Macfarlanes LLP > London, England > Firm Profile

‘The tax team is superbly knowledgeable, technical, solution oriented and has the ability to explain highly complex matters in simple laymen terms. They are outstanding in the private credit space.’

‘Jeremy Moncrieff is not afraid of complexity, and boils things down to practical solutions with clear advice.’

‘Ceinwen Rees is super reactive, very pleasant to work with. She handles big projects in a very efficient and smooth manner. Her skills expand well beyond tax.’

‘They have perhaps the largest group of asset management focused tax partners and are adept at bringing together industry peers through their PETs sessions and technical working groups which are frequent, timely, varied, perfectly pitched, professional and informative. They are for that reason extremely well regarded in the industry.’

‘The corporate tax team at Macfarlanes is absolutely top notch with vast experience of the issues which need to be considered when advising on any transaction involving a corporation.’

‘All the individuals with whom I work at Macfarlanes are exceptionally able and easy to work with. Knowledge and experience are the hallmarks of the team, led by Damien Crossley.’

‘Ashley Greenbank is essentially the smartest man on earth and so any thorny problem is child’s play. Jeremy Moncrieff is practical, hard working, responsive and creative.

‘Jeremy Moncrieff – can always rely on his tax advice being both relevant and understandable. He thinks outside of the box and provides helpful alternative options where applicable.

‘The team was excellent, always available and taking special care with how they handled us as clients. A real can-do attitude coupled with deep expertise. Also creative in the way that they were prepared to look into solving complex and difficult issues.’

‘A senior, tailored service. Alex Edmondson is all over what matters.’

‘Stephen Pike was particularly good on our deal. Very heavily involved and we really felt as the client that Stephen had our back the whole time which in a very demanding, competitive P/E auction process was a massive relief and advantage.’

“The team at Macfarlanes are exceptionally responsive. They are commercial and pragmatic in their advice and adopt a solutions-based approach to complex legal and regulatory issues. Macfarlanes are consistently at the forefront of emerging legal issues and developments in the legal and regulatory landscape.”

“Lora Froud deserves particular mention as an expert in her field. Lora’s ability to get to the crux of issues and provide pragmatic solutions is exceptional. Lora is approachable, responsive and highly knowledgeable.”

“Lora Froud was the lead Partner and her team were exemplary in the support they provided to our project. Lora’s professionalism was evident from our first email exchange. I would have no hesitation in recommending Lora and her team to anyone looking for legal and regulatory advice within the UK regulatory fund sector.”

“As far as retail fund regulation is concerned, I haven’t found a better team of lawyers.”

“I found Lora Froud to be excellent to deal with, engaging and helpful throughout. When delegating, the associates worked with were more than capable, Alexandra Cochrane was particularly good.”

“The support from Tiffany Cox and Emma Graham was excellent – they were also very supportive and provided timely responses to all queries while their knowledge of legal and regulatory matters was first class.”

“Lora Froud, Harry Middleton and Sandeesh Shah have all been exceptional to work with. They are extremely client focused and aware of the demands of the regulators, describing how to comply with requirements in a straightforward but yet thorough manner.”

“Lora Froud and Tiffany Cox have both been excellent colleagues to work with: friendly and personable, collaborative and supportive. I would unreservedly recommend them both as outstanding individuals to work with.”

‘Macfarlanes has decades of experience of family and estate disputes – You have a single person who coordinates all your advice so that everything is joined up – Macfarlanes is respected for its ability to bring disputes to a close and to be tough without unnecessary hostility’.

‘Charles Lloyd is a very smooth but ultimately ruthless practitioner who is recognised as one of the leading practitioners in the field. Elizabeth Doherty is a brilliant, thorough, determined litigator’.

‘The partners are incredible – so experienced and knowledgeable with excellent client-handling and instincts. They do a superb job bringing through their associates, so whoever in the team you speak to you feel in good hands, regardless of seniority’.

‘Charles Lloyd – the epitome of a big beast in the sector. Been everywhere and done it all, he exudes confidence and competence. Knows how to play the game to great effect.  Jonathan Arr – has so much on but is on top of everything’.

