James Fry > Mills & Reeve LLP > Cambridge, England > Lawyer Profile

Mills & Reeve LLP has a deep bench of lawyers in its Cambridge corporate M&A practice, which frequently handles high-value regional and national transactions. Head of corporate Tom Pickthorn, head of commercial Kevin Calder and head of life sciences James Fry oversee ‘a very strong practice, with excellent depth of understanding of UK Corporate law, and great ability to distill it down to a practical approach‘.  Private equity partner Anthony McGurk ‘has a very good sense of market practice‘. Claire Clarke has particular expertise in education work and formation of investment funds, and Jonathan Greenwood focuses on mid-market M&A and PE investment. Senior associate Charlotte Bull also plays a key role in the team.

Mills & Reeve LLP has a large, cross-office life sciences practice led by experienced partner James Fry in Cambridge. The firm is a key adviser to numerous global organisations, among them GSK, as well as new startups, high-growth companies, and highly regarded university research groups. The multi-disciplinary offering service calls up on funds specialist Dona Ardeman, corporate partner Jonathan Greenwood, employment expert Melanie James, corporate finance adviser Zickie Lim and many others to support biotechnology clients. Fry recently assisted F-star Therapeutics with a collaboration and licence agreement with a global pharmaceutical company.

At Mills & Reeve LLP, ‘the IP team has an excellent ‘can do’ attitude and its responsiveness and communications are superb‘. Led by Mark Pearce, who works from both the Leeds and Cambridge offices, the practice is active in both contentious and advisory matters for clients in the technology, life sciences, automotive, food and agriculture, and education sectors. Head of life sciences James Fry is a key adviser to numerous global companies, among them GSK. He assisted F-star Therapeutics with an international strategic discovery collaboration and licence agreement. Principal associates Richard Plaistowe and Nicola Hanglin ‘show humour, restraint, and patience‘ in complex matters.