and European courts over the last decade including biotechnology cases concerning recombinant proteins, monocolonal antibodies and GM crops. The group advises on medicines regulatory and patent/SPC litigation for clients, helping co-ordinate litigation when challenging or enforcing exclusivity rights relating to biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device products. Michael Madden has joined the London office in 2012 to head up and build a commercial litigation practice. The firm sponsors various educational programmes and creates and encourages pro bono opportunities for its lawyers.

Clients include: Abbott Laboratories; American Airlines; AON Corporation; Bank of America; Barr Laboratories, Inc; Brooks Brothers; Citigroup; Deutche Bank AG; Duff & Phelps; Exelon Corporation; FAGE Dairy Industries SA; Fleet National Bank, Fortune Brands, Inc; Gazprom; GE Capital; Goldman Sachs; Harley Davidson; Intralot SA; IPOC International Growth Fund; JP Morgan Chase & Co; Lafarge SA; Lear Corporation; Luxottica Group SPA; Maximus, Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc; Microsoft Corporation; Midas International Corporation; Morgan Stanley; Morningstar Inc; Motorola Inc; Pfizer Corporation; Philip Monis USA; Prudential Mortgage Capital Company; Robbins & Myers Inc; SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Limited; Shebah Oil Exploration and Production Company; Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation; Soitec SA; Tate & Lyle; Telefonica Internacional SA, ZAO ToAz; Underwriters Laboratories, Inc; Verbena Investment Holdings Limited; Veritas Capital; Verizon Communications Inc; Waste Management, Inc; Wells Fargo; WestLB, AG; W L Gore & Associates Inc; Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Zebbra Energy Limited.

Contacts
Tom Benz (tbenz@winston.com)
Zoe Ashcroft (zashcroft@winston.com)
Richard Price (rcprice@winston.com)

Languages
French
German
Greek

Other offices
Beijing
Charlotte
Chicago
Geneva
Hong Kong
Houston
Los Angeles
Moscow
New York
Newark
Paris
San Francisco
Shanghai
Washington DC

Number of lawyers 1,000