‘Macfarlanes was able to take over a substantial international trust dispute half way through heavy litigation with great ease and professionalism. They were extremely quick to engage and get to the pertinent issues. Jonathan Arr and Jacob Ward are the names to note. Immensely quick response times and very diligent and committed to communications and tasks at hand’.

‘Charles Lloyd and Elizabeth Doherty were fantastic. Charles, as the more senior of the two, demonstrated excellent client support and strategic planning, while Elizabeth was more hands on in the day to day sense and handled a complex matter with impressive skill and organisation’.

‘Great team. Real strength and depth. Continue to dominate the market. Charles Lloyd. Jonathan Arr. Totally solid lead partners. Jacob Ward is making a name for himself’.

‘Macfarlanes is blessed with a team of specialists for this work, from associate level through to partner level. Charles Lloyd is one of the best lawyers in the country. He is incredibly user-friendly with clients while being firm with opponents’.

‘Macfarlanes actively enjoys diving into complex, conceptual questions that require a rare mixture of technicality and creativity. While other firms are looking to fit a client into a mould (trotting out the same solution for each client, with a minor tweak here and there), Macfarlanes excels as thought partners, designing a bespoke solution from the ground up’.

‘Richard Giangrande is an exceptional private client lawyer, combining a very strong technical and conceptual mastery of UK law with a pragmatic approach (both in terms of determining the sensible ‘risk-adjusted’ legal position to take, as well as coordinating the various parties within and without his firm to get a project over the line and fully executed)’.

‘Sebastian Prichard Jones and Mark Hunter are exceptional at explaining complex matters and providing effective solutions to the issues at hand. Their availability is top notch, and both are a pleasure to deal with’.

‘Jenny Smithson – brilliant, clients love her. Richard Giangrande – technically excellent and very hardworking. Nicholas Harries – well known and liked partner, very easy to work with’.

‘Sebastian Prichard Jones, Richard Giangrande and Charles Gothard – what makes the members of the team special is the range of knowledge which it has and that ability to apply it in sensible but novel ways’.

‘Charles Gothard: extremely client and solution oriented, out of the box thinker who knows the limits of what is possible. True expert. Charlie Maydon-Grace: up and coming partner, very proactive, excellent attention to detail and solution oriented’.

‘Edward Reed, Charlie Maydon, Sebastian Prichard Jones have been collaborating with us on very sensitive family matters including tax and Trusts. they have developed a very performant team, not only on technical aspects but also on the psychological understanding of difficult family matters. Incredibly knowledgeable about the law. Friendly, personable, helpful’.

‘Fantastic team with breadth of partners. Top notch for HNW individuals and families. Joined up advice and very commercial advice. Brilliant client service. My top choice of private client advisers – exactly what clients need – sophisticated advice delivered effectively’.

‘Good collaborators. Open-minded.’

‘The team has very substantial depth. Its associates are the strongest I have encountered in the market, which allows the team to deliver a very efficient service. They have considered all angles of an issue before they discuss it with us and give clear options, making the trade-offs very clear.’

‘James Popperwell is a brilliant litigator. He is unflappable and always provides sound and well considered advice.’

‘Nikolas Ireland has matured into an extremely competent associate and has impressed me more than partners at other leading law firms. He is one to watch.’

‘The quality of solicitors working in the team are able to attract top quality private clients. The litigation and investigations team fits very well with the private client teams to resolve disputes with HMRC.’

‘Very hard working. Substantial experience in litigation and investigations. Very high quality recent hires from HMRC.’

‘Exceptionally hard working. Technically brilliant. Savvy litigators.’

‘The superb Gideon Sanitt.’

‘Macfarlanes has a specialist team which conducts it’s tax litigation and investigations practice. As with everything that Macfarlanes does, the standard applied is excellent, maintained and enhanced by knowledge and experience.’

‘The tax litigation and investigations team at Macfarlanes is led by Gideon Sanitt, a practitoner of huge experience and the ability to explain the issues which arise in litigation to lay clients in terms which they can understand. Gideon is supported by a large team with large resources. All the members of the team are exceptionally able and approachable and available.’

‘The team are very commercially minded and able to apply complex tax law to the real world and explain it to clients in a way they understand. They are technically very strong and understand the law but not at the expense of being personable and clear in their advice. They are very responsive and pro active and offer clear advice and explanations of risks and legal process. They do no shy away from giving advice that may not be what the client was expecting/hoping to hear. They are experts in their field and work very well with barristers and their clients.’

