Ian Hunter > Linklaters LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Linklaters LLP‘s mining and minerals practice is praised as a ‘deeply experienced team with broad experience across key jurisdictions’ and acts on critical mandates encompassing corporate M&A, financing, regulatory and compliance issues, alongside leveraging the firm’s wider specialist expertise in antitrust, regulatory, tax, IP and environmental law to provide a full-service mining offering. Advising on clients’ ESG strategies remains a core focus for the group, including decarbonisation-related M&A, sustainability-linked financings and strategic investments in ‘green metals’ required for the energy transition. Toby Grimstone co-heads the department alongside James Inglis  and Robert Cleaver. Corporate partner and fellow co-head Aisling Zarraga specialises in public and private M&A, joint ventures and equity issues. Ian Hunter advises mining companies on major M&A transactions and equity offerings, whilst Andrew Jones has over 20 years of experience of developments, acquisitions and financings of mining-sector projects in Africa.

Trusted by some of the biggest corporates in the market, the ‘fantastic’ lawyers at Linklaters LLP offer ‘strength in depth, excellent technical abilities and good teamwork’. Drawing on the expertise of specialist groups including tax, antitrust, employment and technology and working alongside a network of 30 international offices, the wide-ranging practice covers the full gamut of corporate work, advising buyers, sellers and financial advisers on public takeovers, joint ventures, corporate restructurings such as carve out transactions, as well as private M&A and equity capital markets work. Simon Branigan, global head of corporate and co-head of the firm’s bank sector has extensive experience in the mining, retail and consumer, oil and gas and financial services sectors. Aisling Zarraga, who serves as global co- head of Linklaters’ life Sciences and healthcare sector, leads on some of the largest M&A and joint venture transactions in the market, advising global pharmaceutical companies, healthcare services and biotech businesses, as well as companies from other industries, such as mining. Sought out by financial institutions such as PricewaterhouseCoopers is Tracey Lochhead , whose practice spans public and private M&A, joint ventures, loan portfolio sales and corporate restructurings. Ian Hunter  advises domestic and international clients on general corporate governance, M&A transactions and equity offerings, and has a  particular emphasis  on the natural resources and mining sector, as well as  UK Takeover-Code governed transactions and UK Listing Rules reform. James Inglis‘s practice covers public and private M&A, corporate governance advisory work and capital raisings, while global head of the technology group, Derek Tong, also assists clients with joint ventures, strategic investments and restructuring. Other key names to note include firmwide senior partner and chair Aedamar Comiskey, Iain Fenn  and Fionnghuala Griggs. The practice has seen a number of departures including Nick Rumsby (now Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton), Jessamy Gallagher   (now Paul Hastings LLP), Stuart Bedford (now KPMG Law) and Dan Schuster-Woldan  (now at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP); however, it remains a strong team.