‘Unusually compared to many other firms, the members of the team are on the one hand very intelligent and therefore able to deal with technical issues, but also very commercial.’

‘Highly proactive and professional. Excellent transactional management and ongoing client support. Experienced team able to deliver practical solutions. Well-drafted documentation.’ 

‘Rob Collard is an experienced leader, client focused, and solution-driven, with a sound understanding of EBT trustee considerations.’ 

‘Rob Collard was able to bring share scheme experience together with the financial service context and regulatory considerations. The combination is unusual and helpful.’ 

‘In my experience some law firms give advice without thinking through how it will be applied practically. Macfarlanes is different – they collaborate between teams i.e., share schemes, corporate and tax, to ensure that the advice given is comprehensive while being pragmatic; making it easy to apply in a real-life situation.’ 

‘Rasmus Berglund  drew on his knowledge of wider market practices and larger organisations to create a suitable rule set for us within a very short time. His attention to detail meant there were minimal iterations.’

‘Led by Rob Collard, this is a high-quality team with deep transactional experience and strong tax support. The corporate law experience in the team sets it apart.’

‘Rob Collard is a leading lawyer in employee share schemes. His corporate and commercial experience sets him apart.’ 

‘We utilise the fund finance team at Macfarlanes on all fund finance matters. They are excellent with both small amendments and full projects and we lean on them heavily to lead the process for us. Always a safe pair of hands.’  

‘They are very pragmatic and offer realistic quotes. We also appreciate the synergies between the fund and fund finance teams.’

‘Richard Fletcher is our main partner on the fund finance side and he is a trusted and knowledgeable source of information for us. Any fund finance question we have Richard will always know the answer to and has seen it before. This experience and pragmatic nature is an excellent combination and makes us feel we are in safe hands with any work required.’

‘The team is very diligent in their work and fully up-to-speed with market developments. They provide sound advice across a broad spectrum of fund finance products.’

‘Andrew Perkins is very knowledgeable in the asset-backed facility space and competently drafts, negotiates and explains complex provisions. He is a very ‘hands-on’ partner and is fully visible throughout a transaction.’

‘Richard Fletcher is a highly competent partner who has advised us on many subscription line facilities. He has excellent market knowledge and draws on that keenly in order to advise us.’

‘The Fund finance team at Macfarlanes is exceptional. They have strength and depth and have advised on a number of facilities for our funds in recent years.’

‘Richard Fletcher is an exceptional lawyer. Responsive, commercial, and very knowledgeable, Richard and his team are a pleasure to work with. He cuts through legal jargon and 500-page facility agreements to deliver concise advice so we can focus on the issues that matter. Happy to take the lead and steer us in the right direction to reach the best outcome. Also, very easy to work with and has a strong team.’

‘Anthony Burnett-Scott is a high quality and approachable expert in the field and the first person we would pick up the phone to for a complex development-led property transaction. A first-class practitioner.’

‘Good sector knowledge and specialists.’

‘Clare Breeze is an affable partner, good sector knowledge and sensible in negotiations.’

‘Dan Marriott is a knowledgeable partner and a sensible negotiator.’

‘Tania Barnes is a rising star, an in-demand associate, knowledgeable, organised and drives deals forwards.’

‘The Macfarlanes team are highly responsive, engaging and offer transparent advice.’

‘Anthony Burnett-Scott is a tremendous practitioner.’

‘MacFarlanes are exceptional for multi jurisdictional corporate investigations, with a host of high profile company clients across numerous sectors of business in the UK and worldwide. Experience of SFO, DOJ and FCA, as well as regulators of the city in the USA and across Europe. They are tough defenders but sensible and approachable.’

‘Neil Blundell, a genuine star, been around for years but retains a youthful enthusiasm.’

‘The team is very experienced and responsive, with a good mixture of criminal, regulatory and litigation experience. with Neill Blundell at its head, the team has someone with decades of real, hands on experience of criminal and regulatory investigations.’

‘Neill Blundell (partner and head of team) – experienced, engaging, assuring to clients, good at managing his team. Lorna Emson (partner) – good strategic insight.’

‘Since MacFarlanes enhanced the business crime team, it has sharply enhanced the breadth of its service offering, and with a team that is absolutely at the top of the game — all consistent with the culture, work ethic, and excellence of the firm overall.’

‘Neill Blundell is as sharp as they come, affable but hard-hitting. A pleasure to observe operate.’

‘The practice represents both corporates and individuals sourcing their work from corporate and high net worth individuals. They deal with a wide variety of matters and are building a good foundation for a very good department.

‘Neill Blundell heads up an effective and well informed team, including the newly promoted to partner Lorna Emson. Francis Bond is an effective and well informed associate as is the up and coming Max Hobbs. Neill manages a diverse team and recently has welcomed back Helen Harvey from maternity leave. His team has a sensible relaxed manner whilst being efficient and well informed.’

‘Excellent legal knowledge combined with commercial acumen. They are really user-friendly and give you the advice that you need without involving large teams and excessive billing.’

‘Tom Usher is an excellent lawyer with unparalleled legal knowledge, but more importantly, he understands our business and therefore provides practical, workable advice.’

‘Macfarlanes stands out for  combining longstanding experience in commercial litigation with specialist competition litigators. Bringing the two together is a powerful combination and results in a very slick and experienced operation, particularly in the field of follow-on damages claims.’

‘Simon Day is an extremely well-respected and sensible lawyer who makes consistently good judgement calls. I can tell that clients trust him deeply with their cases.’

‘Emma Radcliffe is a newly-appointed partner who has a wealth of experience in competition law and is destined for good things. She has an excellent eye for detail.’

‘Alex Evans is an exceptional lawyer. He is likely to be one of Macfarlanes’ future stars. He has an excellent ability to manage complex litigation, particularly multi-defendant pieces of litigation, and is always a calm and well-respected in the room.’

‘Cameron Firth really knows his stuff, and Simon Day is razor sharp.’

‘Harry Coghill is smart, thoughtful, and personable.’

‘The team is commercial and solutions-orientated, and a pleasure to do business with. They are at the forefront of the market and provide invaluable strategic advice.’

‘Tom Rose is a stand-out commercially focused and technically astute M&A lawyer with exceptional client skills who gets the best from his team. He always delivers.’

‘Tom French is technically brilliant, with the ability to command and control highly complex transactions effortlessly.’

‘Tom Rose is a great partner. Exceptionally brainy, hands-on, commercial, and puts the client first.’

‘Emma Bailey is the best associate I have ever worked with in 30 years.’

‘Tom French is very bright and good to work with – a great lateral thinker.’

‘A strong client-centric approach that prioritises creativity, thoroughness and attention to detail in achieving their client’s goals.’

‘Very responsive, even on minor matters. Able to put across technical matters in straightforward language and commercial in approach.’

‘Cohesive team who clearly understand the subject matter and can work across the different practice areas.’

‘Chris Mortimer and Charishma Bhujohory will make themselves available and turnaround queries quickly, even where time isn’t of the essence. Chris, although relatively young has a wide breadth of knowledge and having started out in the Big 4 previously is very comfortable with the numbers side of things/VAT return process and preparation, which is a plus.’

‘Primary contact is Chris Mortimer. Personable, accessible, responsive and practical in his advice – it is reassuring to know Chris is on hand whenever you need him.’

‘The individuals I worked with were clearly very bright and as well as being technically strong and knowledgeable.’

‘The Firm was able to guide me through the process and prepared me for the interview with the Serious Fraud Office.’

‘A daunting experience was made easier because of good co-ordination and expertise in this complex field.’

‘Key strengths were were expert knowledge, not only in the law but the application and practical aspects of the law concerned. The people I dealt with and who advised me throughout were the key to ensuring that we had a good outcome in the end.’

‘Neill Blundell gave me absolute confidence that I was receiving the best possible advice throughout the process. Although I always tried to give an honest picture of the facts involved, it was to Neill’s credit that he was able to pull everything together in a coherent way.’

‘Fantastic range of experience across the full gamut of frauds investigated by all agencies, and multi jurisdictional investigations. Tough in interviews and well resourced without being excessively expensive.’

‘Neil Blundell brings a wealth of experience from early years in general crime followed by decades of white collar crime expertise. he has won some huge cases, in ensuring clients were not even prosecuted in some of the most significant investigations of the past twenty years.’

‘The Team headed by Neill Blundell is cohesive and well informed. They are responsive to client’s needs but do not shirk from giving clear advice. They are personable and effective. There is a clear focus on what is required and strong foresight into what may happen ahead.’

‘Neill Blundell has instructed me in a number of high profile cases, with clients from here and abroad. He promotes others and is a champion of diversity. One of his team, Lorna Emson recently was elected as a partner in the firm. That was a justified and well-earned promotion.’

‘Barry Donnelly is extremely experienced and tough while remaining courteous and professional throughout. A class act.’

‘They have some of the most experienced and highly regarded practitioners in the area. Truly first class.’

‘Barry Donnelly is an exceptionally experienced and talented lawyer. Clients love him and he gets results.’

‘Matt McCahearty is rightly regarded as one of the leaders in the field.’

‘They have a team of extremely able lawyers, who really get to the bottom of the knottiest cases, and ally that to good commercial judgement so as to arrive at an effective strategy for the client. Excellent team players.’

‘Iain Mackie – extremely experienced and wise litigator. Very sound commercial judgement, and remains calm and effective under pressure when commercial litigation is at its most challenging. Adept at handling the largest and most complex of cases.’

‘Matt McCahearty is a very thorough and able lawyer. Drills to the bottom of difficult and knotty points, and comes up with well reasoned and commercially sound strategic advice for the client. Good at managing large teams in the most complex commercial litigation.’

‘The commercial litigation team has the unique combination of commercial nous and depth of legal knowledge. The team is also very approachable and down to earth.’

‘Christopher Charlton is fantastic. He is everything you would want in a partner. Always available. Sharp intellect. Easy to work with. Gets to the point.’

‘Macfarlanes have a genuinely premium commercial litigation team, with tremendous ability at all levels.’

‘Iain Mackie is a legendary figure, whilst new partner Chris Charlton is undoubtedly a future superstar – quite superb.’

‘Lois Horne is a superstar. She is all over the papers, has superb tactical judgement and a sense for how points will play before a tribunal, and thinks several moves ahead.’

‘The firm is looking for solutions within the ambit of the law. Easy to deal with and very responsive.’

‘Camilla Barry has been super to work with explaining complex legal concepts in a non-legal language thus making it easier to understand and interpret. She is always available in emergencies even when on holiday’

‘Andrew Barton and Madison Isted are standout players in the insurance and reinsurance market. Their industry expertise and dedication on matters are unparalleled. They both collaborate really well with us, our business teams and with law firms on the other side of our transactions. Their work is always seamless and it is a pleasure having them on our deals.’

‘Both Andrew and Madison are extremely diligent, responsive and hardworking and have taken the time to understand our business back to front. They always add significant value with their expertise of the industry and transactions which they are involved are seamless. I cannot fault any aspect of their model.’

‘Pro-active, excellent service and advice. The team has strength in depth at different levels, with a diverse range of lawyers. Responsive and alert to assist and advise.’

‘Camilla Barry is an outstanding pension lawyer, with a great depth of experience and expertise. Proactive and pleasant, forthright and commercially aware.’

‘Very experienced and responsive and cut through the detail very quickly and effectively to focus and obtain instructions on key areas. They provide a great service and are able to meet challenging transaction deadlines.’

‘Andrew Barton is very experienced and is fully involved and leads the work extremely well and can be relied on to give straight answers and find solutions. Alex Cibulskis is very efficient and handles complex issues and agreements very well which is impressive given his PQE and certainly operates above other associates of a similar level.’

‘The team produces consistently high quality work within very short time frames. Their experience and knowledge within the sector is first class.’

‘The Macfarlanes team have demonstrable expertise in complex, cross-border acquisition financings. They are very responsive, provide concise and commercial advice and consistently deliver to expectations; they are a very reliable and highly skilled set of lawyers.’

‘Highly commercial, pragmatic and solutions focused.’

‘Malcolm Hitching’s knowledge and experience has been instrumental. He has provided a top-quality service and is a pleasure to work with.’

‘Malcolm Hitching – able to bring clarity and precision to a complicated deal structure and navigate through issues. In particular, he has a strong ability to simplify difficult concepts.’

‘The responsive and commercial Andrew Perkins is a highly skilled lawyer with a wealth of acquisition finance experience.’

‘The hard working and responsive Kirstie Hutchinson is able to deal with complex financings and has excellent technical knowledge.’

‘Commercially pragmatic, straightforward and easy to work with, excellent value for money.’

‘In this area Macfarlanes have unique insights into what buy-side clients should really care about. They have deep knowledge of derivative contracts and prime brokerage arrangements. There are very few areas in this space that do not have extensive experience.’

‘Chris Acton is particular good at the commercial points that really matter. He is able to break down legal documentation and condense the key points that are important so we spend the time on those points and don’t waste time on less valuable points. He is very pragmatic and commercial.’

‘Responsive team that is well resourced at the senior end to provide specialist advice on technical legal questions. Great knowledge of derivatives regulation and market practice.’

‘Chris Acton – very responsive and client focussed; Robert Daneill – great technical knowledge; Christine Long – great technical knowledge.’

‘The derivatives practice at Macfarlanes provides an efficient, strong and supportive partnership for our many funds, it really understands our organisation’s nuances, risk strategies and priorities.’

‘Their project management capabilities are exceptional, they staff the relevant teams well and at the appropriate level using partners as oversight in the proper manner to manage costs. They are extremely collaborative and a pleasure to work with and thrive on supporting an innovative project.’

‘This practice advises on a broad range of hedge funds matters and also works seamlessly with other practice groups within the firm, to provide clients with comprehensive advice across all aspects of law that is relevant to hedge funds.’

‘The Macfarlanes hedge fund team is great to work with; they are collaborative and are solid across all investment strategies, and particularly credit. What’s more, they have the backing of solid teams in other areas (tax, derivatives etc) to support their practice. They stand out as being a very bright bunch in the market and a really nice team.’

‘Sam Brooks stands out as being particularly visible and engaged on files (but not in a way that is in any way over the top), which gives a lot of reassurance.’

‘There is a real “can do” energy, with the client being put first – no matter what the assignment is, the team are always on top of the work flow, finding intelligent but practical solutions and ensuring all deadlines are met. I cannot think of a single example where the team have not exceeded expectations and generated real value.’

‘Technically extremely able and highly commercial. They are meticulous in keeping on top of all matters on a fund close and making sure nothing is missed. Always a reliable and trusted advisor. Great strength across all key areas of unregulated funds – including tax and regulatory.’

‘The team has good strength in depth and excellent engagement from partner level down to associate. We lean on Macfarlanes and the private funds team extensively for market insight and to ensure we remain cutting edge on both our fund structures and fund terms.’

‘The teams have provided exceptional service over the last few years with respect to our two funds and credit facilities to go with them. They are concise and clear in their communications with us which allows the team to trust in the process being undertaken.’

‘Very active in the mid-market, this busy team continues to impress with a stream of quality instructions. Recognised as a top notch operation with an enviable client list, they seem to have created clear water between them and others who may be chasing to get into that space. We see a lot of funds teams in action, and would rank Macs in the top pack.’

‘Sam Brooks is knowledgeable and incredibly easy to work with. He very quickly understands our requirements and how to make our vision a reality in the documents. He is also excellent in guiding us on what may be market standard and what might be pushing the boundaries and we rely on that market knowledge a lot in our fund launch process.’

‘Stephen Robinson is always available, always able to offer appropriate challenge and advice; and he is ably supported by strong senior/partner level colleagues and also a strong more junior team, within which Henry Stewart-Brown always goes that extra mile for us, all for a very reasonable cost.’

‘Chris Good is an excellent listener, solution driven, available when needed.’

‘Stephen Robinson and Harriet Miller provide an excellent, client driven service.’

‘Practical and prompt legal advice from the retail/regulatory funds team at Macfarlanes, over the course a protracted project. The Macfarlanes team were honest about when we needed to make decisions and reformulate our questions in order to use their resource most efficiently.’

‘Great quality advice – prompt and commercial – a very knowledgeable team. They are happy to work to fee caps and we’re happy with their billing (they frequently pick up out of scope work at no extra cost).’

‘Macfarlanes independence means they are uniquely positioned in the London real estate market to provide commercial, tailored advice to a range of clients.’

‘Lora Froud is delightful – very friendly, approachable and supportive to our team and me personally, in a new role as I was finding my feet.’

‘Alex Amos is an exceptional real estate partner, who’s knowledge of the funds industry is a real asset to all of his clients.’

‘Very professional, well informed, technically strong and reliable team. Always seek to deliver and always meet deadlines. Very high quality across all the team. Easy to deal with.’

‘They excel at coordinating transactions involving multiple jurisdictions with other legal counsel and compiling advice therefrom in order to deliver a unified legal advice to their client.’

‘Their outstanding work product stems from their capacity to analyse, dissect and understand any matters which arise in the context of a transaction and their unique ability to provide exceptional legal advice to their clients in relation to such issues in order to safeguard both their interests and the transaction as a whole.’

‘The Macfarlanes property finance team is very responsive, proactive and collaborative across specialties. No transaction is too complex for them, and they have a solid handle on market trends across sectors. The client experience is seamless.’

‘Laura Bretherton’s client service-oriented approach inspires complete confidence at every step through a transaction. She provides advice clearly and confidently. Laura is also a lovely person to deal with personally day-to-day, and as a result she seems to effortlessly form solid working relationships across deals.’

‘Jat Bains knows the debt market inside out; he’s an excellent principle advisor.’

‘Colin Morgan is a brilliant lawyer. He has a deep knowledge of the law and of the market trends which make him extremely capable of tackling complicated matters arising in the context of a transaction and giving precise legal advice to his clients in order to find the best alternatives to such issues.’

‘Christine Dowell is personable and extremely easy to work with. She is quick and intelligent, and her deep knowledge of the law makes her contributions to transactions invaluable. She has a clear and bright mind, she is creative, and she is also efficient and reliable.’

‘Macfarlanes remains one of the most respected teams in the market, with its private client team pre-eminent. Claire Breeze is exceptional and incredibly responsive’.

‘Penny Cox is commercial and has a great “bedside manner” while getting her point across with gravitas. She is persuasive and always considers the options and thinks before advising‘.

‘Comprehensive in terms of service line offering and very high level of expertise. Penny Cox in particular consistently the high level of service one would expect from a firm like Macfarlanes. She is responsive, pragmatic and progressive in her attitude’.

‘The team are very responsive and know our business well. They feel like an extension of our HR function and are very much trusted advisors.’

‘Thoughtful and reflective but commercial in application. Able to apply creative and pragmatic solutions to situations.’

‘Sean Lavin warrants particular mention, he provided helpful challenge and insightful comment and is well versed in the nuances of individuals in PE industry and associated practices.’

‘True experts in dealing with complex and high value civil litigation as well as associated regulatory and reputational issues and risks, particularly in the financial services and related sectors.’

‘The strength of the employment team is in its depth of experience and expertise at every level and being well led by its partners.’

‘Sean Lavin – seen it all, done it all, unflappable, great client skills and great to work with.’

‘Hayley Robinson – excellent judgment, on top of the detail.’

‘Attention to detail, specialist knowledge of the financial and related markets, tactically astute and with an effective collegiate approach, all being core to the teams handling of litigation.’

‘The team consistently delivers such a high standard of work and their commercial approach and industry knowledge are first class.’ 

‘They have excellent technical knowledge and are always a pleasure to work with.’

‘The team has demonstrable expertise in investment grade and syndicated financings.’

‘The lawyers are very responsive, provide concise and commercial advice and consistently deliver to expectations; they are a very reliable and highly skilled set of lawyers.’

‘The lawyers are very friendly, down to earth and empathetic.’

‘Andrew Perkins is a highly skilled lawyer with a wealth of experience. He takes a pro-active role on deals, is responsive and provides clear, commercial advice.’

‘Kirstie Hutchinson is able to deal with complex financings with ease and has excellent technical knowledge.’

‘Kirstie Hutchinson is very knowledgeable and commercial.’

‘Responsive, very affable and technically strong.’

‘An excellent team that is innovative, responsive and keen to assist even on transactions that have limited precedents.’

‘The team is very professional and ready to respond quickly to all customer needs. They work in close contact with other departments allowing very integrated assistance for the most complex issues.’

‘The excellent Jat Bains is responsive and very innovative. He is a fantastic professional to work with. He gets his clients’ requirements and brokers solutions.’

‘Paul Keddie is commercial and totally current with his knowledge. He  is particularly up to date on industry trends and has excellent experience on cross-border operations.’

‘Very nimble and efficient, and great ability to understand and focus on clients’ priorities, which in turn leads to cost-effectiveness. Richard Fletcher Ryan Moore stand out.’

‘Strong knowledge base from partners and associates. Willingness to explore ideas to solve complex issues. Partner involved throughout.’

‘Strong knowledge base with willingness to explore new ideas. Early feedback on what is possible and what isnt. Richard Fletcher is excellent at planning the legal documentation journey, identifying and flagging potential issues early to ensure smooth execution.’

‘Marclanes and Richard Fletcher in particular have a deep knowledge of the private ABS warehouse market. The team has a good bench strength and provide a great legal expertise and excellent transaction services.’

‘Richard Fletcher is very, very sharp on both the legal issues and commercially. As a partner he also demonstrates a very strong ability to know when he needs to step in or when his very capable associates should be taking matters forward.’

‘Partner led advice with the ability to work across different asset classes.’

‘Excellent understanding of the requirements of the client and how the structuring could be moulded accordingly to our needs.’

‘Richard Fletcher understood our initial proposals and was able to advise accordingly as to multiple options. When we did decide to proceed he was excellent in guiding negotiations and showed a deep understanding of the asset class that was highly welcome.’

‘There is a constant attention to detail and liaison/communication which results both in a high quality service to the client but also smooth running of a project. Individuals are approachable.’

‘Nigel Price stands out as a key individual in the practice. He is both knowledgeable and approachable and a pleasure to work with. His key attention to detail and client service are both exceptional.’

‘Wealth of experience in environmental law. Reliable. Extremely responsive’

‘Nigel Price is very calm, experienced, extremely knowledgeable and knows all the tricks of the trade!’

‘Nigel Price is very analytical, whilst providing user-friendly and commercially minded advice, easy to cooperate with and has great communication skills.’

‘We have been working with Macfarlanes for over a decade. Macfarlanes continues to provide good, reliable and consistent advice to us in the area of real estate financing and regulations.’

‘Alexandra Green has been responsive to us. Her fees and turnaround time are fair.’

‘Commercially practical, good response time.’

‘They understand all issues and questions that we have straight away and provide pragmatic advice and they explain everything in a very clear manner. They are extremely well experienced in the financial services/ regulatory area, so their knowledge is exceptional. The Team is extremely professional and always very helpful.’

‘We work with partner Alexandra Green, and it has been a great pleasure. She is very responsive, helpful, and exceptionally well experienced. She sees the entire picture and is always able to highlight the most important points. Her advice and comments on the contracts are straight to the point (no unnecessary back and forth). She is always ready to help, even with limited time. Each conversation with her is always very useful. One of the best lawyers I have ever worked with.’

‘Our go-to firm for transaction work, where we can rely on their excellent service and value their partner-led approach.’

‘In particular Alex Green is a stand-out partner. A trusted adviser who brings commercial perspective as well as technical expertise, unflappable under pressure, and runs an efficient process.’

‘The team consistently provides excellent service regardless of the circumstances. It has the capacity to work on extremely complex matters under pressure and produce terrific outcomes for us.’

‘The partners we work with all have terrific problem solving capabilities, commercial, very thoughtful, have extremely good drafting skills (often a rarity these days) and give proper advice and don’t just follow instructions.’

‘Macfarlanes is a firm that differentiates itself from its peers by offering bespoke services which are tailored to the uniqueness of its clients.’

‘Jessica Yu provides a standout service. She empathises with her clients, assimilates their requirements and translates to a clear legal path. She communicated frequently and clearly throughout our engagement and returned our confidence to get to an outcome which we thought was not possible. Would work with her again and again.’

‘They are high-end and provide an excellent service to their clients.’

‘Tom Marsom is extremely responsive and knowledgeable.’